No, the file Mike Franks got from Vera Strickland on NCIS: Origins wasn't about Pedro Hernandez but it was personal

Warning: Spoilers ahead for NCIS: Origins episode 7 including a brief mention of rape.

Since the NCIS: Origins premiere, viewers have been wondering what was in the file Mike Franks asked Vera Strickland for. We knew Mike got his boss Cliff Walker to call in a favor with his FBI buddy. In another episode, while arguing, Vera brought up that she'd done a profile for Mike based on the information that the FBI agent provided her but it wasn't until episode 7, "One Flew Over, that it was revealed what was in the file.

There'd been speculation for sometime that this was the infamous file that Mike shared with Gibbs on Pedro Hernandez in a flashback NCIS fans know well. However, that theory was predicated on the prequel making a continuity error since it's long been held that moment in Gibbs' life happened before he joined the NIS. Well, that long-standing canon remains intact.

In NCIS: Origins, Mike does show Gibbs the file before he has any inclination to join the agency. He does it to give Gibbs a lifeline as he saw him drowning in his grief. Prior to Mike's decision to share privileged information, he'd had to pay Gibbs a visit at his apartment because he was harassing the NIS secretaries via his incessant calls to push Mike into telling him Pedro's whereabouts in Mexico.

Gibbs had admitted to him that he couldn't see himself carrying on with life knowing the man who took his family from him was living as well. Mike knew Gibbs was serious and it wasn't solely the grief talking so he chose to intercede before Gibbs was lost to the darkness of his despair. "One Flew Over" also implied it's the exact thing Mike would want someone to do for him.

We know this because it turns out that the profile he had Vera put together was on the man who'd raped his partner, Tish. He'd been frustrated with the FBI's handling of the case and had every intention on apprehending the man one way or another. But his insistence on inserting himself into the investigation wasn't well received by Tish as she is determined not to let that man take anymore of her time and life.

But Gibbs and Mike are very similar men. Mike won't be able to let this lie anymore than Gibbs was able to do so with the murder of his family. They're men who need to protect their loved ones and when that fails, they have to do something, anything to rectify that failure. For Mike, that'd be going after the man that hurt Tish using every resource he has to make it possible. We'll have to see how that plays out this season.

Stay tuned to Americans Undercover for NCIS: Origins coverage. New episodes air Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. Next day streaming is available on Paramount+. Follow us on X for livetweet threads and more content.

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.