Once again Zeeko Zaki's OA was missing from another episode of FBI Season 7, marking his second such absence from recent episodes.
Since Season 1 of the hit crime drama, Zaki has brought to life Omar Adom "OA" Zidan a no-nonsense member of the FBI time and a retired Army Ranger; however, as of late, he has been in and out of the FBI action.
Zaki has not been the only member of the FBI cast coming and going this season, leaving many to wonder why characters like OA have been missing in action.
What Happened to OA on FBI
Fans took notice, as Zeeko Zaki's OA was missing from FBI Season 7, Episode 15 without any proper reason.
Zaki's longtime TV federal investigator was relegated to the bench for Episode 15 (titled "Acolyte") as the FBI team continued to look into the dangerous new serial killer prowling the streets of New York City.
While the episode featured exciting new twists to FBI's ongoing plot, including key characters like Missy Peregrym Margaret "Maggie" Bell consulting with a career criminal she put behind bars years ago, OA was noticeably absent from all of it.
Sadly, though, his missing from the proceedings was completely unexplained in-universe. He simply just was not there.
Did he call in sick? Was it his day off? Was he mysteriously abducted by aliens (probably not, but you never know)? It could have been any of these, yet no justification was given to the viewer. Instead, the FBI team just went on without nary a mention of their longtime partner.
This is not even the first time this has happened this season. OA notably missed Season 7, Episode 12, but that was explained away as he was dealing with the fallout of a devastating shooting seen in the episode prior.
Some have speculated he could have taken a break for a similar reason coming into Episode 15, as the character was last seen reckoning with the idea that he could not save everybody after his girlfriend Gemma was caught in the crossfire of a dangerous trainjacking.
The end of Episode 14 showed OA in distress once again, realizing that despite his best efforts people are always going to get hurt. So, perhaps he needed another breather following that emotional roller coaster.
However, that is mere speculation at this point as the episode itself fails to address him missing from the show in any meaningful way.
Where Is Zeeko Zaki's OA on FBI Show?
Thankfully for fans worried they may have seen the last of Zeeko Zaki's OA on FBI, his recent absence was only a temporary thing.
Zaki and a few other major FBI characters have been taking time off during this season of the hit CBS series, because of some recent changes to their contracts with the network.
It was reported by Deadline coming into Season 7 that regulars on the show were having their minimum guarantees trimmed by two episodes for the new seasons as a cost-cutting measure.
This means that actors/characters like Zaki (and, in turn, OA) would be skipping out on a couple of episodes this season before coming back the next week.
Fans saw the same thing happen with Missy Peregrym's Maggie earlier in the season as well, as she inexplicably missed out on an investigation into the killing of two high-profile jury members (read about Maggie's FBI absence here). However, the following week, Maggie was back and has been since then.
This will be exactly what happened with Zaki's OA. The character has already been featured in promotional materials for the next episode, showing up in the Episode 16 promo back on his FBI beat.
FBI Season 7 continues with new episodes debuting every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Paramount+.
