NCIS: Origins creators Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North said the show will “embrace the lighter side of things”, following Season 1’s rollercoaster of emotions. They’re still keeping Lala’s fate under wraps, but promised it will be resolved in Season 2’s premiere episode.
North also assured NCIS fans that Origins will stay true to canon. “We always told you that the franchise and NCIS means so much to Gina and I, and even though we’ve done this series a little differently, we always want to honor the canon and stick to it as precisely as we can,” he told TV Line. That includes all of the new characters introduced in the spinoff. Season 2 is also expected to flesh out Gibbs’ backstory, his brokenness, healing and redemption.
Exploring heavy themes of grief and loss, Season 1 proved Origins is much darker than other NCIS shows. Monreal said Season 2 will be lighter by comparison. “We’re still processing [Lala’s] accident and what that all entails, but I will say that this season, we’re really trying to embrace the lighter side of things,” she asserted. “You will see a lighter tone throughout the season, which we’re really excited about. We still have the in-depth characters and the season-long arc and heartfelt moments, but we’re sprinkling in a bit more lightness as well.”
NCIS: Origins Is the Franchise’s Darkest Spinoff
Season 1 was somber from the get-go. Episode 1’s opening scenes revealed a wiser, older Gibbs (Mark Harmon), who went on to serve as the season’s narrator. The latter provided context to younger Gibbs (Austin Stowell), who’s still reeling from his family’s murder. Harmon’s pensive narration highlighted a haunting season; older Gibbs also hinted early on, almost ominously, that the spinoff is all about Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino).
That reveal made Season 1’s cliffhanger more gut-wrenching. Lala and Gibbs are professional partners, but their budding romance is palpable. Leaning on that dynamic, Origins built up that tension to their almost-kissing scene in the finale. Monreal told Deadline that as much as they wanted Lala and Gibbs to kiss, that wasn’t “truthful in the moment” for the latter; Gibbs had more pressing news to tell Lala. “No, we didn’t want to torture fans,” Monreal asserted. “In our minds, they both really wanted to kiss. They were both ready to go there.”
Season 1 dashed hopes for that romance in the finale’s closing moments. Lala’s freak accident left fans wondering if that would become part of Gibbs’ tragic past, and Molino’s ambivalence about her character’s fate didn’t help. “We’ll just tell you that you will get your answer in the premiere episode. We will not take all 42 minutes,” North promised. “It will not take the whole episode,” Monreal affirmed.
Two months after the Season 1 finale aired, Molino shared an Instagram photo that hinted she’s returning in Season 2. “We can confirm that she was on the [production] lot,” Monreal said, “and you will see the Lala character in some capacity, but whether that means she’s in a flashback, she’s alive, she’s dead, she’s a ghost… You will have all of your questions answered in the premiere.”
