As NCIS: Origins‘ fall finale gets underway this Monday at 10/9c on CBS, we are told that Lala (played by Mariel Molino) — since learning about the months-ago murder of Pedro Hernandez — has not been able to bring herself to speak to “probie” Gibbs (Austin Stowell).
Until, that is, the moment seen in TVLine’s exclusive sneak peek above.
In the quite beautiful episode “Blue Bayou”* (which was written by co-showrunners David J. North and Gina Lucita Monrea, with Brendan Fehily), as Gibbs prepares for his first Christmas without wife Shannon and daughter Kelly, flashbacks reveal the unlikely journey that led to his first day on the job as a special agent at NIS’ Camp Pendleton office.
Before those flashbacks kick in, we see Lala break her silence about Gibbs’ murder of the man who killed Shannon and Kelly. Press play above to hear what Lala is moved to say, as well as what she has to announce about working with her “probie” any longer.
As co-showrunner North told TVLine, “Lala is dealing with something that Franks clearly isn’t, which is betrayal, feeling betrayed” by both Gibbs and Franks. “Technically, Gibbs committed murder, but I don’t think Lala judges him for that. But to be on the scene with these dudes, the one thing she needs is trust…. So there is a breach of trust there that has to be reckoned with.”
*You will have this Linda Ronstadt cover stuck in your head for days afterward, be advised.