Believe it or not, FBI is on the verge of airing its very last episode of the 2024 TV schedule and will be on hiatus until returning in the 2025 TV schedule. The fall finale is set to end the year on an intense note, though, with the return of Clay (Chicago Med's Guy Lockard) causing some trouble for OA (Zeeko Zaki). While it remains to be seen if a betrayal will indeed happen as teased by the trailer, Zeeko Zaki spoke with CinemaBlend about working with his fellow Wolf Entertainment actor and what's rubbing OA the wrong way.
The fall finale of CBS' FBI, called "Riptide," will air on December 17 and be available streaming afterward with a Paramount+ subscription. A deadly shooting will lead the team of agents to rely on Clay to get answers, which sounds all well and good... but the promo for the episode shows Maggie having doubts about OA's old friend's loyalties, which tracks with his murky intentions and Maggie's suspicions earlier in Season 7. Zeeko Zaki previewed the high stakes of the case with its personal twist, telling me:
[In] the case of the week, the stakes are as high as usual. We're dealing with a big gold bust. We're dealing with a lot of people killed along the way, and then we're dealing with some really nice twists and turns in that. It's really cool to see the team all together for it. We have the four of us on this one, and then the stakes get even higher when a personal element gets involved, via my buddy Clay.
"The four of us" this season doesn't involve Tiff after Katherine Renee Kane's exit, but "Riptide" won't be another episode featuring Scola trying out new partners. While Zeeko Zaki of course didn't spoil the particulars of what Clay's involvement means for OA after Clay previously leaned on OA for help against the agent's better judgment, the actor had the highest of praise for former Chicago Med series regular Guy Lockard being cast as Clay on FBI:
They really nailed it, and it was really fun to play and to start it off at the really high end of super excited to have my buddy back in the picture, then to, of course, hear Maggie's opinions, and see with my own eyes. The spider senses start tingling and to see that arc play out has been really fun.
Only time will tell how this particular arc plays into the new year (if indeed it does), but OA counting Clay as a friend doesn't mean that his "spider senses" can't still catch on when something shady might be happening.
Guy Lockard debuted as Clay earlier this season, but the character has a long history with OA going back to their days in the army. So, what has it been like for the actors to work together for the first time as characters who have a complicated past together? I asked Zaki that very question, and he shared:
It was really, really fun. We all have different relationships with our old friends and our new friends, or our high school friends and our work colleagues. It was really great to sort of feel like that chemistry was there right off the bat, and to kind of lean into it and just play some different moments on the screen.
For me, the most intriguing variable of the episode for OA actually isn't Clay, as he hasn't been featured enough to really make an informed prediction about what he'll do. I'm definitely wondering where Maggie will fall on OA trusting Clay, which seems to be the case with "Riptipe." Zeeko Zaki shared what kind of partner Maggie be to OA in the fall finale:
She is always ride or die, which I'm really happy we got to see and play out. The weight of the personal aspect of this for OA and seeing that, while she can be questioning and having her speculations and maybe her hesitations, when it comes down to hopping in the car with me, she'll always get in, and that's really nice to see.
I for one was encouraged to hear that from the actor, as Maggie and OA are one of my favorite TV partnerships. For a glimpse of the role Maggie will play in influencing (or not influencing) OA in the fall finale, check out the promo below:
Tune in to CBS on Tuesday, December 17 at 8 p.m. ET for the fall finale of FBI's seventh season. As always, the original series is followed by FBI: International on the heels of adding a Station 19 alum at 9 p.m. ET and FBI: Most Wanted after last week's big death at 10 p.m. ET. During the wait for their returns to CBS on Tuesday, January 27, you can also revisit the earlier episodes of their respective seasons streaming on Paramount+.
