NCIS came back better than ever in the season 22 premiere. It did not take long for the team to be drawn back together and it was all thanks to their missing team member, Agent Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama). How did Nick’s disappearance lead to React Training Officer Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) being drawn back into the team’s orbit? Here's what happened!
Nick went missing in the midst of working undercover to find the head of the Nexus Cartel, who is known as El Padre. Throughout the course of the episode, Jessica discussed the situation that occurred and her involvement with a lawyer as she was in the midst of holding the suspected El Padre hostage.
Most of the information Jessica had about El Padre was based on circumstantial evidence. The cartel appeared to be using food banks to hide their illegal dealings. One of the clues that someone else was involved was the addition of a colorful armband on their person. A member of Jessica’s training team, an Officer Moreno, was the ex-wife of Hector Moreno, who was a member of the cartel who had been killed.
Jessica couldn’t believe Moreno was involved at first. But since the cartel seemed to know about REACT raids before they occurred, it was likely she was the mole the Inspector General’s Office was looking for.
However, with the help of Parker, she was able to find proof that large sums of money were being placed into the lawyer’s account, not Moreno’s. She had been using confidential information from Moreno to report to the cartel, which was, indeed, led by the priest Jessica was holding hostage while waiting for evidence to come through.
Even though this would eventually lead to Jessica deciding to return and also aided in the team finding Nick, they still had one hurdle to cross. They didn’t know who revealed Nick’s identity to the cartel. The only people who would know was the DOJ, including Inspector General Gabriel Laroche, who had opened their file and would have found out about Nick.
If they want to find out for sure, it’ll be difficult. McGee discovered that Laroche was given the Deputy Director position he had applied for. So what does this mean for the team if Laroche is dirty?
With the first episode down, it looks like this season of NCIS will have plenty in store for everyone involved. We’re already looking forward to seeing what the season has to offer for our favorite team of agents.
The next episode of NCIS will air on Monday, Oct. 21 at its normal timeslot of 9/8c. You can catch up the next day on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Americans Undercover for coverage. Follow us on X and Facebook for more content!