The trailer for FBI’s upcoming episode features the return of Special Agent OA (Zeeko Zaki). After being noticeably absent from FBI season 7, episode 12, titled “Manhunt,” the Dick Wolf procedural series offered no explanation for OA’s FBI disappearance. Without her longtime partner, Special Agent Maggie Bell (Missy Peregrym) turns to Agent Scola (John Boyd) in facing one of season 7’s most intense cases so far. In the next episode, OA will partner with Scola as they tackle an organized crime investigation linked to the latter’s corrupted military academy.
Now, CBS (via TV Promos) has dropped a teaser trailer for FBI season 7, episode 13, confirming the return of Zaki’s OA, Special Agent in Charge Isobel Castille (Alana de la Garza), and an appearance from FBI: Most Wanted’s Nina Chase. It is not the first time that an agent has missed an episode of FBI season 7, as CBS has been rotating the cast members since the roll-out of a new cost-cutting measure.
What The Return Of OA In FBI’s Next Episode Means
A Welcome Comeback Might Become A Troubling Trend
The absence of Special Agent OA in FBI’s latest episode was especially a surprise, given the focus on Agent Maggie. After mistakenly believing one of her victims was killed in an armed trafficking incident, Maggie is wracked with guilt and turns to Agent Scola for support. OA and Maggie’s relationship in FBI has steadily evolved throughout season 7, making his disappearance that much more noticeable. With the FBI cast’s new rotation policy, it may become commonplace for agents to disappear from certain cases of the week without explanation, as Maggie herself appears to be missing in the upcoming episode.
In FBI season 7, episode 13, titled “Hitched,” the procedural show continues to unearth the mystery behind Agent Scola’s military school. The official synopsis for the next episode suggests Scola and OA’s investigation into the death of two jurors on trial for a high-profile mafia case will take a personal turn:
After two jurors for a high-profile mafia trial are gunned down, the team jumps into an organized crime investigation until it is discovered that the jurors may not have been the intended targets at all. The case becomes personal for Scola when he learns that one of his former drill instructors from the military academy he attended may be linked.
This will be OA’s first time back on the field since he lost his temper over a case involving a hate-crime directed against Muslim immigrants. While the reasons for his absence remain speculative, OA may have been asked by Special Agent in Charge Isobel to take a break from the force after several outbursts that endangered the lives of his peers.
Our Take On OA’s Return To The FBI
FBI Risks Disrupting Continuity
The return of Special Agent OA in FBI season 7, episode 13 is a relief for fans amid rumors of cancelations and cast shake-ups. While the series’ cost-cutting measures ensure the future of the series, they should at least offer an explanation for the absence of one of FBI’s major characters. Instead, the procedural show sidelined important character development, particularly for an agent that’s been in almost every FBI episode since its release. Hopefully, Agent OA will reunite with Maggie soon, as their partnership remains one of the strongest on the field.
