You can’t think of NCIS without conjuring the image of Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs, even all these years after his formal exit from the flagship show. Since then, his name has been mentioned many times (once again a testament to the character’s legacy) but Season 22, Episode 19, brings back the character in one of the most fitting, tongue-in-cheek ways possible. The episode doesn’t only call back to Gibbs’ character and his relationship with his team, but to what he is known for: his rules. While it would be a feat to memorize each and every single one, they creep into this season of NCIS, making everyone smile in nostalgia while also becoming an integral part of Agent McGee’s (Sean Murray) storyline.
‘NCIS’ Often Calls Back to Gibbs and McGees’ Relationship
From the very start of Season 22, McGee has been embroiled in a potential conspiracy involving an NCIS mole, who he believes to be the new deputy director LaRoche (Seamus Dever). McGee has had to keep his investigation under wraps, but this is blown wide open in Episode 19, where Laroche triggers an investigation into McGee’s behavior, filing for harassment and accusing him of professional jealousy as McGee had been closely monitoring the agent’s activity. It specifically escalated when McGee, in a daze of insomnia, witnessed LaRoche murder someone, but was hit by a truck before he could apprehend the NCIS deputy director. It is under all this pressure that Gibbs appears in spirit in McGee’s storyline.
It is fitting that Gibbs would be referenced in McGee’s arc, since the senior agent is currently the longest-serving character in the show. From the latter half of Season 1, where Murray joined the regular cast as probie McGee, his relationship with Gibbs was always a delight to witness. Due to their closeness, which was beautifully highlighted in Harmon’s teary exit episode, the callbacks to Gibbs carry a nostalgic and emotional punch. Whenever McGee absentmindedly mentions his name, especially when he accidentally calls Parker (Gary Cole) Gibbs, it takes us back to those sweet bonding moments and makes our heartache for that relationship.
McGee Dreams of Gibbs in ‘NCIS’ Season 22, Episode 19
The first time Gibbs is referenced is in McGee’s dream in the opening scenes of the episode, where Gibbs’ uniform makes an appearance. Knight (Katrina Law) uses Freud to theorize that McGee feels inadequate in the shadow of his mentor, as if he cannot possibly fill his shoes. With the pressure of unraveling the mole case while navigating the subtleties of trying to investigate a high government official, it makes a lot of sense that McGee would be feeling insecure and thus subconsciously thinks of Gibbs. By drawing upon the probie-mentor relationship, a time when McGee could rely on Gibbs, NCIS emphasizes the vulnerability of McGee’s position in the episode, especially in his sleep-deprived state.
This dream analysis of “filling his shoes” can also interestingly be applicable to Murray’s role in the show. After Harmon’s exit, Murray was the last of the Season 1 crew to remain on the flagship show (well, alongside Brian Dietzen’s Jimmy Palmer, but he didn’t become a series regular until Season 10). There is a certain pressure that comes with that longevity, as the label of the “OG cast member” was transferred from Harmon to Murray. In a way, Murray is filling Harmon’s shoes. These meta and narrative implications of the Gibbs reference make us warm up to both McGee’s and Murray’s position more, both acknowledging his past in the show and hopefully hinting that he will get his flowers in the near future.
‘NCIS’ Season 22 Smartly Calls Back to Gibbs’ Rules
But, of course, the best way to tie Gibbs’ legacy into the series is not through his name, but by using his rules. After McGee is arrested and interrogated for allegedly harassing LaRoche, he is backed into a corner and realizes the only move he has left is to escape. Before fleeing the NCIS complex without a trace, McGee leaves a simple message in a notebook for his team to find: “Rule #45.” This is one of Gibbs’ iconic rules relating to always cleaning up your own messes. As such, he was essentially informing the team that he would be tracking down LaRoche himself to close the can of worms he opened through his investigation.
It is not the first time we have seen a team member try to resolve a case without endangering the rest of the team, but by leaving this message, McGee brings forth one of the driving themes of the show: friendship and loyalty. The unit has successfully closed so many cases over the years due to teamwork, as they understood and trusted each other so implicitly, and created their own found family.
As such, Rule #45 does further emphasize how much pressure McGee was putting on himself during this storyline, but, ironically, it also acts as a counterpoint that reminded us that the team needed to work together to bring down an antagonist at this scale. While McGee does manage to confront LaRoche, the team is still tirelessly working in the background to offer him support, barging in at the right time and somewhat alleviating some of the burden from their team member’s shoulders. Although the rule is directly related to independence, it ironically paves the way for the idea of relying on one another, delving into the crux of NCIS.
