With Cliff Wheeler’s (Patrick Fischler) and Noah Oakley’s (DaJuan Johnson) story, the origins offshoot poignantly discusses what it means to be alone in NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 7, with the Special Agent-in-Charge quietly confronting his divorce, identity, and future. The story prompts Harmon’s character to rethink his future as well, rewriting the ending that NCIS told four years ago.
Mark Harmon’s Exit in NCIS Season 19 Explained
In 2021, Harmon exited the NCIS mothership after playing Special Agent-in-Charge Leroy Jethro Gibbs for 19 seasons. In NCIS Season 19, Episode 4, “Great Wide Open,” Gibbs is with Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) in Alaska for a case. When it’s resolved, he tells his second-in-command that he’s staying in Naktok Bay, after finally finding some solitude.
The story corresponded with Harmon’s exit from the series after 20 years, mirroring the emotional impact of his departure on CBS’s popular Navy procedural. While NCIS has continued for four years since Harmon’s exit, replacing his supervisory character with Special Agent Alden Parker, the series has doubtlessly had to rebuild after Gibbs’ departure, since its stories revolved around his leadership.
Since his exit in “Great Wide Open,” Gibbs has made a handful of appearances. Harmon appears as the older version of Gibbs in the premiere of NCIS: Origins, kicking off the prequel that passes the torch to Austin Stowell’s younger Gibbs. Harmon also appears in NCIS: Origins Season 2 for the franchise’s crossover episode, confirming Gibbs is still in Alaska.
NCIS: Origins Hints at Canceling Mark Harmon’s NCIS Season 19 Story
When he featured in the series premiere of NCIS: Origins, Harmon’s elder Gibbs confirmed that the former SAC was still living out his days on the Last Frontier in peace. Harmon’s second appearance, in the NCIS crossover episode, made virtually no adjustments to the older Gibbs’ situation, revealing only that Leroy had acquired a dog who was keeping him company.
However, in his narration at the end of NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 7, Gibbs hints that his situation could change. At the conclusion of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” Gibbs says, “I learned to like being alone. Or maybe that’s just the thing I tell myself until someone shows up to share a steak by the fire.”
The narration suggests that someone could be showing up to visit Gibbs in Alaska soon, or that he is at least open to the prospect after a few years of solitude. Gibbs, being open to company, suggests that perhaps someone could join him in Alaska permanently, changing the end of Gibbs’ story as the mothership tells it in Season 19.
Who Could Join Gibbs in Alaska in NCIS: Origins?
With Harmon’s older Gibbs character suggesting that he was rethinking his solitude in Alaska, NCIS: Origins would have to cancel the story that the mothership told in Season 19, which seemingly indicated that the SAC was meant to be alone. At the time, Gibbs being alone in Alaska indefinitely was a fitting ending for the overburdened SAC.
It’s possible that NCIS: Origins is setting up Lala to join Gibbs in Alaska at the end of the prequel. While there is chemistry between the agents, Lala and Gibbs haven’t acted on their romance, which has been cut short by the introduction of Diane to the prequel series, played by Kathleen Kenny in Origins and Melinda McGraw on NCIS.
Over its more than two decades on CBS, NCIS has established a rich history for Gibbs, and Origins must work within that framework or risk compromising franchise lore. So far, NCIS: Origins has largely maintained the accuracy of the original story, and as such, audiences can expect that Gibbs will marry Diane, who has become his ex-wife in NCIS.
