NCIS: Origins episode 4 ending explained: Who killed Brianna Davis and why?
By Sabrina Reed
Major spoilers ahead of NCIS: Origins episode 4
NCIS: Origins likes to give us a twist with its cases and that's exactly what happened in "All's Not Lost," an episode that took us down a tragic memory lane and dropped us into a case involving a missing girl. It all started when the NIS were called to the scene of a homicide.
Brianna Davis, an 8th grade science teacher was the victim. The team had jurisdiction because she's the girlfriend of Staff Sergeant Eric Jones who was deployed in Ethiopia. Brianna had been shot in the chest and the head. Not only did the team need to find out why she was murdered, they also had to track down Mildred "Millie" Jones, Eric's young daughter who'd been in the home at the time of the attack by evidence of the bloody handprint she'd left behind on one of the kitchen cabinet doors.
The situation brought up a lot for Gibbs who couldn't help but think about the loss of his wife Shannon and their daughter Kelly. He, like Eric, had been overseas when he received the news. While it's clear Gibbs gives his all in every case he works, this one touched him personally and he did everything he could to keep Millie safe once they found her and find out who killed Brianna.
Why was Brianna Davis murdered in NCIS: Origins episode 4?
At first, since Brianna didn't seem to have any enemies or owe any debts, it looked like the real purpose of the attack was to nab Millie. This hypothesis was fueled by a neighbor saying he'd seen a man in a blue Ford Explorer take off with the distraught child in the vehicle. The NIS had put a BOLO out for the truck but it turned out the neighbor hadn't seen anything.
Mike overheard him embellishing what he said he saw to another member of the community and he realized the man's story was a crock. Knowing that they needed the best on this investigation, the agent got Gary Callahan reinstated. The K-9, with his partner Granny in tow, led the way through the woods where they found Mildred's backpack buried. Gibbs, assigned to lookout for anyone they may come across while checking out the scene, found Millie hiding in an uprooted tree.
Later, with some help from "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston, Gibbs was able to coax her into telling him what the man who shot Brianna looked like via the facial composite book. Mike took the picture to Kenny, one of his CIs and they were able to track down Hatcher, a hit man who'd been responsible for the death of the head of a gambling ring. His calling card was a shot to the head and the chest.
The team tracked Hatcher to the house he shared with his father, but he wasn't there. His dad told them that his son had found out that Millie had seen him kill Brianna and he went off to cover his tracks. Hatcher knew that she'd been taken to Mary Jo's house for the night. They had an agent outside for protection, but it wasn't enough. Thankfully, Gibbs was already there as he'd stopped by to drop off a Harlo Horse toy, the coolest member of the Trotter Trio that Millie and his daughter Kelly both loved.
By the time Gibbs rushed in, Mary Jo had stabbed Hatcher and Millie had run to hide in the basement. When Mary Jo took her eye off Hatcher, he made his move to go after Millie. She was hiding under the stairs and made herself known to Gibbs without coming out. He got into a fight with Hatcher and lost his gun. Millie tried to get it but couldn't. Hatcher saw her when she went back to hide.
With so much on the line, Gibbs knew it was either going to be him or the hit man. It's a good thing he had another weapon on him. He shot Hatcher, killing him, and got Millie to come out, letting her know that she was safe now.
The last piece of the puzzle was put together when Mike and Gibbs spoke to Hatcher's father. His son was a hired gun so he had no reason other than a contract to take Brianna's life. But he knew that Brianna, who'd been conducting a science project she planned to do with her students, had gone to the lake to collect samples.
When she'd tested them, she learned something was wrong with the water and had found out a company had been dumping chemicals into the lake. She was going to sound the alarm but she was killed before she could. The person who'd hired Hatcher was none other than Sara Walsh, the owner of Walsh Farms Dairy.
We'd met her earlier in "All's Not Lost" when she'd been oh so eager to get Millie's face on her milk cartons and offered her assistance with the tip line. But she wasn't trying to find the little girl so she could be brought home safely. Sara wanted her dead because Millie saw Hatcher and she knew it would only be a matter of time before he was tracked back to her.
The episode ended with Sara's arrest, Millie embracing her father, and Gibbs showing up to Mike and Trish's for dinner. The latter was a sign that our hero is working to let people in his life again which is a good step forward for him.
NCIS: Origins airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. Next day streaming is available on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Americans Undercover and follow us on X for livetweet threads and more content!