Note: This story contains spoilers from “NCIS: Origins” Season 2, Episode 1.
“NCIS: Origins” answered the lingering question of Lala’s fate, after we last saw her unconscious following a car accident. It also caught up with the rest of the NIS team after all that happened in the finale, making it a tough road back to each other as they cracked their latest murder case.
The episode, titled “Funky Bunch,” revealed that Lala (Mariel Molino) survived the fateful car crash that ended the Season 1 finale. The accident did seem to cause a serious wedge between her and Gibbs (Austin Stowell), after the story picked up two months after the accident with Lala about to return to work as the team struggled without her and Randy (Caleb Foote), who had been thrown into desk duty.
“We always knew that we were bringing Mariel back. We love her, the team and the season would be incomplete without her,” co-creator Gina Lucita Monreal told TheWrap. “But it was a bit of a puzzle trying to put that opening together to remind people where we left them and show where we are now. We’re really proud of how it turned out.”
One of those twists involved the reveal that Gibbs started seeing Diane — who “NCIS” fans know as his second wife in franchise lore. “Origins” established that Gibbs pushed himself into a new relationship so he could stay away from Lala, worried that any proximity to him would mean she was in danger. Though the action picks up two months later, Monreal teased the show will catch viewers up to al that went down after the accident.
Those shifting dynamics were at play as the team came together to investigate the disappearance of a marine connected to cult activity at a mysterious compound. Despite some challenges, and one shouting match between Gibbs and Lala, the team solved the case and were able to come back together. The episode ended with a rare moment of joy, as they all came together to sing along to “Good Vibrations” by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.
Below, “NCIS: Origins: co-creators Monreal and David North break down the premiere’s big moments and tease what’s to come in Season 2.
TheWrap: Were you ever intending to kill Lala off? How did you go about crafting where we find these characters at the start?
Monreal: We always knew that we were bringing Mariel back. We love her, the team and the season wouldn’t be complete without her. We always knew she was coming back, but it was a bit of a puzzle trying to put that opening together and place everybody, to remind people where we left them and where they are now. That particular opening took a bit of brain power to put together, but we’re really proud of how it turned out, and Niels Arden Oplev just knocked it out of the park with his direction. We’re so excited for people to see it.
North: I think part of the reason that everyone believed she was dead is because “It’s the story of her and” all of that.
Of course, Lala surviving means the mystery of what happens to her in the long-run. How does this injury and returning to the team set her up for what’s next this season?
North: Coming back this year is obviously about dealing with the repercussions of being in an accident like that, both the emotional side and the physical side. She has a TBI, and we’ll see her battling symptoms of that, but also picking up the pieces and moving on in her own personal life after the almost kiss with Gibbs in the pool. She’s got a lot to deal with.
Lala and Gibbs got very close in the Season 1 finale, but the premiere shows the accident fractured their connection as Gibbs started his relationship with Diane while Lala recovered. Why start them off there in Season 2?
Monreal: There’s a lot to unpack there still, even though we find them in these places where Gibbs is with Diane and Lala is focused on her recovery and coming back to work. There’s a lot of stuff that happened in between the accident and when we first meet them here. So there’s a lot of feelings and emotion and conflict to unpack, and that’s what we’re going to hopefully accomplish in Season 2.
Franks lost his romantic partner last season and is struggling to reconnect with his brother. What does his journey look like this season?
Monreal: We will play out the story of him and his brother. And you’re right. He did lose Tish, so we are going to explore that avenue as well, just what is going on in his personal life.
North: At the end of the day, Franks has his trusty dog there, that is pal Gary Callahan. And we’re also going to have an episode where we learn a whole lot more about old (NIS K-9) special agent Gary Callahan.
Diane is a big part of the “NCIS” lore, and it’s interesting to learn she’s a bit of a bandaid for Gibbs’ larger problem and not wanting to get too attached to Lala. How big of a role will she play this season?
Monreal: We’ll get to know Diane a lot better this season. And though it does appear that she’s starting off as a bandaid, as you say, there are real feelings there. We’ll see that relationship develop this season as well.
The team ended up back together by the end of the premiere, but this ordeal showed the cracks in the organization and that surely can’t go away easily. What’s next for the NIS team?
North: We have a lot of things happening. We’re going to have Young Ducky come back. We’re incredibly proud of Adam Campbell, who plays Young Ducky. His performance in that episode is great and contains music performed by David McCallum. Gina and I were just with Mark Harmon in the studio doing his narration and discussing that, and the memories of David McCallum.
We’ll also be having another younger famous NCIS character come back later in the season. But really, it’s still the same-old diving into these characters and learning more about them throughout the year. We’re really excited for a lot of stuff that we have on deck.
How was it to film that ending with all of the team singing together to “Good Vibrations”?
Monreal: We were a little bit nervous about pushing the tone to where we were singing Marky Mark in the car. But when we went down to watch that scene, there was no question that it was magic. The reason I love that scene is that every single person in that car is their true self, like they are the core of that character. When Gibbs raps, he’s so serious. I’m like, “Of course, that’s exactly how he would do it.” I feel like they’re the epitome of the characters in that car. I love that we get to see that.
We’ve gotten them singing in the car. Could we get them singing more maybe in a musical episode?
Monreal: There’s great music this season.
North: Unbelievably great music, maybe even better than last year. But I’ll break news and say you will never get a musical episode from Gina and I.
“NCIS: Origins” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streams the next day on Paramount+.
