‘NCIS’ Is Bringing Back Lots of Fan Favorites for Season 19 — Except Mark Harmon
NCIS season 19 has been unlike any other, thanks to the unexpected departure of Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He was a series staple since before its 2003 premiere (he starred in the JAG backdoor pilot), and for many fans Gibbs was NCIS. But in the season’s fourth episode, he stayed in Alaska and handed off his Washington DC team to Gary Cole’s Agent Alden Parker.
Since Harmon’s exit, NCIS has been bringing back lots of fan favorites. At the same time, Gibbs’ impact has been noticeable in the weekly storylines. But fans still haven’t seen Harmon since his exit.
‘NCIS’ brought back Tobias Fornell
During the March 28 crossover episode with NCIS: Hawai’i, fans saw the return of perennial recurring character Tobias Fornell (Joe Spano).
After appearing in the NCIS pilot, Fornell has popped up in every season (except for the COVID-plagued season 17) because fans can’t get enough of his cantankerous friendship with Gibbs. They even married the same woman! But this was the first time fans had seen the former FBI Special Agent in the post-Gibbs era.
Before his appearance in the episode titled “Starting Over,” fans last saw Fornell at the beginning of season 19 — just before Harmon’s exit. This time, though, he showed up in an unexpected way — as a grief sponsor for a man the NCIS team believed had been murdered.
They keep bringing back fan-favorites — except Mark Harmon
In the same grief-focused episode that NCIS fans witnessed Fornell’s return, they also saw Laura San Giacomo come back as Dr. Grace Confalone.
The central case of the episode focused on the apparent suicide of someone who was part of Palmer (Brian Dietzen) and Knight’s (Jessica Law) grief group. And with Dr. Grace being the resident mental health expert at NCIS, she was part of the storyline along with Fornell.
The return of these two characters in the same episode was a nice dose of nostalgia for NCIS fans. They got even more with the unexpected impact that Gibbs had on the crossover with NCIS: Hawai’i. But so far, fans are only getting mentions. Will they ever bring back Harmon?
Gibbs’ famous rules were part of the ‘NCIS’ crossover with ‘NCIS: Hawai’i’
Even without his presence, Gibbs’ influence is still apparent at NCIS in many ways. When Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) and Knight flew to Hawaii for an old case, Gibbs was there in spirit thanks to his famous rules.
Specifically, two rules were brought up by the team after a witness was killed and the agents came under fire. When Torres and Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey) canvas the area in the aftermath, they mention Rule 45 — “Left a mess I gotta clean up.” Later, they brought up Rule 40, which is “if it seems like someone’s out to get you, they are.”
In addition to his rules, Gibbs’ legacy has also lived on via his scholarship fund for the kids of NCIS agents. But his retirement is starting to feel more and more permanent. Will Harmon at least make a cameo before season 19 is over? Fans will just have to wait and see.
New episodes of NCIS air Monday nights on CBS.
