In Tuesday night’s “Victim” episode of “FBI” Season 5, Zeeko Zaki’s character, Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan, is mugged on the street, but refuses to tell his colleagues about the traumatic incident. It gives him greater insight into a victim who was attacked by a serial killer and survived, but it also makes him more volatile when cornering the prime suspect.
CBS hasn’t yet announced which episode will see the return of Missy Peregrym’s character, Special Agent Maggie Ball, who was sidelined by nerve damage after being exposed to sarin gas, but Zeeko Zaki teased that she will “hit the ground running.” And that OA might be a little overprotective as she goes back into the field.
Peregrym has been out on maternity leave since late last season and has already shot two Season 5 episodes. Said Zaki, “It’s just really exciting to see us all on screen together again. There’s just some really, really good stuff that I’m excited for everybody to see, but I can’t give any spoilers.”
Zaki: The one note they gave me was “embarrassment.” And it was fun to linger on that word for a little bit, realizing what that meant and how we were going to explore this vulnerable side of OA.
I think OA spent five years trying to build very, very strong walls in his personal life. In this, and in everything, he puts work first. And when it comes to traumatic events in our personal lives, [and how it] affects the work and our mental health, I think we tried to show that sometimes you can’t compartmentalize these things. I think for him, it really just comes down to not wanting to show weakness in a job that requires 100% strength.
Yes, but I think at the end of the day, it makes him more sympathetic to himself. You know, the key for OA is seeing a tangible result from not shutting away things that happen to you. He sees that you can solve a case by allowing yourself to sit with something bad that happened: It shifts his perspective when it comes to victims. It’s going to be fun to play moving forward and fun to see happen on screen.
I think that’s the question that OA doesn’t want the answer to: “Will I be taken off the case?” That’s his safe space, the case right now. I think it comes down to this sort of OCD, perfectionism that maybe isn’t a relatable character note in the workplace, but when your work has to do with life and death, we have to create a safe space to acknowledge the personal traumas. They can’t threaten our jobs, they can’t threaten our family relationships. They have to be able to be explored healthily and acknowledged, because evil is part of this world. If we don’t actively try to create a safe place for understanding that evil, then I think it will continue to to catch us off guard.
