Warning: Major spoilers for NCIS Season 23, Episode 2, “Prodigal Son (Part II).”
For a franchise that’s been solving crimes for over two decades, NCIS still knows how to keep fans on edge — and this week’s episode might be one of the most haunting in years. What began as the conclusion to Alden Parker’s (Gary Cole) long-running family tragedy turned into something far deeper and darker. Beneath the surface of grief and redemption lies a new mystery — one that could redefine Parker’s entire past and send shockwaves through the team.
A Reckoning Years in the Making
“Prodigal Son (Part II)” picks up where last week’s fiery cliffhanger left off: Parker’s desperate pursuit of Carla (Rebecca De Mornay), the woman who murdered his father. After an explosion aboard the ship they were last seen on, the world believes both Parker and Carla are dead. But in classic NCIS fashion, nothing is ever that simple.
Parker, invoking Gibbs’ famous “Rule 51” — Sometimes you’re wrong — fakes his own death and hides out at Gibbs’ old cabin, allowing his team to think he’s gone while he hunts for answers. But he’s not the only one who survived. Carla, too, staged her demise, escaping to Cuba with her young granddaughter, Lauren, in tow.
When Parker’s sister Harriet (Nancy Travis) reenters the picture — in uniform, no less — the emotional stakes rise even higher. Their reunion is fraught with years of resentment, guilt, and secrets. Parker accuses her of betraying him decades ago by turning him in for stealing a car, an act that sent him to juvenile detention. But Harriet insists she did it to save him from himself. “I don’t need another lesson,” Parker tells her coldly. “I need a sister.”
It’s one of the most raw and vulnerable moments of the season — and a reminder of how NCIS continues to evolve its storytelling beyond procedural formulas into deeply human drama.
The Hunt, the Redemption, and the Goodbye
Once the team locates Carla, it’s Agent Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) who becomes the emotional anchor, pleading with Harriet to let them pursue her. “He knows Carla better than anyone,” Knight says, standing solemnly in autopsy beside the covered body of Parker’s father. “He needs to save someone to make up for those he couldn’t.”
That plea works. Harriet frees Parker, and the team races against time to rescue Lauren before Carla disappears forever. What follows is one of the tensest sequences of the season — Parker, unarmed, confronting Carla face-to-face. With words meant to appeal to her humanity — and a lie about something her late son said — he distracts her just long enough for McGee (Sean Murray) and Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) to take the fatal shot.
The story closes on a mournful note: Parker and Harriet at their father’s naval funeral. As his coffin is lowered into the sea, the siblings — joined by their team in the passageway — softly sing “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” It’s a moment of unity, of closure… or so it seems.
Because NCIS doesn’t end with peace — it ends with two new mysteries that could upend everything.
The Compass, the Confession, and the Secret Meeting
Back at headquarters, Director Vance (Rocky Carroll) gathers the team for a stern debriefing. When McGee asks if Parker still has his badge, Vance gives one of his most cryptic speeches yet:
“You can patch a hull, replace an engine, but once the compass goes bad, the whole ship is lost. It’s still moving — just in the wrong direction.”
He vows to keep his team on course — but then, after dismissing McGee and Knight, he keeps Torres behind. What he says next, we don’t know. But the look on Torres’ face says it all: this is no ordinary conversation.
Why single Torres out? Is Vance assigning him to quietly monitor Parker — or is something else brewing behind the scenes? Could Torres be caught in the middle of a power play that stretches higher than the NCIS hierarchy?
The Lipstick Twist That Changes Everything
Just when it seems the dust has settled, Dr. Palmer (Brian Dietzen) uncovers something chilling. While reviewing the coroner’s report, he finds inconsistencies in the records surrounding Parker’s mother’s death — the autopsy and death certificate don’t match.
Then Kasie (Diona Reasonover) delivers an even bigger bombshell: the lipstick found on the glasses at Parker’s apartment — the clue that originally linked Carla to his father’s murder — doesn’t match Carla’s DNA. In fact, it doesn’t match anyone in the system.
Kasie quietly reveals that when she uploaded Lauren’s DNA to confirm a familial connection to Carla, there was no match. Meaning… the lipstick belonged to someone else. Another woman was in Parker’s apartment the night his father was killed — and whoever she is, she’s connected to the Parker family in ways they can’t yet see.
Is Parker’s mother somehow alive? Did someone manipulate the records to hide her existence? Or could it be “Lily” — the mysterious figure from Parker’s visions, the grown version of the child who haunted his memories last season?
The answers are unclear — but one thing is certain: Parker’s story isn’t finished. It’s only getting darker.
What Comes Next for Parker and NCIS
With Season 23 barely underway, NCIS is already weaving one of its most emotionally complex arcs in years. Between Vance’s secret agenda, the unresolved questions surrounding Parker’s family, and the lingering fallout from Carla’s death, the season is shaping up to be a psychological thriller disguised as a procedural.
For years, Parker has been the stoic, rule-breaking leader — but now, he’s a man haunted by ghosts both real and imagined. And if NCIS has taught us anything, it’s that the past never stays buried for long.
