Looks like it is time for the Grim Reaper to pay NCIS a visit.
NCIS star Wilmer Valderrama, during a Thursday appearance on CBS Mornings (cued up below), revealed that this coming Monday’s Season 22 finale will feature the “earth-shattering and really heartbreaking” death of “somebody very close to us.”
Special Agent Nick Torres’ portrayer also said, on Live With Kelly & Mark, that the finale will “set the tone for Season 23” by killing off this character, who is not the the victim in the Case of the Week.
Valderrama seemed to rule himself/Torres out when Live co-hosts Kelly and Mark were quick to ask if it was his character being offed. Then again, maybe that is precisely why he is making the finale press rounds, as a stealth “farewell tour” of sorts.
Save for, out of necessity, having the late David McCallum’s Dr. Donald Mallard die in his sleep in a February 2024 episode, NCIS has not killed a meaningful character since Season 15’s “Two Steps Back,” which saw MI6 agent Clayton Reeves (played by Duane Henry) be fatally shot while protecting forensics scientist Abby Sciuto during a mugging.
Whose number is up this time around? Keep in mind, Valderrama made clear it’s not a Case of the Week victim, and that the “heartbreaking” death of “somebody very close to us” will “set the tone for Season 23.” Review a list of options below — ranked from newest to longest-running characters — and vote in our poll (also found here).
IMPORTANT NOTE: In light of the juicier CBS Mornings quotes, I reset the poll on Thursday afternoon — adding Gibbs and Bishop as options, and removing Deputy Director LaRoche and crime boss Carla Marino. Re-vote away!
ALDEN PARKER
WHY IT’S HIM: Multiple Parker-centric storylines seem to be converging in the Season 22 finale — the Carla Marino thing, the mystery of Lily — and Parker is seen on his knees with a gun to his head in the finale promo. Plus, did anyone really think Gary Cole would put in that meany years on a broadcast procedural?
WHY IT’S NOT HIM: Losing Parker would leave the show with a big hole to fill, 22 seasons in, and ambitions or not, would McGee make for a colorful enough team leader?
JESSICA KNIGHT
WHY IT’S HER: It was a year ago that NCIS led us to believe Knight had left the team for good. Maybe that was just a trial balloon of sorts? Also, after 70+ episodes — more than 3x her longest previous TV run — maybe Katrina Law is getting restless?
WHY IT’S NOT HER: Because I would fight you with a bo staff if you try to take Special Agent Jessica Knight away.
KASIE HINES
WHY IT’S HER: Because… she’s the most unlikely candidate?
WHY IT’S NOT HER: Killing Ms. Hines after precious little character development over eight seasons would be unacceptably rude.
NICK TORRES
WHY IT’S HIM: Any numbers of chickens from Nick’s undercover past could come home to roost in the finale. Having Valderrama tease the death while doing press could be a calculated plan to throw people off of Torress scent (which smells like Drakkar Noir, by the way). Valderrama always seems to have multiple irons in the fire, as a producer and such; maybe he is itching to better focus on other projects?
WHY IT’S NOT HIM: Valderrama seemed to sincerely laugh off the suggestion when teasing the death on Live With Kelly & Mark.
ELLIE BISHOP
WHY IT’S HER: Though off-screen since the end of Season 18 (when she gave D.C. an Irish goodbye to embark on a secret mission), her death would surely devastate onetime beau Nick, who has been a bit adrift ever since her abrupt exit.
WHY IT’S NOT HER: It’d be far more more impactful to bring her back even for a hot second, before killing her off.
DELILAH FIELDING-MCGEE
WHY IT’S HER: Delilah very recently laid witness to the feud between her husband Tim and Deputy Director LaRoche; it’s entirely possible she gets caught in the crossfire of that storyline’s imminent dénouement.
WHY IT’S NOT HER: No way McGee continues on as an agent, or in any capacity, if he were to tragically lose his wife and the mother of their kids. Plus, for viewers, it’d be too damn heartbreaking.
LEON VANCE
WHY IT’S HIM: Director Vance is one of the franchise’s longest-running remaining characters; losing him could definitely cast a dark cloud on next season. Also, opening up that job position could allow for upward mobility by McGee.
WHY IT’S NOT HIM: There’s a reason Vance has stuck around so long — as played by Rocky Carroll, he’s the perfect mix of domineering/bossy, pragmatic and sympathetic.
DR. JIMMY PALMER
WHY IT’S HIM: Brian Dietzen’s Dr. Palmer is one of the two longest running current NCIS characters. His death would surely affect everyone, in a variety of ways.
WHY IT’S NOT HIM: What, fully orphan Jimmy’s daughter? No way. Also, it’s too soon after losing Ducky; the M.E. job would be surrounded by bad jitsu.
TIMOTHY MCGEE
WHY IT’S HIM: Is this what the LaRoche arc, which kicked off with this season’s premiere, has been building toward? Is Sean Murray, who recurred in NCIS Season 1 and was upped to series regular the following year, perhaps ready to move on?
WHY IT’S NOT HIM: With no disrespect to fellow “OG” Brian Dietzen (who wasn’t upped to series regular until Season 8), Murray is NCIS at this point. To lose him, with Mark Harmon’s Gibbs seemingly forever off the canvas, would be a major blow to the franchise.
LEROY JETHRO GIBBS
WHY IT’S HIM: One could argue that killing off Gibbs — who since early Season 19 has been living off-screen in Alaska (at which time Mark Harmon left the show) — would be more “earth-shattering” than any storyline that actually brought him back.
WHY IT’S NOT HIM: Establishing that Gibbs is dead would compromise the storytelling/narrator aspect of NCIS: Origins. What, are the spinoff’s viewers now listening to a dead man?
