NCIS Begins The Perfect Ending For Mark Harmon’s Gibbs

Published Nov 12, 2026, 2:00 PM EST Misty Layne started as an actor and sketch comedy writer before deciding to concentrate mainly on writing. Utilizing both her love of television and film and her behind-the-scenes knowledge, she began a website reviewing films in 2013, with a focus on horror and indie media. Eventually, she began writing about all things television and film for other sites as well. Misty shares a home with five cats, a ton of books, and a fairly impressive vinyl collection. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Warning: Spoilers ahead for NCIS: Origins season 3, episode 5, "Baila Esta Cumbia"Mark Harmon’s Gibbs continues to be a badass in NCIS: Origins in season 3, episode 5, “Baila Esta Cumbia”, as he and Emily Bishop go on a car chase to capture the man who tracked Gibbs to Alaska to kill him. Unsurprisingly, they get their man, and after they take him to a secure location, Gibbs starts pulling out tools. The tracker is willing to talk after Gibbs threatens him with the tools, which means viewers finally get some answers to NCIS: Origins season 3's overarching mystery. They get a few answers, but not enough to truly figure out just who has been hunting Gibbs and the mysterious second person down. However, we now know who that second person is, and while this NCIS: Origins reveal wasn't who some viewers expected, others had anticipated it for a while — it’s Lala. Of course, that knowledge raises a whole new set of questions, but most importantly, it sets up the best possible ending for Older Gibbs. NCIS: Origins Season 3's Lala Twist Sets The Stage For Her Reunion With Gibbs Everett Gibbs told Bishop just one episode ago in “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” that Lala had died years ago in a plane crash. However, according to the tracker, that wasn’t true. The tracker explained to Gibbs that his client was a white man who was average in every way, and that he had found him on the dark web. When the tracker went to the man with a copy of Lala’s obituary, the mystery man barely looked at it and simply told the tracker that Lala wasn’t on the plane. That one reveal reframes the entirety of NCIS: Origins, as well as Gibbs and Lala’s relationship. If the whole show so far has been the story of Lala as told by Gibbs, this new twist of her being alive and Gibbs having no idea raises questions, like why Lala seemingly faked her death, and why she couldn’t tell Gibbs, of all people, about it. There's also the matter of where she's been and what she has been doing all these years that Gibbs believed she was dead. Despite the many questions fans have after this latest Lala twist, though, her being alive sets the stage for a reunion with Gibbs. Since this is a shortened season of NCIS: Origins with only 10 episodes, “Baila Esta Cumbia” is the halfway point. Gibbs and Bishop (and whoever else shows up to help) have only five episodes left to find out who hired the tracker and figure out where Lala is so they can keep her safe. When they do find her, fans can likely expect an explosive reunion as Gibbs and Lala see each other for the first time in years. Gibbs & Lala's Reunion In NCIS: Origins Would Be The Perfect Swan Song For Mark Harmon Robert Voets / ©CBS / Courtesy Everett Collection Having Mark Harmon back on our screens has been a delight, but once NCIS: Origins season 3 is complete, there’s no guarantee he’ll be back again, except in voiceovers (though one can hope). If this really is fans' last chance to see Older Gibbs, then adding in a reunion with Lala makes it the perfect swan song for Mark Harmon. This season has already reunited Gibbs with old friends (with more to come in the present timeline, where Gibbs will reunite with Fornell, Vera, and Mike Franks) and seen Gibbs return to the place where it all began — the NCIS office. That alone would have made for an excellent ending for the older Gibbs. Federal Case File · Open Since 2003 How Well Do You Know NCIS? “Rule #1: Never let suspects sit together — and never assume.” 🚨The FieldCrime scenes 🔬The LabForensics & Caf-Pow! ⚕AutopsyDucky’s domain 📋The RulesGibbs’ gospel 🛡The TeamThe MCRT GEAR UP → 01 The show’s title is an acronym for the real-world federal agency its agents work for. What does “NCIS” actually stand for? ANaval Criminal Investigative Service BNational Crime Investigation Squad CNavy Central Intelligence Service DNaval Counterintelligence & Security ✓ Correct! NCIS stands for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service — a real civilian agency of the U.S. Department of the Navy that investigates crimes involving the Navy and Marine Corps. The show follows its fictional Major Case Response Team. ✗ Not quite! It’s the Naval Criminal Investigative Service — a genuine federal agency under the Department of the Navy that handles crimes tied to the Navy and Marine Corps. The other options sound official, but only one is the real deal. NEXT → 02 For 19 seasons, the team was led by stoic, coffee-fueled Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Which actor played him? AMichael Weatherly BMark Harmon CGary Cole DRocky Carroll ✓ Correct! Mark Harmon played Gibbs, the ex-Marine sniper and unflappable team leader, from the 2003 premiere through Season 19. Michael Weatherly played Tony DiNozzo, Gary Cole later joined as Alden Parker, and Rocky Carroll plays Director Leon Vance. ✗ Not quite! The answer is Mark Harmon, the