Necar Zadegan Breaks Down Nikki’s Major Bluff During High Stakes Operation

Nikki Reynard (Necar Zadegan) may have a deep background in field and undercover work, but now that she’s Deputy Chief of Station and heading the CIA’s New York headquarters, it’s dangerous for her to be going into the field. If she’s caught, that’s a major win for another country. Even so, she chooses to be the one to go to Hong Kong in the March 9 episode of CIA.

It starts when a deeply embedded U.S. intelligence officer, Eddie Montrose (Carlo Marks), is detained, and Nikki, given the history they share (he had her back when they were stationed together in Hong Kong right out of The Farm), heads overseas to bring him home. But when they run into trouble in the airport, she sacrifices herself to make sure both aren’t caught. TV Insider spoke with Zadegan about that decision and what follows. Warning: Spoilers for CIA Season 1 Episode 3 ahead!

As expected from any CIA officer who’s been caught, Nikki maintains her cover identity throughout interrogations and even under the threat of, once she’s been moved to a prison cell, torture, with pliers in her mouth. Fortunately for her, back in New York, Colin (Tom Ellis), whom she’s left in charge, Bill (Nick Gehlfuss), and Gina (Natalee Linez) are doing everything they can to bring her home. It’s dicey, however, with their first bargaining chip killed by who ends up being their second — and the one that gets them the trade for Nikki.

Mark Schafer/CBS

Meanwhile, Bill is called to 26 Fed to give a report on his search for the CIA mole. “I’d say I’m five miles outside of nowhere,” he says. Besides, how do they know there is one? A Russian foreign intelligence officer offered a trade of classified intel that was leaked from the New York station. Bill points out he’s “spying on spies” and admits he doesn’t love the idea of lying to his partner, Colin. Jubal (Jeremy Sisto) advises him to do what he needs to in order to get them to think of him as one of them. And with the help he provides to help bring Nikki home, it seems he’s done just that. Colin tells him he really pulled his weight while thanking him and, after, Bill tells Jubal he’s in.

Below, Necar Zadegan breaks down this episode and teases what’s ahead, including an FBI crossover.

With this episode, we really see why Nikki was so good in the field. She says she’s not going to break, and I believe her. How much did she believe that though when faced with whatever was going to happen to her in that cell if that deal hadn’t been made in time?

Necar Zadegan: I think the unpredictable quality of this life is always something that’s ever present for these characters — and no one more than Nikki because she’s been in the life. But I think it was a surprise for her that it went this way. And I think how this went is always in their periphery, the possibilities of that. But it went away she didn’t expect, and that’s a surprise for her. And I don’t think it’s comfortable.

But she wasn’t going to break, was she?

She definitely wasn’t going to break. She was going to go right down with that ship if need be, and Colin saves her.

Nikki also has that line about, you think you’re the first man to stick plies in my mouth, which is chilling. How much has Nikki been through because of this job? Because my mind automatically goes to a dark place.

I have lived in a very nice family and my parents were really, really interested in taking care of our teeth when we were growing up. And so when there was a line there or something like something about Nikki’s teeth being fake teeth or something like that, I was like, oh, that makes sense because I take care of my teeth. It would totally look like fake teeth. But when I was talking with the director, we were talking about, you always want to make the highest stake choice. And I think what we decided was that the highest stake choice for this character was that she had never actually — that was a lie, that she’d never encountered this before and that she had never gotten teeth pulled out, even though it was always a possibility because that would create the scariest scenario. And so we’d kind of decided that she’s bluffing her way through this to appear stronger than she is when inside there’s a deep, deep fear of this reality that she’s living through.

Mark Schafer/CBS

We talked about what Colin and Nikki mean to each other. And it feels like this episode really shows that and says more about the history than any exposition could because him arguing with her about going to Hong Kong, her trusting him to be in charge while she’s gone, and then that hug in the end at the end, which was so sweet. Would you agree that things like that are kind of like what’s going to be showing more than anything else about that history?

Yeah, I mean, that’s my hope and that’s how I enjoy telling the story of the relationship and the history of all the characters really, is by giving us the opportunity to have moments where we see, even in the spy craft, the way they are clever and the way that not only is there authority, because there’s authority no doubt when you’re looking at something like criminology, there’s a side with authority, but the emotional manipulation or strategic manipulation, psychological manipulation, that’s where the spy craft gets really deep and interesting. And I think that’s kind of what you’re talking about, how we’re showing that. And that’s where I hope it continues.

Nikki does what she does — she goes to Hong Kong, she makes sure that Eddie gets out knowing she’ll be captured — because of the history. But how much was it about that history and how much was it just something she’d do for any intelligence officer?

I think that, given the integrity that we’ve built for this character there and the idea that — and she says it in earlier episodes about playing the long game. So the long game is about, and her written respect for that is also part of the integrity she has for what she’s protecting. So certainly the relationship there allows for her emotional life to be less protected, but the commitment to the long game is where the integrity comes from. So, she would do that for any intelligence officer. Her heart might not be as involved.

It seems like Bill’s winning Nikki over, but we know about this other assignment of his. Is she at all suspicious of anything regarding him? Because he did, after all, lie when he was late after talking to Jubal at 26 Fed at the beginning of this episode.

I don’t think she’s questioning her choice in him. I don’t think she ever questions that. I think she’s recognizing him and is patient with him learning a different way of working. And in fact, I think for sure she notices it because she’s been in a habit of being two steps ahead of everybody around her for years now. But I think that she’s clocking it and trying to guide it for not only her benefit, but the benefit of their world together.

Speaking of his assignment, assuming Nikki’s not the mole, do you think she’s at all suspicious of the possibility of a mole in her office?

I think she’s always suspicious of the possibility of a mole. In fact, I think I have a line where I say, “We don’t trust anyone as a rule.”

The more Nikki gets to know Bill, how is that going to affect how she feels about him being there to spy on her and the rest of the fusion cell?

I think that’s all ripe for storytelling and hopefully gives us more opportunities to test the boundaries of the relationships between these people who are working with one another.

We know there’s a crossover coming up with FBI with you heading over there. Is there anything you can preview about that and just Nikki’s relationships with the rest of 26 Fed? Because we’ve seen her with Jubal already, but what about the other characters?

Yeah, I did get the opportunity to work with some of the other characters a little bit when I went over there. I mean, it’s wonderful to see Nikki and Jubal because there’s this mutual respect for each other. Even if there’s not a history between the two of them, there’s a respect for the history they have with mutual partnerships. And anytime they require expertise in a more international way, they know that they can come to her and that’s what brings her into the world of FBI because they’ve branched out a little bit and they need that partnership. So it’s cool. It’s cool to have the opportunity to play in a world that’s just a little bit that the pace is just a little bit different than our show, and I enjoyed it.

What else is coming up for Nikki? Are we hearing more about her ex-husbands? We’ve already heard a bit and we heard what she thinks of the one with the car and the house.

Yeah, yeah, I know. We have talked about that, and that’s a story point that we’re going to play with as the show goes forward, but there’s a lot there because she’s been married four times. And because of her job, no doubt it’s made the relationships hard and also possibly cost some of the relationships. So to be able to use those characters — anytime we’re able to use characters from a past experience, I think, illuminates backstory, which is always fun to see with characters.

CIA, Mondays, 10/9c, CBS