Midway through NCIS: Origins ‘ double-episode premiere on Monday night, we learned why former Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs is telling us this story — and how it is that this could possibly be brand-new information for longtime fans of the original NCIS .
“This is a story I don’t tell…,” series narrator Mark Harmon’s Gibbs shared, while scribbling away in his notebook in front of a campfire. “This is the story… of her .”
“Her” being Special Agent Lala Dominguez, played by Mariel Molino, whom the camera cut to in the 1991 timeline. The character previously has been described as a former Marine with a dark sense of humor (and whose dynamic with Gibbs is “filled with sparks”).
“The story [Gibbs is telling] is largely about Lala,” NCIS: Origins co-showrunner David J. North affirms for TVLine. “It’s about a lot more than just Lala, but she is certainly a centerpiece of this story that we’ve never known, about how Gibbs became Gibbs.”
Coming up with this mysterious and clearly meaningful piece of Gibbs’ past “is the liberating part of our jobs,” notes co-showrunner Gina Lucita Monreal, who was a producer on NCIS from Seasons 12-18. (North was a producer on NCIS for a total of 10 years, most recently serving as a co-showrunner.) “We’ve written for so many years this character who is a man of few words, so giving a chance to actually hear inside his head has been such an interesting journey for us as writers.”
Why did Gibbs break out the pencil and moleskin now, though, after nearly two decades of silence about… “her”?
“He’s now been in Alaska for years, in the middle of absolute nowhere,” says North, who penned Mark Harmon’s NCIS Season 19 farewell episode. “He’s reflecting on his life, and I think this is a moment where he’s feeling like he doesn’t want to be gone and not put pen to paper, not take this story with him.”
And in case you didn’t clock Gibbs’ campfire cap, or what North let slip above, yes, Jethro is still where we last saw him some three years ago, in Alaska.
“He does like that hat…,” Monreal notes with a chuckle. “But yes, we wanted to show him where we left him. David wrote that farewell episode so beautifully, and we know that a lot of our fans are wondering where he is, if he’s alive and well, so we felt it was really important to place him in a space and time for this show.”
What did you think of NCIS: Origins ‘ XL debut and the “her” tease? Vote in our polls below, grab your gear, and hit the comments!
Want scoop on NCIS: Origins , or for any other TV show ? Shoot an email to InsideLine@tvline.com , and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
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