NCIS: Origins answered a burning question for many fans who may have already suspected what went down between Agent Gibbs and Pedro Hernandez based on the lore of NCIS. With the new revelation for some people involved, though, what will this mean for character relationships moving forward?
In the episode “Vivo o Muerto,” a Seaman named Nathan Porter was brought to NIS so he could sleep off a hangover from the previous night. At first, it just seemed like a routine day until they noticed that he had an ID card for a woman named Dana Rogers, who was also in the military and appeared to be missing.
Once Nathan was no longer hungover, he told Randy that they had gone down to Tijuana and were headed to a bar called La Puerta Gris. They were approached by a young woman and somehow, Nathan was drugged enough to where he was unable to prevent two individuals from abducting Dana.
Since Franks had left to go be with Tish at the house while a painter was there, Lala was in charge. In order to find their missing girl, they needed to go to Mexico so it was just her and Gibbs. He seemed to take a pause when it came to going down there, but they traveled there to meet with the liaison between the Mexican authorities and NIS.
They learned that the club where Dana was abducted was run by the Reynosa cartel and girls had been trafficked through the club. Lala tried to see Gibbs’s reaction when Hernandez was brought up, but he was stoic.
Through the investigation, they learned that the cartel had a specific route they would use to travel. Depending on where they went, they could likely find the missing women in the area. Luckily, the BOLO on the woman who met Dana and Nathan was successful and they brought her in.
She informed them that the cartel would house the women at an abandoned gas station, so Lala and Gibbs, with Franks having joined once he learned about the case, and the liaison went to the gas station. Lala distracted one of the men who was guarding the gas station so Franks could go in. When Lala needed assistance, Gibbs provided a distraction with his weapon so Lala could make an arrest.
Once all of the girls, including Dana, were safe, they attempted to interrogate the men. Lala learned that Hernandez had been killed by a sniper six months prior and that the cartel covered it up.
With Lala learning about what happened, and connecting the dots from what she knows about Gibbs, it looks like this could lead to difficulties in her relationship with Gibbs. She had been vulnerable with him about feeling guilt for not being able to find Hernandez and assured him she would bring him down. But Gibbs never revealed his secret, so it remains to be seen how she will respond.
This has been a strong season so far of NCIS: Origins and we love how the episodes have drawn from the history of the series. Now with Gibbs’s secret out to someone else, where will things go for him on the job, and in his personal life?
The next episode will focus on Gibbs and his journey to begin his new job under Franks before the midseason break. It will air on Monday, Dec. 16 at 10/9c.
You can also catch up on previous episodes on Paramount+.