NCIS: Origins is headed to Mexico in Season 1, Episode 9, “Vivo o Muerto.” Per the episode’s logline below, the team takes on the case of a missing woman who no one can find after a night of fun with Navy seamen. This trip is work-related, but it will test Gibbs (Austin Stowell), since Mexico is where the suspect in his family’s murder disappeared. The logline also teases a connection to Gibbs’ past there. CBS released some sneak peeks from the December 9 episode, which show the circumstances behind the case and the atypical day at NIS that finds Lala (Mariel Molino) taking point in Franks’ (Kyle Schmid) absence.
“The case of a missing woman who disappeared after a night of clubbing with a Navy seaman takes the team to Mexico, where they learn of a possible connection to Gibbs’ past.”
Gibbs and Lala Take a Trip to Mexico in ‘NCIS: Origins’ Season 1, Episode 9.
The sneak peeks above preview how the case lands on NIS’ desk. A shore patrol officer brings a drunk Navy officer to their office who has been involved in some minor road accidents. Despite Mary Jo’s (Tyla Abercrumbie) protests, asking the officer to take the drunk seaman to the military police for disciplinary action, the SP manages to convince them to take the drunk guy since the SP has a date to get to. Mary Jo informs the team that Franks is taking the day off instead of the planned Tuesday, leaving Lala in charge.
Meanwhile, Lala and Gibbs are working on tracking down a woman who was with the Navy officer, but they come up empty since no one has heard or seen her. Randy (Caleb Foote) learns that the woman and the seaman had left port the previous night and headed to a club in Tijuana. Something clicks when Lala realizes the seaman had been mumbling in Spanish in his drunken state: the name of the club they went to. Lala decides to head there to see if they can find the missing woman and takes Gibbs with her. Randy is left in the office waiting for the seaman to sober up before questioning him some more.
“Vivo o Muerto” also tackles Franks’ marriage ending and his struggles with letting go. Series star Austin Stowell teased that the episode is “going to be really, really powerful.” “There are events within that episode that mean a great deal to the fan base, I hope, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing their reaction to them,” he added.
Tune in to CBS on Monday, December 9, to watch the new episode. You can also catch up with past episodes of NCIS: Origins on Paramount+.