NCIS: Origins season 1, episode 9, "Vivo o Muerto"

In NCIS. Randy is a new NCIS character, and tying his story back to what happened to Gibbs was a good move.

Episode 9 ties a new NCIS: Origins character's story back to Gibbs. The case in "Vivo o Muerto" brings Gibbs and Special Agent Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino) to Mexico, where Gibbs' team member tells him how deeply she connects to his case. The agent has a special connection to Mexico, revealing she's half Mexican, and the agents grow closer on their journey over the border. The episode's conclusion resolves one of the most essential Gibbs stories NCIS: Origins needed to tackle as the show prepares for the mid-season finale, but ultimately forms a rift between Gibbs and Lala.

8 NCIS: Origins Shows Gibbs Hunting For Pedro Hernandez Six Months Ago

Gibbs Is Hunting Pedro Hernandez

In NCIS: Origins episode 9, the episode explains that Gibbs is looking for his wife and daughter's killer in a flashback. It shows Gibbs six months before his journey as an NIS agent. He's wearing a cast and mulls over his research in his barren apartment, signifying that it's after his wife and daughter's murder, but before he s Franks and his team at the agency. The agent carefully studies the information he has on Hernandez, including the name of his cartel and the details of his truck.

Narration from the original Leroy Jethro Gibbs actor Mark Harmon talks about how he couldn't eat but eventually had to start eating again.

However, Gibbs doesn't have enough information to go on. Narration from the original Leroy Jethro Gibbs actor Mark Harmon talks about how he couldn't eat but eventually had to start eating again. Harmon's narration doesn't suggest that Gibbs resolves his wife and daughter's murder but that something has allowed him to move on. Like many others in NCIS: Origins, the flashback bolsters the original flashbacks to Gibbs and Pedro Hernandez's story in the double "Hiatus" episode, NCIS.

7 NCIS: Origins Episode 9 Case Explained

A Drunk Navy Sailor Connections To The Cartel

In NCIS: Origins episode 9, the team investigates a case that brings them dangerously close to Pedro Hernandez (George Paez). It all starts when a petty officer brings a drunken sailor to NIS. The petty officer explains that he has a prior commitment and doesn't want to take the sailor all the way to the military police, who are technically the ones who should process his booking. After Randy agrees to do the petty officer a favor, Gibbs and Lala work together to book the sailor.

Gibbs and Lala's task starts uneventfully. Lala has to teach the gunnery sergeant how to record their detainees' fingerprints correctly, but soon makes a discovery, and the case takes a turn, putting it in NIS' territory. Lala finds the ID of a Navy corpsman named Dana Rogers (Zoe Sansanowicz) in the sailor's wallet, and as they investigate the case, it becomes clear that someone abducted Dana. The evidence points to a club in Tijuana, Mexico, and with Franks out of the office and her in charge, Gibbs and Lala investigate as Randy waits to question their sailor.

6 Tish & Franks’ House Painting Brings Up An Uncomfortable Situation

Mike Franks Takes A Day Off From NIS

When Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid) learns from Mary Jo (Tyla Ambercrumbie) that the painter is at his house a few days early, he leaves work for the day. When Mike arrives home, he rushes in to find Tish (Tonantzin Carmelo) talking to the painter. The situation appears casual and under control, but Franks is tense and expresses his discomfort. Franks tells his partner he had taken the scheduled appointment off work so that he could be at home in case anything bad happened.

Muse Watson played the original Mike Franks character on NCIS.

The interaction continues to build on a plot revealed in NCIS: Origins episode 7, which explained that Franks was covertly working on a case in connection to a sexual assault that Tish experienced. Tish has told Franks that she wants to put the case behind her and move on, but NCIS: Origins leaves no doubt that Franks struggles to put the case behind him. When Franks and Tish discuss the painter in their home, Tish insists she is okay, but Franks reveals that he is not.

5 Gibbs & Lala Take A Roadtrip To Mexico When Their Case Takes Them To Tijuana

Franks Puts Lala In Charge & She Drives Gibbs To Mexico

When they make a break in their case, tying their missing girl to a nightclub in Mexico, Lala and Gibbs travel across the border to investigate what happened at La Puerta Gris. After Franks learns that Tish is home alone with the painter, he leaves the office for the day and puts Lala in charge, which is odd, considering his refusal to endorse her for promotion a few episodes earlier. While Gibbs hesitates to follow Lala to Mexico without first calling Franks, Molino's character insists that their boss put her in charge and that she's doing what Franks would do.

Images from their sailor's disposable camera reveal that someone named Emilia (Kimberly J. Marquez) was with him and Dana the night she disappeared, and local law enforcement believes that the woman is a scout for an underground human trafficking ring. As Gibbs and Lala drive down to Mexico with the latter behind the wheel, there is tension around traveling to Tijuana. Lala reveals she has recently made the journey to visit her father, and Gibbs doesn't press her on the information even though it feels like she's withholding something.

