NCIS: Tony & Ziva brings NCIS fans a new chapter in the lives of the former agents, and part of that is the relationships the two have built with new friends since leaving the flagship series. The premiere of NCIS: Tony & Ziva introduces a whole new cast of characters alongside those fan favorites.
Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo) have new career paths while living in Paris with their daughter Tali (Isla Gie). Though the series certainly pulls heavily from their romantic past and the complications in their relationship, Tony suffers heartbreak in the first three episodes that does not originate with Ziva.
Why Henry’s Betrayal Has More Impact On Tony Than The Status Of His Relationship With Ziva
Ziva’s Complicated Relationship With Tony Is Expected
The NCIS: Tony & Ziva trailers have promised plenty of romantic drama and flirty bantering, and, so far, the series has demonstrated how complicated the dynamic is between them. Flashbacks reveal they tried to give themselves time to make things work, but in the present day, Tony began dating again, with his girlfriend revealed in NCIS: Tony & Ziva episode 3.
While having to move on from Ziva has likely been difficult for Tony, we have not seen that heartbreak there. The heartbreak Tony suffers is instead the result of a betrayal by a trusted friend.
Tony and Henry (James D’Arcy) become friends when Tony moves to Paris with Tali – before Ziva joins them four years later, after a life on the run. Henry is the first friend Tony has had, likely in decades, that does not have a connection to his time with NCIS.
Tony and Henry become so close that Henry hosts Tali’s seventh birthday party and vouches for Tony’s new security company with Interpol. It’s both a personal and professional relationship that Tony cultivates all on his own while making a new life for himself and his daughter in Paris.
Tony’s repeated denials that Henry could be the one framing Tony and Ziva for crimes fall on deaf ears. Ziva, in comparison, does not believe they can trust Henry and cautions Tony about reaching out to him.
Ziva believes that the person who frames them has to have intimate knowledge of their lives, Tony’s security company, and should benefit from their situation. Henry is the Interpol agent who issues the Red Notice for them. He also knows information about their relationship, their daughter, and their work that others do not.
Henry is also revealed to be in charge of his corner of Interpol because his direct supervisor is missing. He is the very person who has the most access and the most to gain from Tony and Ziva being framed.
Ziva is proven right about her concerns when Tony does reach out to meet with Henry, only for Henry to have several Interpol agents up and down the street in order to apprehend Tony. Tony is devastated by the reveal that Henry would turn on him, and manages to escape when Ziva warns him.
He is so devastated, in fact, that he cannot even talk about the idea of Henry betraying him when Ziva tries to speak with him in person. He even avoids looking at her, still processing the full extent of the betrayal.
Henry’s betrayal hits him so hard because of the genuine friendship there, and because the betrayal is so completely unexpected.
Is It Possible That Henry May Not Be NCIS: Tony & Ziva’s True Antagonist?
There Is Still Time For Another Antagonist In NCIS: Tony & Ziva
It is very possible that Henry has not truly betrayed Tony at all. After all, Tony has made reference to Henry being akin to a Boy Scout. That means Henry is the kind of person who does not bend the rules.
While Tony and Ziva are used to helping out their former NCIS coworkers, or being helped themselves, when they land in hot water with another government agency, they cannot rely on their NCIS friends to do that on an international scale. If Henry helps them, he breaks international laws.
Henry is the most plausible suspect right now, but the evidence against him is not exactly solid. We have yet to see Henry actually do anything that proves he is the one calling the shots when it comes to framing Tony and Ziva and coming after their new ally, Boris (Maximilian Osinski), the hacker.
Instead, it seems very likely that the writers have planted Henry as the first red herring for the audience to follow. We are only three episodes into a ten-episode season. Henry is the only person close to Tony and Ziva, and Ziva has never liked him.
An upcoming twist in NCIS: Tony & Ziva could easily reveal that Henry is not a bad guy, but simply doing his job as an Interpol agent and following the evidence available to him.
