NCIS Is Ruining Gibbs To Save Its Trailblazing Show

Warning! Spoilers ahead for NCIS: Origins season 2, episode 9, “Fools Rush In.”NCIS‘s trailblazing spinoff is telling a compelling story, but it’s costing the franchise Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ 19-year legacy. CBS’s Super Tuesday block for the 2025-2026 TV cycle has been successful for the network thus far. By lumping together all active NCIS franchise shows, it is able to emphasize how encompassing the universe that started in 2003 has become. This allows for great crossovers, not to mention re-emphasizing how they all exist in the same reality.

This is particularly applicable to NCIS: Origins, which functions as Gibbs’ origins story. While Mark Harmon exited the flagship in 2021, his presence continues to loom large on it, after being the face of the show for almost 20 years. Aside from its current storytelling, NCIS also continues a juggernaut in syndication and streaming, which means that its long history has remained at the forefront of the pop culture zeitgeist. Usually, this is a great thing, but the downside is that it makes it easier to notice issues with overall continuity.

Gibbs Is Not In Love With Diane In NCIS: Origins (No Matter What He Says)

On the heels of Gibbs and Diane’s Las Vegas marriage, NCIS: Origins season 2, episode 9, “Fools Rush In,” reveals the aftermath of their drunken wedding. While a serious conversation about what happened is clearly needed, the pair doesn’t get the chance to do it, as Gibbs is called in for a work emergency. Throughout the episode, his news spread over at NIS, with many of his co-workers assuming that he is looking to get it annulled.

It isn’t until the end of “Fools Rush In” that Gibbs decides to keep the marriage, even going as far as saying “I love you” to Diane for the first time. Oblivious to her new husband’s internal turmoil, she happily takes it, believing that it’s the start of a good chapter. Harmon’s narration in the present day, which adds context to every episode of NCIS: Origins, argues that he did mean it when he told Diane that he loved her. Whether he’s trying to assuage his guilt doesn’t matter, but both he and the viewers know that isn’t the truth.

Old Gibbs’ additional dialog after being adamant about genuinely loving Diane at that time is proof of that. He says:

Sometimes, a person shows up, right place, right time. That’s easy. It’s simple. It’s exactly what you need. Right place, right time. Exactly what you need. But it only complicates the kind of love that lasts forever.

Couple that with young Gibbs’ pained expression and the revelation of Lala’s own new relationship, and it’s undeniable that what he feels for Diane isn’t love. He describes her as someone who conveniently came in and offered him companionship without complications. Gibbs isn’t in love. He’s mainly grateful for Diane’s presence in his life.

NCIS: Origins Questions Gibbs’ True State Of Heart In The Flagship

Gibbs’ marriage to Diane has a predetermined end — something that cannot be changed. Still, there’s something so uncomfortable seeing how their relationship is depicted in NCIS: Origins, especially with how differently they approach it. Diane is clearly in love with Gibbs, and multiple times, she has given him a way out of it if he wanted. Instead of simply taking the opportunity to be honest, Gibbs continues to lie to himself and her. This inevitably leads to mutual heartbreak, but much worse for her, considering that she’s operating based on his words and actions.

This deception becomes so much worse when one realizes what happened to Diane in the mothership. She was killed for her association with Gibbs. She never even found out that the real reason that their relationship failed wasn’t because Gibbs couldn’t get over Shannon, but because he didn’t have the emotional maturity to be honest about his feelings for Lala. In Old Gibbs’ “Fools Rush In” narration, he mentions “the kind of love that lasts forever,” referring to his NIS co-worker.

NCIS: Origins telling Gibbs and Lala’s story is an integral part of its storytelling, and it’s understandable that it needs to present it as a compelling love affair. That said, Old Gibbs making such statements cast doubts on what was established about his personal story in the flagship. It cheapens his pervasive grief over losing Shannon in NCIS, which was so central to his personal arc in the procedural. It also raises the question about whether he was mostly haunted by her death or by not being able to be with Lala.

Why NCIS: Origins Can’t Just Bring Gibbs & Lala Together?

Considering Lala’s absence in the mothership, NCIS: Origins doesn’t have much time to spend on this push-and-pull dynamic with Gibbs. There’s an argument that there’s really nothing holding them back from getting together. Their co-workers at NIS know about their mutual admiration for each other, as they have been terrible at hiding their feelings. Before Gibbs’ marriage and Lala’s new relationship, NCIS: Origins could have easily brought them together. Her near-death experience supposedly standing in their way of being honest with each other has always been a thin excuse anyway.

Ultimately, the motivation to maintain this frustrating situation for Lala and Gibbs is rooted in the appeal of a will-they/won’t-they romance. The NCIS franchise is quite well known for this set-up, with many couples being subjected to the same push and pull dynamic, such as Tony Dinozzo Jr. and Ziva David, as well as Nick Torres and Ellie Bishop. People are invested in following Gibbs and Lala’s story because they are in this compelling narrative. While there’s no denying that playing on their chemistry is a major appeal for NCIS: Origins, hopefully it’s done in a more thoughtful way in relation to Gibbs’ established history.

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