Alden Parker’s Lily mystery in NCIS seems to be more complicated than first thought. The NCIS season 21 finale introduced Lily, a mysterious hallucination of a young girl that Parker first sees while in distress from an injury. While losing blood, Parker imagines Lily running around while onboard a ship and even calls out to her. However, when Knight asks him about Lily afterward, Parker says he does not remember.
NCIS season 22 has continued the question of Lily, but it has also pushed the theory that the mystery is bigger than it seems, as no one has had any answers yet. As Parker and the other NCIS characters come to terms with his changing mental state, the mystery behind Lily’s identity continues to unravel. Fortunately, a recent interview with NCIS showrunner, Steven D. Binder, gave some insight into the new character, and the reveal is stranger than expected.
Lily Is Not Parker’s Sister In NCIS
Lily’s Relation To Parker Is Still Unknown
In an interview with TV Insider, Binder revealed that Parker’s Lily hallucinations in NCIS have a deeper history behind them. He said that Lily’s identity has a lot to do with Parker’s family history and the way lore gets verbally passed down. Regarding Lily, Binder even said, “This is not his sister, and I wouldn’t even say her name is Lily necessarily.” While Lily is not directly related to Parker, which has been the most prominent theory up until now, Lily is still heavily attached to Parker’s family tree. Read Binder’s quote below:
We all have family lore that gets passed down to us by our elders. And what is going to trigger Parker is he’s going to go dig into some family lore and find out it’s not what he had been told, that he has a memory of events and then there were the events that his father [Francis X. McCarthy] told him and then there are the events that actually happened…
The reveal by Binder gives further insight into Parker’s character, as it is clear that his hallucinations are impacting him, but he does not know why just yet. His interest in finding out the meaning behind his hallucinations is significant. The mystery behind it could then be directly related to some blind spots in Parker’s history. If his family chose to leave out certain stories or change aspects of them, then Parker’s Lily hallucinations could be a way of the truth trying to come out.
Lily’s Identity Is Buried Deep In Parker’s Subconscious
Parker’s Mind Associates Lily With Trauma
Since Parker does not know who Lily is or why she has been appearing, the only explanation behind her appearance is that Lily is buried deep in Parker’s subconscious and is trying to come out. Her appearances are also directly connected to Parker’s traumatic experiences. The first time Parker noticed her, he was fighting for his life. Since then, she has appeared in smaller moments but has still been connected to a traumatic experience in some way.
The fact that Lily is having such a profound impact on Parker is also noteworthy as he does not know anything about who she is, but visions of her are still trying to resurface. Whoever Lily is or whatever she represents, Parker’s brain is clearly trying but failing to block her out. This could be because the memory that Lily is associated with is too traumatic for Parker to process, or because Parker has spent years blocking out the memory to the point where it is manifesting itself through hallucinations.
…his discomfort with telling Dr. Grace more about his family reveals that it is hard for him to open up.
Parker’s conversations with his therapist, Dr. Grace, could lead the way toward discovering what Lily means to him. He still has not talked about the fact that his mother was in the first hallucination too. While Dr. Grace and Parker have focused on Lily so far, there is more to the hallucination than just a young girl. When she appears and who she appears with is equally important to take note of. Parker is starting to realize this, but his discomfort with telling Dr. Grace more about his family reveals that it is hard for him to open up.
Lily Could Help Parker Form Deeper Relationships With His Family
The Secret Behind Lily Could Lie With Roman Parker
Since Parker has not been able to figure out Lily’s identity on his own, the secret could lie with his father, Roman. Binder’s interview also hints at a possible on-screen reunion between Parker and Roman that could solve the Lily mystery. In a conversation with Dr. Grace, Parker revealed that he did ask Roman about Lily but did not receive any helpful information from him. However, the potential is there for a confession that reveals Lily’s identity. Solving the NCIS Lily mystery is also one question that NCIS season 22 still needs to answer.
An on-screen conversation between Parker and Roman could also go far in mending their father-son relationship. As Parker has a poor relationship with his father, a deep look into their family history could help bring them closer. Whatever happens with Lily, NCIS season 22 will surely have a strong ending, at least when it comes to Parker’s story.