NCIS Season 23 delivers a dark change to Alden Parker (Gary Cole), who replaced Mark Harmon’s legendary Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Since he took over the Major Case Response Team (MCRT), Parker has established himself as a laid-back leader who is more relaxed and flexible than his predecessor. That said, he flips the script in the first half of Season 23’s premiere, which opens in the aftermath of Roman Parker’s (Francis X. McCarthy) murder.
The procedural has faced its fair share of growing pains after Mark Harmon departed NCIS, its ratings dropping in the last few years as the show adjusts. Still, with the franchise’s prequel series, NCIS: Origins, embarking on Season 2 and its international offering, NCIS: Sydney, airing Season 3, the property shows no signs of slowing down. That said, the flagship was due for an upgrade to revitalize the series, which Parker’s story delivers in “Prodigal Son, Part I.”
NCIS Season 22 Finale Ending Explained
Alden discovers that someone he arrested back in the day, and his longtime foe, Kansas City mob leader Carla Marino (Rebecca De Mornay), murdered his father in the NCIS Season 22 finale. Last season brought Parker’s story to the foreground after he had a traumatic experience on board a Navy ship in the finale of NCIS Season 21. The experience, which included ongoing hallucinations, prompted Parker to look into his mother’s death, bringing him closer to his father.
Roman’s death was the final blow in the mob boss’s vendetta against Alden in the NCIS Season 22 finale, where she kidnapped the agent and revealed that she blamed him for causing her son’s death. Marino’s revenge plot began by posing as an informant to the Nexus cartel, a ploy that allowed Carla to kidnap Parker. That said, instead of killing Alden while she had the chance, Marino crafted a far more sinister opportunity to make him suffer by befriending and then murdering his father.
The scheme was to get inside Alden’s head, which Carla did successfully. In NCIS Season 23, Episode 1, Parker is hellbent on finding Carla, though he remains sharp despite the heightened emotions and stakes, and while running on little sleep. Ultimately, the situation hits far too close to home for Parker, who acts recklessly in his pursuit of justice, debuting a new side to Gibbs’ replacement that evokes the kind of off-the-books operations for which Harmon’s character was known.
Alden Parker Shows a Darker Side in NCIS Season 23’s Premiere
The hunt for Carla Marino awakens a different side of Parker, who was already heading down an ominous path as he uncovered more information about his mother’s death. In NCIS Season 22, Parker experienced hallucinations of a little girl, repeating the psychotic episode on a Navy ship in the finale of NCIS Season 21. Therefore, Parker’s change of character is a long time coming, having recently undergone a series of life-altering experiences.
However, while Parker has been experiencing changes, NCIS Season 23’s premiere marks the final push needed to transform the character. Alden goes off the books to find Carla, like when he calls in a series of bomb threats along the Eastern Seaboard to shut down all major transit routes. The move is doubtlessly below board, causing Director Vance (Rocky Carroll) to bench Alden and reassign the case. However, Parker and MCRT continue to investigate.
After the team locates Carla’s associate, who was posing as an FBI agent, they try to take him in, which leads to a shootout in the street and another scolding from Vance. Their perpetrator gets away, but Parker and his team locate him. That’s when Cole’s NCIS character takes another dark turn, staging a car theft of the box truck he was taken in and then going below board again while interviewing their lead, pushing him forcibly against the truck’s wall.
MCRT is quick to notice the change in Parker. Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) tries to send Parker home several times. But when he does, Parker goes off the books again. He pulls a move when boarding the ship Carla is getting away on, the Quentin, that causes McGee to liken him to Gibbs, saying, “You know what? That was Gibbs’ excuse. Didn’t work then, pisses me off now,” when Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover) suggests that he might be operating alone to protect them.
Parker’s Life Hangs in the Balance in Season 23
The introduction of Harriet (Nancy Travis), Alden’s sister, also prompts viewers to reconsider their understanding of Parker. In flashbacks, Harriet scrutinizes Alden’s criminal activity and its impact on their father, a grudge that she has carried into adulthood. In conversation with Dr. Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen), Harriet suggests that her brother may have a more complicated past than MCRT realizes, adding to the notion that Parker will be more serious moving forward.
“Prodigal Son, Part I” uses Harriet’s by-the-book values to contrast Alden’s tendency to work outside the lines, which reaches new heights in the premiere. Their differing definitions of justice are highlighted when Alden boards the Quentin to pursue Carla, and Harriet assumes command of the mission to stop Marino. When Harriet gets orders to destroy the ship her brother is on, she barely thinks twice, giving the command to strike just before the “To Be Continued” card flashes.
Therefore, Parker’s life hangs in the balance after the opener of NCIS Season 23. Parker is likely to survive the attack and stay with the show, but it’s a wonder as to how. If he does find a way out of mortal danger, Parker has a huge season ahead, with his personal developments still unfolding. While it’s awful to see Parker lose a family member, it’s been fascinating to see him experience so much character development, especially since the character replaces the series’ heartbeat.
With Parker’s story in the NCIS Season 23 premiere, the show is finally adequately building on the character who replaced Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Harmon was a core aspect of the series, and while Parker has been a solid replacement, his character hasn’t been developed as much as the former Agent in Charge. That’s expected, since Harmon was on the series for 19 seasons, but the development of Cole’s character is clearly coming to a head in NCIS Season 23.
NCIS airs on Tuesday nights at 8 pm Eastern on CBS.
