NCIS is not wasting any time introducing major threats to the Major Crimes Response Team (MCRT), which not only affects the agents personally but the entire federal organization as a whole. At one end, Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) is secretly investigating NCIS Deputy Director Gabriel LaRoche (Seamus Dever) because he suspects LaRoche of leaking Nick Torres’ (Wilmer Valderrama) identity while undercover. As for MCRT leader Alden Parker (Gary Cole), he’s recently been at odds with the FBI and the CIA, but it’s led to vastly different outcomes. The CIA and NCIS have never gotten along throughout the series. NCIS Season 22, Episode 5 is the most recent example of the MCRT unknowingly working with a corrupt CIA agent, but bringing them to justice at the end. Even when NCIS was secretly working against the FBI to stop World War III in Episode 4, Parker and FBI Deputy Director Wayne Sweeney (Erik Passoja) bury the hatchet and learn to respect one another.
NCIS Season 22, Episode 6 takes a break from the inter-agency drama as MCRT investigates a failed break-in that occurred at the home of a defense contractor and CEO, Freddy Martin (Travis Schuldt). When Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover) realizes the break-in was a kidnapping attempt on Freddy’s wife, Melinda Martin (Brianna Brown), Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) is assigned to protection detail for Melinda. As they investigate why someone would want to abduct her, they uncover Melinda’s connection with the Kansas City Mob, which Parker also has a mysterious history with.
What Is Carla Marino’s Connection to Alden Parker?
Kasie discovers that Melinda Martin is an assumed identity, and her real name is April Day. She changed her name because she dated and had a child with the son of the Kansas City Mob leader, Carla Marino (Rebecca De Mornay). Although Carla doesn’t appear in NCIS Season 22, Episode 6 until the final eight minutes, Parker is visibly shaken when he realizes that their case is tied to her. During Parker’s time at the FBI, he spent years trying to capture Carla and put an end to the Kansas City Mob, but to no avail. Even when he assembled a task force dedicated to taking Carla down, she always managed to evade the authorities by tying up her loose ends and eliminating anyone who could testify against her.
In NCIS Season 22, Episode 6, Parker and Jessica successfully set up a trap to catch Carla, but in the interrogation, it’s clear that Carla doesn’t take any of Parker’s threats seriously. Underneath the tension between Carla and Parker, they also have some fiery chemistry. When one of Carla’s henchmen ends up taking the fall for her plan to kidnap Melinda/April, NCIS has no choice but to let Carla go. Parker threatens that if Carla attempts to go after Melinda/April and her daughter, he’ll make sure it’s the last thing she does. He leaves Carla’s mugshot by his desk as a constant reminder to bring her to justice one day.
It’s Time for ‘NCIS’ To Explore More of Alden Parker’s Past
With Parker closing the book on his feud with the FBI, Carla’s reappearance is only digging up more trauma for him. There’s no mention of why Parker is so personally attached to this case besides Carla being the one criminal who got away. But it would be interesting to see flashbacks to Parker’s time in the FBI and explore their dynamic. In the NCIS Season 21 finale, Parker’s near-death experience has him revisiting old memories involving a mysterious young girl named Lily. It’s highly unlikely that Carla has any involvement with Lily. However, with Parker still hallucinating about Lily in Season 22, the creative team is laying the groundwork for a storyline dealing with his past.
NCIS: O rigins is already highlighting Gibbs’ start as a federal agent, so it’s time to give loyal NCIS fans a look into who Parker was during his FBI days. The writing team can go even further back and look at the traumatic event from Parker’s youth involving Lily. As he’s stepping away from the shadow left behind by Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), diving into Parker’s history would be the best way to show how different the two characters are.
NCIS Season 22 airs Monday nights on CBS in the U.S., with new episodes available the next day on Paramount+.