The long-running procedural has seemingly found its identity again after going through an overhaul with the exit of Mark Harmon. While Leroy Jethro Gibbs will always be a part of the fabric of NCIS, the show has rebuilt a new dynamic with Alden Parker at the center of MCRT. This doesn’t mean that the show isn’t willing to tap into its long history, as proven by the latest character resurfacing in season 23.
In the closing moments of “Heaven and Nature,” Jessica Knight is given her first ELITE target, which ends up being Ellie Bishop. When asked how this impacts Torres’ story moving forward, considering his complicated relationship with his former co-worker, showrunner Steven D. Binder tells TVInsider that it’s all part of the character not having any closure. Read his full quote below:
When someone leaves, you’re always wondering, do they want to come back? Do we want them back? We wanted her back, and once we started hearing that she might be interested, we were like, OK, well, we can start really seriously thinking about the things that we’ve been doing. And one of the things that’s going on with the show is we’re exploring some relationships between our characters and some interesting mixing and matching. And we thought bringing Bishop in for Torres at this particular moment would upend an apple cart that’s coming down the pike after this episode airs and put a very interesting spin on it. Plus, he never got the closure that he felt he needed. And it was an abrupt departure. I think the details of it, why Bishop did what she did, become a little more clear in this episode, but he’s a fully-fledged human and this is a moment that he’s been wanting to have and we were happy to finally have an opportunity to give it to him.
While there were clues about Wickersham’s return as Bishop in NCIS season 23, nothing still compares to actually seeing her back. Now, the long wait starts as to what her return means for Torres and MCRT. It’s worth noting that when she left, she was a known disgraced NCIS agent, which was part of her training to be a long-time undercover operative. Because of her fate post-Navy Yard, the show has been able to get away with not releasing any updates about her.
Unfortunately, the way Bishop handled her exit from MCRT left her relationship with her most trusted colleagues in shambles. Gibbs was quite indifferent about it, possibly because he knew that her mind was already made up. It was her ties to Tim McGee and Torres that will be difficult to repair. The fact that she was going to leave Torres without saying goodbye despite everything that they had been through was particularly painful to anyone who saw how their relationship developed over the years.
Now that Bishop is finally back in NCIS, her budding romance that was cut short with Torres will be explored. Per Binder’s comment, it’s a calculated move to disrupt the alread complex situation involving him, Knight, and Jimmy Palmer. Admittedly, this is not the happy homecoming that so many have been hoping for, but the story is compelling. At the very least, it’s nice to see Wickersham reprise Bishop.
