Spoilers ahead for Episode 14 of FBI Season 4, called "Ambition."
FBI continued mixing up the partners in "Ambition," with OA spending most of the hour teaming up with Tiff as opposed to Maggie as per usual. They worked pretty well as a duo, but OA had to make a decision about his future that depended on his version of events compared to hers. He's now facing a big obstacle for any hopes of advancing in his career, but the bad news for him could be good news for fans. After all, if OA doesn't get a promotion, that means that viewers probably don't have to worry about losing Zeeko Zaki!
SAC Bashar met with OA early in "Ambition" to float the idea of a promotion, possibly to SAC or ADIC status, although presumably not to replace Rina. While OA was a little thrown at the idea of a job that wouldn't involve field work, he gave Bashar the go-ahead to test the waters regarding a promotion on his behalf. After Tiff reported a pair of cops who had beaten a suspect who was complying with their demands, the brass needed a statement from OA to clear up the matter. Bashar more or less instructed OA not to back Tiff, because corroborating her statement would have ruffled some feathers up the ladder and gotten in the way of a promotion.
OA has had to make difficult decisions about where to assign his loyalty in the past, but he didn't seem too conflicted about supporting Tiff and stating on the record that what the cops had done was assault, even though the victim was a bombing suspect. The brass doing the interviews didn't give away any disappointment, but they clearly didn't get the answers from OA that they were looking for, and that was confirmed by the end of the episode when OA got a text from Bashar cancelling on their plans to meet for drinks.
A slight silver lining for OA is that he didn't seem to have his heart set on moving up the ladder at the FBI and leaving the field, so it wasn't as much of a crushing disappointment for him as it could have been. Still, it was a reminder that doing the right thing doesn't pay off if you're not willing to play politics within the FBI version of the agency, and OA has never had an easy time compromising his morals. Presumably staying in his old job is good news for fans not losing his character, and good news in the sense that OA didn't compromise himself or sabotage Tiff to try and get ahead.
Unfortunately for viewers, FBI is heading into another mini break, as the next new episode isn't scheduled to air on CBS until March 22. You can revisit days of FBI gone by (plus the big FBI/Most Wanted/International crossover) in the meantime with the full series streaming so far with a Paramount+ subscription, and our 2022 TV schedule can point you toward some additional viewing options now and in the coming weeks.
