Television doesn’t often give us a prequel that feels as personal, as emotionally charged, and as unexpectedly human as NCIS: Origins. But in its explosive Season 2 premiere, the young Gibbs saga proves once again that it’s far more than a nostalgia trip. It’s a slow-burn character study wrapped in a crime procedural — and this time, the emotional stakes are higher than ever.
The episode, ominously titled “Funky Bunch,” opens not with action, but with heartbreak. The cliffhanger that left fans reeling — Lala unconscious after a devastating car crash — finally comes full circle. And while she survives, nothing about her life or Gibbs’ heart will ever be the same again.
By the end of the hour, it’s clear: NCIS: Origins isn’t just deepening its mythology — it’s rewriting it.
🚨 The Crash That Changed Everything
When Season 1 ended, fans feared the worst. After a season of simmering tension between Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino) and a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell), their story seemed to be cut short in one horrifying instant.
Season 2 wastes no time in answering that lingering question — Lala lives.
But survival doesn’t mean recovery.
“We always knew we were bringing Mariel back,” co-creator Gina Lucita Monreal told TheWrap. “But we wanted her return to carry emotional weight — to feel like something in her, and in Gibbs, had truly changed.”
Two months have passed since the crash. Lala is physically healing, but emotionally, she’s haunted. The confident NIS agent who once sparred with Gibbs is now fractured — dealing with TBI symptoms, memory lapses, and guilt she can’t shake.
Her comeback is met with silence and unease. The team has been splintered in her absence. Randy (Caleb Foote) has been reassigned to desk duty. Franks (Kyle Schmid) buries himself in work. And Gibbs… well, Gibbs does what he always does when the world breaks — he distances himself.
💔 Gibbs and Lala: The Connection That Won’t Die
There’s a moment early in the episode when Gibbs sees Lala for the first time since the crash. It’s fleeting — a flicker of recognition, regret, and longing — but it says everything words can’t.
Once, their chemistry simmered beneath the surface, bursting briefly in that unforgettable near-kiss by the pool. But now, the accident hangs between them like a ghost.
“He blames himself,” says co-showrunner David J. North. “For the accident. For letting her get too close. For feeling something he doesn’t know how to process.”
That guilt drives Gibbs toward someone unexpected — Diane Sterling (Kathleen Kenny), the woman NCIS fans know will one day become his ex-wife.
💥 Enter Diane: The Calm Before the Emotional Storm
In Origins, Diane is introduced not as a future memory, but as a present distraction — charming, grounded, and everything Lala isn’t right now. She’s safety personified.
Monreal explains: “Diane represents the illusion of control. Gibbs thinks if he chooses someone safe, he won’t lose them. But that’s not how trauma works.”
Their early relationship feels less like romance and more like a coping mechanism. Diane offers stability, but Gibbs’ heart is elsewhere — stuck in that car wreck, in the what-ifs he can’t undo.
“It’s not about love yet,” Monreal clarifies. “It’s about distance — and fear.”
But Origins refuses to treat Diane as a placeholder. She’s not a detour in Gibbs’ story — she’s a mirror. One that will eventually show him who he’s becoming and what he’s capable of losing.
🔥 The Lala vs. Diane Question: Love, Guilt, or Destiny?
Make no mistake — this season is building toward an emotional showdown. Not a catfight, but a collision of ideals.
Lala is passion, instinct, and vulnerability — the chaos that pulls Gibbs out of his rigid shell. Diane is logic, order, and calm — the life raft he clings to when he’s drowning.
Both represent sides of a man who will one day become NCIS’s legendary team leader. But at this stage, Gibbs is still forming his rules — still learning the painful lesson that love and danger often walk hand in hand.
“It’s not just a triangle,” North teases. “It’s a reflection of who Gibbs will become.”
⚖️ A Team on Edge
Outside the love drama, NCIS: Origins still delivers the procedural thrill fans expect — and the premiere’s central case reflects its emotional core. The team investigates a staged suicide that mirrors Lala’s own brush with death, forcing Gibbs and his colleagues to confront the fragility of survival.
Randy struggles with survivor’s guilt. Franks becomes increasingly reckless, channeling his grief into anger. And Lala, though physically back, isn’t yet mentally ready to lead.
Monreal calls it “a season about repair.” Every character is learning how to function again — individually and together.
🧬 Tying Into NCIS Canon: Young Ducky, Old Rules
Fans of the main NCIS will notice clever callbacks woven throughout Origins. Episode 2 features the return of Young Ducky (Adam Campbell), adding warmth and wit to the otherwise heavy tone. His scenes with Gibbs foreshadow the friendship that will anchor the franchise decades later.
There’s even a subtle nod to Gibbs’ legendary “Rules.” A line in the script suggests how he first conceives the moral code that defines his future self — a small moment that long-time fans will recognize instantly.
And yes, the showrunners confirmed: another younger version of a familiar NCIS character will appear later this season, tying the prequel more tightly to the universe than ever before.
🎵 “Funky Bunch”: The Song, the Scene, the Symbol
The episode’s title, “Funky Bunch,” might seem playful, but it ends in one of the most unexpected, human scenes in Origins yet.
After a brutal investigation, the team finds themselves decompressing in the lab — singing along, half-heartedly but sincerely, to “Good Vibrations” by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.
It’s absurd, tender, and deeply human — a moment of levity after months of loss.
“We wanted to show that even in darkness, they can find joy,” Monreal says. “It’s how people heal.”
The scene becomes a reset button for the series — a reminder that beneath the cases and the canon, Origins is about connection.
⚔️ Themes That Will Define Season 2
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Loss & Survival – Lala’s crash isn’t just an accident; it’s the emotional anchor of the season.
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Fear of Intimacy – Gibbs’ relationship with Diane and distance from Lala show how trauma reshapes love.
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Legacy & Identity – Every choice Gibbs makes now plants the seeds for the man we’ll one day meet at NCIS.
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The Risk of Love in Dangerous Work – How close is too close when your world revolves around death and justice?
❓ Fan Questions, Straight Answers
Was Lala ever meant to die?
No. Monreal confirms that her survival was always the plan — the cliffhanger was purely to amplify emotional stakes.
Will she recover completely?
Not yet. Expect ongoing struggles with memory, PTSD, and identity as she rebuilds her life.
Is Gibbs really in love with Diane?
It’s complicated. He cares for her, but it’s a love built on fear — a way to avoid the vulnerability Lala represents.
How does this tie into Gibbs’ future?
This season explores how young Gibbs learns the emotional boundaries that define him later — including the painful cost of breaking them.
🩵 The Verdict: Origins Is a Masterclass in Emotional Storytelling
If Season 1 was about discovery, Season 2 is about reckoning. NCIS: Origins uses its prequel format not as a limitation but as an opportunity — to explore what makes Gibbs tick, to give Lala a story of resilience, and to make Diane more than just a name in his tragic history.
By the time the credits roll on “Funky Bunch,” viewers will realize that Origins isn’t just connecting dots — it’s creating new ones.
“We’re not afraid to break hearts,” North teases. “But this season, we’re also going to heal a few.”
And with promises of a shocking finale — one that insiders describe as “unsettling, terrifying, and unforgettable” — fans of NCIS may find themselves asking the question Gibbs has lived his life avoiding:
How much are you willing to lose… for love?
