Showrunner Steve D. Binder comments on the mystery of Alden Parker’s Lily, which was introduced in the NCIS season 21 finale. Aside from the questions about Jessica Knight’s possible Major Case Response Team (MCRT) replacement after she accepted her dream job at Camp Pendleton, the police procedural’s latest finale also planted the seeds of a big Gary Cole mystery. Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ successor has been embraced by the team and the viewers since taking over the famed team, but since he is still fairly new, there’s still so much to explore in terms of his life outside the agency.
As Parker suffered a near-death injury aboard the scene of the crime boat, he started seeing a girl named Lily. It’s unclear who she is, but the NCIS season 21 finale made it clear that she has ties to Parker’s past. Addressing this plot point, Binder tells TV Line that they already know who the child is, but cautions that despite the clues, the public will unlikely be able to decipher her identity right now. Read his full quote below:
Well, we [the writers] do, but the audience definitely doesn’t. No, there are some things [to be revealed] that will be more meaningful after the fact once you look back, some little things that are planned. But there is nothing that you’d be able to put together with what you’ve been shown so far.
How Parker’s Lily Mystery Fits Into NCIS Season 22
Lily’s Identity Could Be The Gateway To Parker’s Past
One theory suggests that Lily is Parker’s late sister in NCIS. Throughout the season 21 finale, the MCRT leader repeatedly said that he doesn’t like ships, but in his hallucinations, a young version of him was playing around a ship with Lily. Based on his visions, she may have fallen overboard or something else, and he may have something to do with it. Regardless, the incident ended up being so traumatic that Parker doesn’t like talking about it. To further back that up, he denied ever calling her and even said that he doesn’t know anyone with that name.
Similar to how Gibbs’ opted to hide the truth about what happened to Kelly and Shannon, even to Ducky, Parker may not want other people to know about this part of his family history.
It’s safe to say that NCIS season 22 will delve deeper into the mystery of the unknown girl. While it’s possible that he truly doesn’t remember her, perhaps as a repressed memory, it’s more likely that he lied when asked by Knight about it. Similar to how Gibbs’ opted to hide the truth about what happened to Kelly and Shannon, even to Ducky, Parker may not want other people to know about this part of his family history. Even if Lily ends up not being blood-related to him, there’s no disputing that she is very important to him.
NCIS season 21 may have not been able to do much in terms of the character’s personal arc, since it had fewer episodes than its normal years. That being said, Parker’s past can be a wealth of storytelling opportunities for the police procedural as it moves forward from Gibbs. Starting with Lily and exploring the bigger moments of his life before joining MCRT would be a great way to firmly establish him as a worthy successor to Mark Harmon’s beloved character.