OA had himself one lousy day, didn’t he?
First, it was his new girlfriend, Gemma, on FBI Season 6 Episode 4.
Then, it was a wild card of a Muslim FBI agent who served as a funhouse mirror for Omar.
Let’s start with the latter first, since it was the more intriguing of the two storylines.
We can all agree that Gemma is a mistake that OA hasn’t recognized yet.
Hassan, played by English actor Elyes Gabel (Scorpion), had a chip on his shoulder. He felt that he had to do more just to be accepted by the WASPS in the FBI.
As OA explained to Hassan, he saw himself as an FBI agent, not a Muslim FBI agent.
They’re both likely fooling themselves.
OA can’t ever escape the fact that others will view him as Muslim. But there’s always going to be a place for someone such as Hassan who can go undercover as a Muslim at a moment’s notice (although maybe he shouldn’t have been using his actual name.)
Neither of these Muslim FBI agents was at their best on this case.
Thanks to Gemma, OA was in a mood from the start. It didn’t help when the witness to the shooting described the shooter as having an accent like a terrorist when he meant Arabic.
Omar was correct when he pointed out that, even the growing domestic strain.
Yes, having a Muslim terrorist has become a TV trope over the past two decades. But it was necessary for this storyline involving OA and Hassan.
Still, OA didn’t have to be so intense to Hassan’s partner Jessica, who happened to be Maggie‘s old friend from Quantico, who sadly was introduced and largely ignored for the rest of the episode. Why bother with that storyline?
Oh, well. It wasn’t an episode featuring up-and-coming white female agents. So, into the background they went.
It could have been worse. They could have been Scola, Tiffany, Jubal, Isobel, or anyone in the JOC who only had a scene or two.
That’s the downside of spotlight episodes. They focus on one character to the detriment of everyone else.
Hassan could serve as a cautionary tale for OA. If everything hadn’t broken right for him, he too could have been that cliche of a Muslim undercover agent trying to infiltrate a terrorist cell.
Yes. Hassan was an object lesson of what not to do. For instance, don’t draw attention to yourself by staring at the visiting FBI agents and then running away instead of fading into the background as a custodian should. Could he have acted any more suspiciously?
Then, rather than sharing all the intel he had, he held back information, pretending not to know who Adil was after it became clear that the teen had killed the judge.
Hassan had good reason to be elusive because he radicalized a shy, awkward kid and converted him into a zealot and a murderer.
Then, he attempted to play the Muslim brother card and make Omar his partner in misadventure. OA allowed Hassan to redeem himself, but he kept making bad choices.
Like putting that gun to his chin and pulling the trigger to prove himself to the cell mastermind. Sure, he could say he knew it wasn’t loaded the whole time, but that was still reckless, even if it did get him the site of the subsequent assassination.
How did Asghar become a terrorist leader when some guy off the street tricked him into revealing his plans?
And how could Hassan possibly think that Adil would surrender to him? Hassan made him a true believer and he got winged for his efforts.
Then, to find out that Hassan put the murder weapon in Adil’s hand. That was the final straw.
As OA pointed out, Hassan couldn’t use his Muslim heritage to excuse his failure to rise within the bureau. He just had to work smarter. But it’s likely too late for that now.
Now, back to Gemma. Everyone likes bright, shiny things. But Gemma is someone OA is woefully equipped with whom to deal.
Yeah, opposites attract, but these two are too opposite. She’s uptown glitz and glam, and as much as the Egyptian boy from the borough wants to keep up with her, he isn’t equipped to. He’s out of his depth.
Omar poorly handled Cate being killed on FBI Season 6 Episode 3. He needed to give Gemma a heads-up as soon as she came to the club they had under surveillance so she could make an excuse and leave.
Then, as soon as possible, he needed to be the one who told Gemma about Cate’s death rather than letting social media take care of that. That’s no way for her to find out about her friend’s passing.
Now that she was already upset with him, he chose that minute to badger her about whether she uses drugs. He couldn’t hold that tough talk for another day?
It would be amazing if this relationship were somehow repaired. OA needs to try harder to find someone he’s more simpatico with.
What do you think of philosophical OA?
Did Hassan have any good points, or was he making excuses for his behavior?
Should OA attempt to patch things up with Gemma, or should he move on?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.