Note: This story contains spoilers from “NCIS: Origins” Season 2, Episode 8.
“NCIS: Origins” left fans with their jaws on the floor after this week’s fall finale — with a surprise wedding on one side and a new threat posing plenty of questions to ponder during the winter break.
Episode 8, titled “End of the Road,” saw the NIS team juggle their personal drama with a case that hit close to home for Lala (Mariel Molino), after one of her most trusted confidential informants was gunned down and the perpetrator was at large. The mission paired them up with Oceanside PD, packed with a female detective the detectives equated to Mike Franks, who was sidelined as he spent the majority of the episode catching up with his brother in the community he’d been living in since earlier in the season.
But it was the drama outside of the case that dominated the narrative — specifically for Gibbs, as the episode showed how he’d been pushing the people he loved away since Lala’s Season 1 ending accident. And how that led him to eloping with his girlfriend Diane (Kathleen Kenny) in an effort to keep the relationship going.
“We love the chaos,” series co-creator David J. North told TheWrap. “We wanted to put as much in [the episode] to think about now that we’re off the air for quite a while.”
The writers certainly delivered on that desire. By the end of the hour, the team had arrested Oceanside PD’s lead detective for shooting Lala’s CI — who also survived his injuries. Flashbacks throughout the episode informed how Lala relied on the team during her recovery, but felt Gibbs’ absence as his guilt for the accident kept him away.
Gibbs had his own issues to deal with after Diane asked him to move to Los Angeles with her as she pursued a new job opportunity, but his first instinct was to say no so he could stay with his family. Lala ended up being the motivating factor for Gibbs to try to salvage things, after she shamed him for pushing people away when things get difficult. Then a combination of alcohol and rash decisions led Gibbs to propose to Diane and the duo went to Vegas to tie the knot.
If that wasn’t enough, the episode ended with a literal bang, after one of the men from the community Franks had been bonding with was seen leaving a building late at night. Then an explosion went off inside the building, signaling the group may have some nefarious plans to come.
Below, North and co-creator Gina Lucita Monreal break down the big moments from Episode 8 and how the team will react to Gibbs’ surprise wedding when the show returns in February. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
TheWrap: What a momentous fall finale for the team. What led you to pack so many different developments across storylines before the holiday break?
David J. North: Because we love the chaos, we do (laughs). We wanted to put as much in there for people to think about now that we’re off the air for quite a while, a couple months. So we wanted to go out with a bang, and I think Gina did that with the script she wrote.
Gina Lucita Monreal: We knew in canon that we needed Gibbs and Diane to be getting married at this point. So we knew we were building to that, and then we just tried to pack a lot of stuff around that to complement that big out.
One of the biggest updates was of course Gibbs and Diane eloping in Vegas, sealing their relationship after first breaking up over her new job in LA. How was it to crack such a pivotal moment in “NCIS” lore and why make it so messy?
Monreal: The messier it is the more fun it is to watch, I hope. We had a little bit to go on, as far as their marriage. We knew in canon at least the words he said to propose, and we started with those because they didn’t feel like they were very Gibbs-y. And so from that we thought, “Well, maybe he was drunk when he said it.”
North: Ultimately, this is the story of her, meaning Lala, and this is a love story that Gina and I know where we want to take it. But with Diane, we want to stick to canon, and we think this relationship between Gibbs and Diane is one that’s special … Getting drunk married in Vegas is something that I think people wouldn’t have expected from Gibbs, but I think it matches — believe it or not — who he is and especially who he was at that time.
Monreal: When Lala says that to him, “You push people away,” I think he knows that she’s right. And I think it’s genuine when he’s like, “Well, maybe I shouldn’t be doing this. Maybe I’m doing myself a disservice. Maybe I should just jump in.” So it is about what Lala says to him, and that he realizes that she’s right, but it’s also about the fact that he does have feelings for Diane.
It’s simple with Diane. It’s easy to love her. So I think all those things, combined with the alcohol, make him want to try this.
People were really rooting for Diane and Gibbs among the team members but this wedding will surely shock them. What can we expect everyone’s reactions for this to be?
North: Big reactions all the way around. Obviously Lala is deeply affected by it, but there’s a lot of fun coming back after something like this happens. This is his work family, and [there are] a lot of fun reactions. I’ll say my favorites are probably Randy’s reaction and Woody (Bobby Moynihan) and Phil (Ely Henry) in the lab. They have an epic reaction.
Monreal: I also like Kowalski’s (Michael Harney) reaction. It hits everybody pretty hard.
Franks has been spending a lot of time with his brother with that community, which now is stepping into dangerous territory given the blonde man’s involvement in that theater explosion at the end of the episode. Why end things there and where are we headed with this mysterious group?
Monreal: We felt that was a really dynamic place to leave people with this episode. When we’re telling stories like this, we always want to put an emotional underpinning, so the idea that Frank’s brother is involved with this group of people and is really thriving there just complicates things for Franks and our team. That’s the piece that we’re really excited about digging into. How does it affect this relationship that is just starting to rebuild itself?
We got more insight into Lala’s recovery and her deep investment in her confidential informants in the episode. After finding justice for the guy this week, and given where she leaves things with Gibbs, what’s next for her in the second half of the season?
North: I think we’ll see that Gibbs isn’t the only one that is human and has needs. Lala might have a connection of her own around the corner, so stay tuned.
This season has also given us some new context about Wheeler, and last week’s episode saw his marriage blow up due to his affair with a man. What drew you to tackle this storyline now?
Monreal: It’s a story we’ve always had in mind for Wheeler. So we’ve been trying to build to it and we’re also really excited about folding Mary Jo into that story. We’ve been teasing that along the way as well. Those two characters together, to me, are just so dynamic and wonderful and deep. So to be able to bring them together in that episode was just a real thrill for us.
As far as Wheeler’s story, we’re not done dealing with that story. He clearly loves Oakley (DaJuan Johnson) and Oakley loves him, and he has immense obstacles and hurdles to really being able to realize that love. That’s something that we continue to explore.
“NCIS: Origins” won’t be back for new episodes until February. What’s your message to the fans as we step into this long hiatus?
North: There’s so much coming down. We’re going to have the young version of Dwayne Pride from “NCIS: New Orleans” — played by Shea Buckner — which I know people are so excited about. We have the aftermath of Gibbs’ marriage, obviously and Lala’s storyline that Gina and I are really excited about.
It’s going to be a crazy ride to the finish, so we hope people stay tuned.
“NCIS: Origins” returns with new episodes Tuesday, Feb. 24, on CBS and streams the next day on Paramount+.
