For two decades, NCIS has thrived on the strength of its heroes — flawed, brilliant, and haunted by the ghosts of their pasts. But in NCIS Season 23’s explosive premiere, “Prodigal Son, Part I,” the series trades its steady procedural rhythm for a storm of raw emotion and moral chaos. At its center stands Alden Parker (Gary Cole), the man who stepped into the impossible shoes of Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon). This time, Parker isn’t just chasing criminals — he’s unraveling.
The premiere wastes no time shattering Parker’s world. The episode opens in the aftermath of his father Roman Parker’s (Francis X. McCarthy) brutal murder — a calculated act of vengeance orchestrated by Kansas City mob queen Carla Marino (Rebecca De Mornay). For years, Parker’s leadership style stood in stark contrast to Gibbs’. He was laid-back, cerebral, a man who valued collaboration over intimidation. But Roman’s death tears away that calm façade, unveiling a side of Parker the team — and the audience — have never truly seen.
The Calm Before the Storm
Since Gibbs’ departure, NCIS has undergone a slow but determined evolution. Gary Cole’s Parker brought a different kind of gravitas to the Major Case Response Team — measured, wry, occasionally exasperated by bureaucracy but still deeply human. Viewers had come to appreciate his steady hand, especially as NCIS adjusted to life after Harmon.
Yet Season 23 feels like a long-overdue reckoning — not just for Parker, but for the series itself. The procedural’s flagship needed a jolt, something raw to match the intensity of its golden years. That jolt arrives in “Prodigal Son, Part I,” a premiere that strips Parker of his restraint and thrusts him into emotional freefall.
The Mob Queen’s Revenge
To understand Parker’s descent, we must revisit the closing moments of Season 22. After surviving a psychotic episode aboard a Navy vessel — complete with chilling hallucinations — Parker discovered that Carla Marino, a woman he once arrested, was pulling the strings behind his family’s destruction. Marino blames Parker for the death of her son and designs an exquisite punishment: she infiltrates his father’s life, earns Roman’s trust, and then kills him.
It’s a cruel, methodical act — the kind that doesn’t just target a man’s body, but his conscience. When Season 23 begins, Parker isn’t chasing justice anymore. He’s hunting retribution.
A Gibbs-Like Descent Into the Shadows
As the episode unfolds, the parallels between Parker and Gibbs become impossible to ignore. Parker begins bending — then breaking — the rules he once upheld. Sleep-deprived and consumed by rage, he calls in a series of bomb threats to paralyze the Eastern Seaboard, hoping to flush out Marino’s network. Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll), ever the moral compass, benches him immediately. But Parker refuses to stand down.
His team — McGee (Sean Murray), Torres (Wilmer Valderrama), and Kasie (Diona Reasonover) — can only watch as their leader slips further from reason. When a confrontation with one of Marino’s associates turns violent, Parker shoves the man against a truck with uncharacteristic fury. It’s a chilling echo of Gibbs’ notorious interrogations, a sign that the easygoing Parker may be gone for good.
“Did you see the look in his eyes?” McGee mutters afterward. “That’s Gibbs’ look.”
Even Kasie can’t deny it. “He’s not protecting us,” she whispers. “He’s protecting something else.”
Family Secrets and Moral Crossfire
Enter Harriet Parker (Nancy Travis), Alden’s estranged sister — and the episode’s unexpected moral anchor. Through flashbacks, we glimpse a fractured childhood and a father whose “criminal activity” left scars on both siblings. Harriet, a stickler for rules, has never forgiven her brother for following in Roman’s shadow.
When she reenters his life, it’s under dire circumstances — and her loyalty is immediately tested. As Parker goes rogue aboard a cargo ship, “the Quentin,” to confront Carla Marino, Harriet assumes command of the mission meant to bring her brother home. But when orders come down to destroy the vessel — with Alden still on board — she hesitates only for a moment before giving the go-ahead.
The episode ends with explosions rocking the horizon and the chilling words “To Be Continued” flashing across the screen.
The Man Who Replaced Gibbs Faces His Reckoning
“Prodigal Son, Part I” isn’t just a gripping hour of television — it’s a thesis statement for NCIS’s next era. In Alden Parker’s unraveling, the series finds its heart again. This isn’t the wisecracking, coffee-drinking Parker fans met two years ago. This is a man being broken and reforged — by grief, guilt, and an unshakable need for redemption.
The episode dares to blur the moral lines that NCIS once held sacred. It suggests that every leader, no matter how composed, carries the potential for darkness. Parker’s new path mirrors Gibbs’ — but his is driven not by stoicism, but by something far more volatile: emotion.
As the smoke clears from the Quentin and Harriet stares into the inferno she unleashed, one thing becomes clear: Alden Parker’s story has only just begun.
Verdict:
With Season 23, NCIS proves it’s not just surviving without Gibbs — it’s evolving. Gary Cole delivers his most intense performance yet, turning Parker into a man at war with himself. The result is a premiere that feels like a high-stakes thriller and a character study rolled into one.
If Gibbs was the soul of NCIS, then Parker may yet become its conscience — fractured, flawed, and fiercely human.
“NCIS” airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.
