NCIS: Origins star London Garcia has opened up about the show’s hugely emotional twist for Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The CBS series follows original NCIS character Gibbs in his formative years, with Austin Stowell playing the younger version of Mark Harmon’s iconic character.
The first season of the prequel series has delved into some of the most important lore in Gibbs’ background, including the deaths of his wife and daughter as well as his revenge killing of crime boss Pedro Hernandez. This week’s episode, “Blue Bayou,” served as the fall finale for NCIS: Origins and revealed Gibbs’s close relationship with his apartment manager Ruth (London Garcia) through flashback sequences. The two formed a bond while tracking down some low-level criminals, with Gibbs even confiding in Ruth about killing Pedro Hernandez. Ruth shared her own troubled relationship with her son, then encouraged Gibbs to pursue a career in law enforcement.
NCIS: Origins Introduces a Key Figure from Gibbs’ Backstory
The new NCIS: Origins Episode “Blue Bayou” Reveals Gibbs’ Bond With Apartment Manager Ruth
Gibbs would eventually learn that Ruth was dying of blood cancer, sending him on a tailspin that led to him failing his NIS psych evaluation and ending up in jail for a bar fight. Ruth beat Gibbs’ mentor Mike Franks to bail him out of jail and then blamed Franks for failing to keep an eye on his protege. Franks ultimately took Ruth’s words to heart by bringing Gibbs onto his NIS team. As the timeline moved forward, Gibbs got the tragic news that Ruth had died – yet, this time, he chose to bury himself in the mysterious “Operation Sundown” case rather than spiral out of control again.
London Garcia had previously guest starred in the NCIS: Origins episode “One Flew Over” where it appeared Ruth was a seedy apartment manager. Garcia told Deadline she never expected the character to have such significance in Gibbs’ life when she filmed her first episode.
“It was just me, who’s kind of a slumlord, showing an apartment. I did the one episode and thought, I just want to make sure that they got what they wanted,” she recalled. “When I read the script [for “Blue Bayou”], I couldn’t believe it. The story is so incredible to me. Every time I read it, my face was wet. I cried every time.”
Garcia noted that there was a “comfort level” between Ruth and Gibbs despite the short time they knew each other, adding, “There’s so much they could be talking about that they don’t want to talk about it. The fact that neither one of them is pushing each other is comfortable in itself. The story is so incredible to me. Every time I read it, my face was wet. I cried every time.”
“The story is so incredible to me. Every time I read it, my face was wet. I cried every time.”
NCIS: Origins’ Cast Features Young Versions of Iconic Franchise Characters
NCIS: Origins showrunners David J. North and Gina Monreal created Ruth as a way to show how “unexpected people come in and out of our lives who are sometimes being the most influential”. “I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that in the NCIS canon, we know Gibbs kills Pedro Hernandez and then suddenly he’s an NIS agent,” North added. “Gina and I just talked a lot and realized we’d love to see a story with Ruth and Gibbs. We think it’s really a story that matches who Gibbs is. He met Ruth when he had no one and he couldn’t even tell his own father that he had left the Marines. Ruth was there for him when no one else was. In the end we learn that Ruth really was the one that led him to believe that this could be a career for him. She saved him.”
“Blue Bayou” sewed the seeds for a crucial storyline to come in the back-half of the season, as Gibbs learned more about the secretive “Operation Sundown” – the botched murder investigation that was pinned on a drifter called “Bugs”. Gibbs discovered that Bugs could not have been acting alone, meaning there was a second sniper still on the loose.
NCIS: Origins Teases Deadly Storylines To Come
The Mark Harmon-produced NCIS prequel has already filled in crucial events from Gibbs’ backstory, including how Reynosa cartel member Pedro Hernandez killed Gibbs’ first wife and daughter.
Viewers later saw Gibbs tracking down Hernandez in Mexico and killing him in revenge outside the bounds of the law.
The introduction of new character Ruth – and her terminal cancer diagnosis – explained why Gibbs initially failed his NIS psych evaluation.
Next year’s episodes will delve into the “Operation Sundown” conspiracy covering up the murders from NCIS: Origin’s debut.
NCIS: Origins will return from its holiday break next year on CBS.