‘Found’ Stars Gabrielle Walsh and Arlen Escarpeta Tease ‘Newfound Feelings’ Between Zeke and Lacey (Exclusive)

Tonight’s new episode of Found will see Zeke and Lacey’s relationship possibly turning into something more, and stars Gabrielle Walsh and Arlen Escarpeta spoke to PopCulture.com about what’s in store.

In “Missing While Seeking Asylum,” airing at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, “The search for missing undocumented children sheds light on secrets from decades ago as M&A uncovers clues in their disappearances. Zeke grapples with expressing his feelings to someone close to him. Sir receives unwavering support from a visitor.”

Walsh, who plays M&A intern Lacey Quinn, told PopCulture that there’s “a lot bubbling in the surface,” and not just with Zeke and Lacey. “But I think each episode builds off of the last one. So this next episode is gonna be… I mean, there’s been a lot of tease between what’s happening between Sir and Trent, and then you have Margaret and Jamie, and these newfound feelings between Zeke and Lacey. So there’s a lot to eat up in this next coming episode.”

Following what happened with Sir, Lacey had been staying with Escarpeta’s tech expert Zeke as she heals from the experience and has a safe place to live. With the two living together, at least somewhat temporarily, the series has been exploring their friendship a bit more, and Escarpeta thinks it’s “been great.”

“I think it’s been amazing to watch them grow individually, grow together, go through the process of actually living together,” he said. “It’s been fun. And I’ll say this as an actor, I love when people are over at Zeke’s. I get to have a lot of fun. We get to play ball. It’s been amazing. So, Gabrielle, I’ve had a great time having you over at Zeke’s. So, yeah, it’s been fun.”

“Come play at my house,” Walsh added. “And you know what? I think everyone needs a Zeke in their life. Like, Zeke for Lacey has been such a rock, such a breath of relief after everything that she’s been through. And what I think is so beautiful between the two of them is that they feel safe sharing their heart. And that’s important. And sometimes that’s not so easy, or it’s rare. And so we get to see this with them and how they cope and heal and deal and use pain for power and purpose together as a unit. So what is developing between them has that level of depth already. It’s just what are they gonna do with it? Are they gonna be able to maneuver this new skin and this new relationship?”

Whatever is going to happen with their relationship, both Walsh and Escarpeta seem to really love where the series is taking them, whether platonically or romantically. When it comes to exploring their dynamic over the last few episodes with them living together, Escarpeta said, “I think it’s allowed them to just be with one another, away from the cases.”

“You think about the moments that you don’t see on camera, them waking up, are they watching TV together, they’re making breakfast together? The conversations that they’re having, they’re really enjoying each other,” he continued. “And, like Gabrielle said, they feel safe with one another. And Zeke has created this world of physical or phobia. ‘This is my space. This is the world that I go from here to there, and here’s this person now,’ so it feels different for him.”

“Lacey has made Zeke’s world completely different than what he even imagined it could be. And for him, that’s gotta be something special,” Escarpeta explained. “There’s plants and pets. Lacey had the dog, but then there’s people. And when you introduce people into your world, it changes things, and it makes old and different and special, and love is happening.”

It sounds like there will be a lot to look forward to in this week’s episode of Found, particularly for Zeke and Lacey, and it will be exciting to see what happens. Be sure to tune in a new episode of Found, “Missing While Seeking Asylum,” tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, streaming the next day on Peacock.