face of the franchise as Gibbs for 19 seasons. Michael Weatherly played DiNozzo, Gary Cole arrived as Alden Parker, and Rocky Carroll plays Director Vance — but Gibbs is all Harmon. NEXT → 03 NCIS didn’t start on its own — the characters were introduced in a two-part backdoor pilot during an earlier military legal drama. Which show did NCIS spin off from? AThe Unit BLaw & Order CCSI: Miami DJAG ✓ Correct! NCIS spun off from JAG, the long-running Navy legal drama. Gibbs and his team debuted in the Season 8 JAG episodes “Ice Queen” and “Meltdown” (2003) before launching their own series later that year. ✗ Not quite! The answer is JAG. Donald P. Bellisario’s Navy courtroom drama introduced Gibbs and the team in a two-part backdoor pilot in 2003, setting the stage for NCIS to become a massive franchise of its own. NEXT → 04 Gibbs lives by a numbered list of unwritten rules. His famous Rule #9 advises agents to never go anywhere without what item? AA cup of coffee BA knife CA badge DA burner phone ✓ Correct! Rule #9: “Never go anywhere without a knife.” It’s one of the most quoted of Gibbs’ rules and pays off more than once in the field. (Rule #23, fittingly, is “Never mess with a Marine’s coffee if you want to live.”) ✗ Not quite! The answer is a knife — Rule #9 is “Never go anywhere without a knife.” Coffee is practically Gibbs’ lifeblood, but the rule that’s saved his team in a pinch is the one about always carrying a blade. NEXT → 05 The team’s beloved forensic specialist — a brilliant goth who runs on a giant caffeinated drink called “Caf-Pow!” — is named what? AAbby Sciuto BKasie Hines CZiva David DJenny Shepard ✓ Correct! Abby Sciuto, played by Pauley Perrette, was the heart of the lab for 15 seasons — pigtails, dog collar, and an endless thirst for Caf-Pow!. Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover) later took over forensic duties after Abby’s departure. ✗ Not quite! The answer is Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), the goth forensic scientist fueled by Caf-Pow!. Kasie Hines came along later as a lab specialist, Ziva David was a field agent, and Jenny Shepard was an NCIS Director. NEXT → 06 The team’s kindly, story-telling Medical Examiner is affectionately nicknamed “Ducky.” What is his actual name? ADr. Jimmy Palmer BDr. Brian Dietz CDr. Donald Mallard DDr. Cyril Taft ✓ Correct! “Ducky” is Dr. Donald Mallard — Mallard, hence Ducky — played by the late David McCallum for two decades. His apprentice and eventual successor in autopsy is Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen). ✗ Not quite! The answer is Dr. Donald Mallard — “Mallard” is the duck that earns him the nickname “Ducky.” He was played by David McCallum. Jimmy Palmer was his assistant, and Dr. Taft was a recurring surgeon and friend of Gibbs. NEXT → 07 Fan-favorite Ziva David, played by Coté de Pablo, joined the team as a liaison and skilled operative. Before NCIS, she was an officer with which intelligence agency? AThe CIA BMossad CMI6 DThe FBI ✓ Correct! Ziva David was a former officer of Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency — and the daughter of its director, Eli David. Her deadly skills and mangled American idioms made her one of the show’s most beloved characters. ✗ Not quite! The answer is Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency where Ziva served before joining NCIS — her father Eli David even ran it. The FBI and CIA are frequent NCIS counterparts, but Ziva’s background is Mossad. NEXT → 08 The original team’s headquarters — the bullpen, autopsy, and Abby’s lab — is located at the Navy Yard in which U.S. city? ALos Angeles BNorfolk, Virginia CSan Diego DWashington, D.C. ✓ Correct! The Major Case Response Team works out of the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. The franchise later spread its spinoffs across the map — Los Angeles, New Orleans, Hawai‘i, and Sydney — but the original calls D.C. home. ✗ Not quite! The answer is Washington, D.C., home of the Washington Navy Yard where Gibbs’ team is based. Los Angeles and other cities anchor the spinoffs, and Norfolk is a major naval base often referenced — but HQ is in D.C. CLOSE THE CASE → Case Debrief · Stand Down Your Agent Rank 🛡 / 8 Lead investigator — or still rinsing the Caf-Pow! out of the carpet? ⤴ REOPEN CASE However, a reunion with Lala, a woman he has loved and mourned, makes it so much better. Gibbs might be happy in the middle of nowhere Alaska with only his dog for company, but reuniting with his former flame has the potential to make him even happier, and that’s something fans want to see. After everything the character has been through over 17 years on NCIS and this year on NCIS: Origins, Gibbs deserves a peaceful retirement. If his storyline wraps up with the possibility of Gibbs and Lala reconnecting, it would be the most rewarding ending to the story of Gibbs. Release Date October 14, 2024 Network CBS Directors Niels Arden Oplev, John Terlesky, Diana Valentine, Edward Ornelas, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Lionel Coleman, Loren Yaconelli, Pete Chatmon, Pamela Romanowsky, Ruben Garcia, Jessica Lowrey Cast Austin Stowell Leroy Jethro Gibbs Kyle Schmid Special Agent Mike Franks NCIS: Origins is set in 1991, preceding the events of the original series. The series introduces Leroy Jethro Gibbs as a new special agent at NCIS Camp Pendleton. Under the leadership of NCIS legend Mike Franks, Gibbs navigates his role within a tenacious, unconventional team.