The impression given of Mary Jo Hayes (Tyla Abercrumbie) by NCIS: Origins is that of an industrious and caring woman. Viewers have only gotten small glimpses into her life outside of work, leaving a mystery about her. NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 14, “To Have and To Hold,” peels back the layers into the character and explores a part of her life that most people, her coworkers included, could have never known. In the March 24 episode, “The team works the case of an investment advisor found dead shortly after her release from prison. Also, Mary Jo is left reeling by an unexpected development in her personal life.” It begins with a legal step when she’s served papers that shake her to the core. Abercrumbie collaborated with showrunners Gina Lucita Monreal and David J North. “There was a lot that surprised me in this script,” she told TV Line. She discussed the collaborator that birthed this episode, saying:
“I hadn’t been debriefed on the backstory, but I did have a really wonderful couple of conversations with [showrunners] Gina and David, where we talked about what we wanted to do with Mary Jo and what I wanted to see in this character. You don’t always get such a luxury, because people have their ideas and you just show up and say the words, but this was a really nice collaboration. We did talk about things that we wanted, I wanted, for her. I wanted to show that she had family and friends that were from her world that reflected her, meaning from the African American, Black, community that she has outside of work.”
Mary Jo Avoids Her Problems By Being of Service, Says Tyla Abercrumbie
“I think of her as very optimistic and loving the life she’s built for herself — when these papers arrive for her, bringing the past forward. You see her be thrown back into a reality,” Abercrumbie said, describing what triggers this focus on her character. She discussed how Mary Jo copes. “We can forget, sometimes, that there are things lingering out there, unresolved, because we focus so much on others’ problems, and that’s what Mary Jo does. She focuses on helping other people get through whatever they’re trying to get through, so she can avoid thinking about her own problems.” She teased an emotional episode, explaining:
“It tugs at the heart a couple times, for a couple reasons. Not only is it written and performed lovely, but it’s also for anyone who has been enjoying Mary Jo and her quips and seeing her as this really, really cool character, but wanting to know more about her, because they’ve fallen in love with her, I believe. I hope they love me! And I think that with anybody you care for, when you see them go through something, that emotion tugs at your heart. So, yeah, I believe this episode is going to do that to a lot of fans.”