4 NIS’ Case Leads Back To A Human Trafficking Ring Run By Reynosa Cartel And Pedro Hernandez

NIS Finds A Reason To Target Hernandez

When Lala and Gibbs make it to Mexico and meet with their Tijuana liaison officer, they get the full scope of Dana Rogers' disappearance. The officer helping with their case believes that Dana's abduction connects to a human trafficking ring run by the Reynosa cartel and that one of the people at the head of the operation is Pedro Hernandez. It's an eerie reveal since we know that Gibbs has been looking for his wife and daughter's killer, and now he is close to him in Mexico.

You can catch up on NCIS: Origins on Paramount+.

When Lala reads Gibbs to see how he will respond, he has a noticeably cool head. She calls Franks in California to report that their case has led them directly to Pedro Hernandez, and they can take him down while searching for Dana Rogers. The development tears Franks away from his day off with Tish but puts the team in a favorable position to hold the man who murdered Shannon and Kelly able. The development proves the man who murdered Gibbs' wife and daughter is a ruthless, dangerous criminal.

3 Lala its She Feels Like She Failed Gibbs And His Family & They Get Shot At In Their Hotel

Lala Gets Intimate With Gibbs In Their Hotel Room

As Lala and Gibbs await Frank at their Tijuana hotel room, Lala opens up to Gibbs, potentially clearing a path for Gibbs and Lala's NCIS: Origins romance. She tells him Franks will pull him off the case when they get close to Hernandez. However, Lala ensures Gibbs she will get justice when that happens. Lala tells Gibbs that the special agent will get Hernandez for him​​​​​​. The moment reveals how deeply the case impacts Lala. She has a new intensity about her as she assures Gibbs repeatedly that she will avenge his family's killer.

It's an intimate moment for the pair, especially considering that Lala tells Gibbs she failed him. The agent reveals she believes she failed his entire family. Lala had been coming to Mexico every month looking for Hernandez, emphasizing her responsibility to put the case to rest. Her dedication to solving the case and giving Kelly and Shannon the justice they deserve touching. As the moment builds, gunfire breaks out as Gibbs and Lala are shot at in their Tijuana hotel room, suggesting the cartel is onto NIS and is sending them a warning.

2 Gibbs, Franks, And Lala Find Dana Rogers (But Not Pedro Hernandez)

Gibbs Worries About Lala's Undercover Stint During Their Case

When Franks arrives in Mexico, his team makes a plan to catch Pedro Hernandez. Based on Hernandez's new supply route discovered by Randy and Vera (Diany Rodriguez), their local law enforcement partner believes the Reynosa cartel could be hiding their victims at a gas station along Hernandez's supply route. Gibbs is to watch the scene and provide cover for Lala while she draws the gas station's guards out, allowing Franks and their liaison to investigate the premises to see if they have Dana Rogers.

Mark Harmon played Leroy Jethro Gibbs for 19 years on the original NCIS series.

Gibbs exercises strict self-control as he watches a guard, Mauricio (Paolo Cesar) from the Reynosa cartel, take hold of Lala and attempt to drag her inside. The sniper holds his fire, and Franks and their local partner can get inside the abandoned gas station and locate Dana Rogers and dozens of other local human trafficking victims. While it was a successful operation, the team is discouraged that they didn't find Hernandez. However, they bring his guard in for questioning, which leads them to a conclusive answer about his whereabouts.

1 Pedro Hernandez Was Killed Six Months Ago By A Sniper

Gibbs Shot And Killed Pedro Hernandez

While they can't find Hernandez during their operation, Franks' team gets a conclusive update about Pedro Hernandez's whereabouts at the end of NCIS: Origins episode 9. As Lala questions one of the guards arrested in connection to the human trafficking ring, she presses him on Hernandez's location and eventually gets an answer. The guard tells Lala that Pedro Hernandez was murdered by a scout sniper six months ago, and the Reynosa cartel covered it up so they wouldn't look weak.

The original flashback of Gibbs shooting his wife and daughter's killer happens in the NCIS season 3 "Hiatus" double episode.

When Lala learns the information, she looks backward toward Gibbs, seemingly connecting the dots. The timeline suggests that Gibbs killed Pedro Hernandez and NCIS: Origins episode 9 backs this up by recreating a famous NCIS flashback in which Gibbs shoots his family's killer. The series then flashes back to Gibbs at the beginning of the episode, revealing how he uncovered Hernandez's whereabouts, confirming he killed him months ago. The development causes a rift to form between Gibbs and Lala since she spent months tracking his family's killer.