[spoilers] Zaf

[A Cousin]

I agree that Zaf was sorely underused. I think the character had great potential but it was almost as if the writers didn't know what to do with him. I think the writers were so tied up in other character arcs in S5 and S6 that they missed the boat with Zaf. At its heart, Spooks is an ensemble piece. Any imbalance to this and it stops working correctly. If the writers didn't know what to do with Zaf, it becomes imbalanced. It is a testament to Raza Jaffrey that so many really enjoyed his portrayal of Zaf without much to go on. At least he had a heroic "exeunt." The look on his face as he told Adam to go it etched into my brain.

I would not blame Raza Jaffrey for leaving on his own accord because his character was going no where, but I find it difficult to believe that he would leave something that high profile without having something else set up in advance. It looks like he went right smack into Mistresses? Greener pastures perhaps? As much as they joke about flipping to back of each script to see if their character survives, I would imagine that there would be something contractually and in union agreements protecting any actor from losing their job with little to no notice. In addition, I would imagine that they would know the length of the contract they are signing from the get-go.

Ooohhh...I'd love to see their contracts, or at least a template of their contracts!