‘FBI’: Zeeko Zaki on OA’s Trauma & Relationship, Plus Finale Scoop

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for FBI Season 6 Episode 11 “No One Left Behind.”]

FBI hits close to home for OA (Zeeko Zaki) due to his past service in the Army—and he has to decide how much to share with his girlfriend, Gemma (Comfort Clinton).

In “No One Left Behind,” a group of soldiers hold a terrorist hostage in hopes of trading him for the last remaining POW being held in Afghanistan. It gets complicated when their hostage is killed in the interim, and they must get creative to ensure the other end of the trade happens. But in the end, the soldier is brought home. And OA also opens up to Gemma and tells her he was a POW in Afghanistan by the Taliban. He’s been talking on the phone to the widow of a fellow prisoner who didn’t make it. OA promised to look after his wife.

Below, Zaki discusses the case, OA’s trauma and relationship, and more. Plus, he teases the May 21 finale.

How is OA feeling about what Garrett’s friends and father did to bring him home? It’s such a complicated situation.

Zeeko Zaki: It is, and I think that that comes back to the different masks that we wear and the different roles that we play in the world and the different systems that we exist in. And on a personal level, of course he understands exactly what they’re doing and why they’re doing it, and a part of him feels that he would do the same. But the reality of the situation is that he’s an FBI agent now and he serves a different master. And seeing his ability to try his best with what he has and kind of the shackles that are on him and still trying to push to the limit to hold onto his morals and his values just goes to show that all you can really do is your best. Sometimes there are bigger things that are out of your control, but we see him trying to find the moments that he can control and seeing him controlling them to the best of his ability. And it just takes a lot of courage to step out of line and go with your gut. But he does it.

CBS

OA does open up to Gemma at the end of the episode. What made him ready to do so? Where they are in their relationship? Mostly because of the situation?

I think the reason that he opens up at the end is he comes face to face with his traumas. And when you’re triggered and those traumas come up that you’ve packed away and thought you dealt with and things like that—the courage it takes to go all in and be triggered and be reminded, and then to use the people around you to help you heal that wound and put yourself out there in that situation… OA’s got a lot of courage. And it’s nice to see that courage doesn’t always mean jumping on a grenade. It can also mean being vulnerable and opening up to people in your life and admitting that some loads are too heavy to carry on your own.

Yeah, I feel like we don’t get that much with these characters because so much is about the work.

And I think it just shows that a lot of people put everything into their work, and when a life is on the line, it’s very easy to minimize your own problems and issues. But the moral of the story is that if you don’t take care of yourself, the work will never get done.

Does OA think he and Gemma could be something serious, something long-term at this point?

At this point, especially with what he opens up to her about… I think OA has been running away from relationships and always scared to tell the whole story, and part of him does feel like he’s damaged goods, and I think this is a very telling moment and hopefully it’s honored by strengthening the relationship and not weakening it. But we’ll see how that plays out. I’m excited because I love working with her and it’s such a different dynamic and it feels like a completely different world and show when I get to do those scenes, so it’s been fun.

Are we getting anything else this season with them? 

No, Episode 11 is the OA personal season finale, and then the rest of the team gets to finish off strong in the classic way of, we’re all in it together and bringing a season-long chase to an end.

Bennett Raglin / CBS

Speaking of, the finale brings the focus back to Hobbs’ killer. What can you preview? Tiffany (Katherine Renee Kane) especially has been really affected.

Yes. I kept reminding myself that during the filming of it because sometimes you forget that—the beginning of filming the show, I always treated every case like it was my kid that was kidnapped and the intensity was always so high and I was like, I’ve got to remember where to kind of gauge your emotional investment in the episode. So with these ones, it’s nice to remember that we’re all tied into it in different ways and just to see how the team comes together and supports each other and supports Tiffany and how there’s a moment at the end of the finale where the line may or may not have been crossed by an agent to do something. Her emotions may have gotten to her. But it is fun to see that we’re all in it together and how that kind of pans out.

Is this search for Hobbs’ killer going to be wrapped up this season?

Yeah, there will be a conclusion to Hobbs’s killer and in proper Dick Wolf fashion, we do like to conclude and close the loops. So we’re going to get a grand old conclusion at the end of this one.

So there’s no cliffhanger to set up next season? Or is there also something else?

No, as of right now. I don’t know how it’ll be edited, but it is a beautiful conclusion at the end of the episode.

How’s OA doing at the end of the season? How would you say he is compared to the beginning of the season?

I think he’s definitely grown a lot in this season, especially with this episode. The ability to face your traumas and to change how you handle and to shift your boundaries and to let people in really changes a person’s reality and their world. And I think his world’s been changed, and especially with how many close calls we’ve gotten this season with characters and enough to give a character some time off. It’ll be really fun to kind of feel like we’re on a new leaf and dive back in and see where the stories kind of go.

Related

'FBI': Could Maggie & OA Get Together? Missy Peregrym Weighs In

I like how well the show highlights OA and Maggie’s (Missy Peregrym) relationship while keeping it platonic. But could that change? You never know, especially with at least three more seasons…

Right, you never know. I never know, that’s for sure. But I think the relationship we have and the support we have for each other and just to be able to represent such a close connection and such a strong relationship with it being platonic definitely belongs on screen and is definitely different enough and hopefully just shows the world that you can have friends and it doesn’t need to always be romantic.

Yeah, and what’s important is we’ve seen what these two mean to each other since the beginning of the show.

And that’s been my favorite part about playing it. People usually have to find one person for everything, and that person has to be their best friend and their lover and all these things. And getting to show a world where that’s not the case and they can still be as strongly connected is refreshing.

What are your hopes for OA in Season 7 and beyond?

Yeah, I’m an audience member just as much as I am the character and I’m really excited. I think we’ve earned as a show the ability to get into more character stuff and to get into more emotional content and things like that. So I’m just really hoping that we get to continue to build this platform, that we get to continue to see how Maggie and OA’s relationship grows and how we get to handle and be there for each other as our personal lives grow.

FBI, Tuesdays, 8/7c, CBS