NCIS: Origins left Lala’s fate up in the air after Season 1’s shocking finale; fans hope for the best, but the show could take a very dark turn. Mariel Molino weighed in on what’s next for her character, asserting that no one, even mainstays, is safe in the NCIS franchise.
NCIS: Origins wrapped up an eventful Season 1 with a bang, paving the way for multiple storylines. Lala’s arc is uncertain after the cliffhanger finale, however; the episode’s closing moments saw her unconscious, seriously injured following a car crash. Season 2 would reveal if she survived, and it’s easy to assume that because she’s key to the show’s storyline. Speaking with TVLine, actor Mariel Molino said fans shouldn’t be complacent. Anything can happen in the NCIS franchise.
“Oh, man…. I hope she comes back. I hope that she’s alive. But who knows,” she mused. That doesn’t bode well for Lala, but Molino might be teasing. Not leaving anything to chance, she called on fans to rally around her character. “NCIS has taken big swings before with characters and their futures, so it’s tough to say,” she asserted. “Turn on those candles and pray, please!” Her appeal only reminds of the NCIS shows’ most heartbreaking deaths, and it’s a long list: Brent Langer, Paula Cassidy, Mike Franks, Caitlin Todd, and many others.
Mariel Molino Has A Wierd Story Pitch For Her NCIS: Origins Character
There’s one thing fans can hold onto, hoping Lala returns next season. In the pilot episode, the older Jethro Gibbs (voiced by Mark Harmon) made it clear that NCIS: Origins is all about Lala’s story. Season 1 weaved that well into Gibbs’ backstory and the NIS team’s arcs; at the very least, Lala’s fate is uncertain. Molino joked she has a backup plan if things don’t work out. “I’ll be a ghost on Ghosts. I can always be on Ghosts,” she pitched, referring to the CBS sitcom series. “[Or] Lala’s ghost gets a spinoff
The Season 1 finale was ominously titled “Cecilia”, which could easily be interpreted as her epilogue. Showrunners David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal only fueled speculation over what’s next for Lala. “We will neither confirm nor deny [whether she’s alive or dead],” Montreal told Entertainment Weekly, but those deep into NCIS lore fear the worst, knowing Gibbs never mentioned her in the series. Her part in Gibbs’ life could have been so traumatic that he suppressed any memory of her until Origins. Austin Stowell even confirmed that the accident has affected the younger Jethro Gibbs’ outlook moving forward.
“This will have gigantic ramifications on him,” Stowell asserted. “No matter what happens, he just cannot seem to stop hurting people. I don’t know whether it’ll make him double down on his feelings for her or make him so scared that he wants to completely retract. Is she dead? Is she in a coma? Is she paralyzed? I don’t know any of these things. I know this much. He’s going to find out that she was in a car accident after it seems like she was on the way to his house, so the guilt will only build.”
NCIS: Origins Season 1 is streaming on Paramount+.
