NCIS: Origins has been a significant project for the franchise, making an established character’s story even more robust. The prequel explains how Gibbs navigated his family’s death in more detail, shifting the narrative and perceptions of Gibbs’ story. Still, some facts established in the flagship NCIS series can never change, including what happens to key NCIS: Origins story and Gibbs’ original NIS team remain unknown, the NCIS franchise has filled in plenty of blanks with existing detail and foreshadowing within the narrative that explains where each member lands.

7 Vera Strickland

Played By Roma Maffia & Diany Rodriguez

While she only appears once in the flagship series, Roma Maffia establishes a robust character as Vera Stickland. Her single appearance is enough to know precisely where Vera's story is heading, but leaves room for her narrative to contain plenty of surprises in NCIS: Origins. The most important thing we know about the character from her flagship appearance is that Vera is still alive in 2013, since the franchise introduced Vera in NCIS season 11, episode 3, "Under The Radar." Vera's appearance means that Vera will live through the prequel series, which NCIS doesn't guarantee for all the prequel characters.

Ziva David's NCIS departure is fresh on everyone's minds when Vera visits the Navy Yard in season 11, with Cote de Pablo's character departing in the preceding episode. Due to Ziva's absence and McGee losing his NCIS credentials at a concert with Abby, Gibbs puts Vera on the case. She investigates alongside Anthony DiNozzo as the team investigates an explosion at the apartment of Lieutenant Junior Grade Terence Keith, despite her pleading with Gibbs not to send her, noting that she only has two weeks left in her career and doesn't want to put herself in harm's way.

When Vera appears, she has her eyes on her next chapter. Vera claims she only has a few weeks left before she rides off into the sunset on her "hog," referring to her V-twin four-stroke Electra Glide classic Harley motorcycle. The agent hasn't been to NCIS Headquarters for 20 years, but is there to meet with Leon Vance. The director explains to Timothy McGee that Vera is at headquarters for the last few weeks before her retirement as she processes out. The first indication she's from Gibbs' past is Vera referring to the Agent in Charge as "probie."

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NCIS never opted to show this relationship in the original series, which is a missed opportunity considering everything happening in NCIS: Origins.

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Later, Gibbs remarks that Vera was Mike Franks' last partner. Vera tells DiNozzo she had a "very special relationship" with Gibbs' mentor. NCIS: Origins processes the complexities of Franks and Vera's relationship in more detail, illustrating the push and pull of their dynamic in a male-dominated workplace. In an interview with TV Line, NCIS: Origins co-showrunner Gina Lucita Monreal revealed that when the show's creators examined Gibbs' timeline, Vera was positioned at Camp Pendleton, making her an obvious character choice to include in the NCIS: Origins cast (via Cinemablend). In the interview, she remarked the following about Vera's inclusion:

It is a deep pull, but we looked at the timeline and she would have been there [at Camp Pendleton]. She was described [on NCIS] as Franks’ first partner… Vera has some mysterious elements as well, so being able to flesh out a character that was so clearly defined in that one [NCIS] episode has been really fun, for sure.

While Vera and Tony's investigation ends with Vera suffering a severe ankle sprain, Vera gets off early due to her line-of-duty injury. Thus, we can assume that Vera safely retired from NCIS and used her retirement to joyride and occasionally visit Gibbs, who she knows leaves the front door open. While Vera's appearance only lasted a single NCIS outing, she is one of the flagship's most robust one-off characters, and the appearance lets NCIS: Origins audiences in on the fact that Vera will live to her retirement, but not without becoming Mike Franks' official partner at some point first.

6 Benjamin "Randy" Randolf

Played By Caleb Martin Foote

While we don't know what will happen to Randy, NCIS: Origins episode 8 provides a deeper look into Caleb Martin Foote's character. Episode 8 offers more profound insights into Randy and his motivations, potentially indicating where his story is heading. During the outing, Randy confesses to a Catholic priest under his protection that he was initially assigned as the protective detail for Shannon and Kelly's case but asked to be unassigned from the high-profile job due to personal circumstances. Randy explains that he had a sick baby at home and made his request due to stress and exhaustion.

While Randy blames his decision for Special Agent Kurt Mitchell's unfortunate fate, Randy's ability to know when to take a step back from his work saved his life. NCIS: Origins illustrates, primarily in episode 8, that Randy is a family-oriented agent, which breaks a franchise trend of special agents who lack families or the proper balance between work and home life. Gibbs' NCIS story never mentions Randy, meaning he's new to the franchise. Still, just because the special agent doesn't exist later doesn't mean Randy meets an unfortunate fate. In contrast, Randy's actions show he's capable of protecting himself.

5 Lala Dominguez

Played By Mariel Molino

While Lala's ending is still uncertain halfway through NCIS: Origins season 1, the provided context suggests a heavy fate. In the NCIS: Origins premiere, Gibbs describes the story he is telling — the premise of NCIS: Origins, which CBS promoted as the agent's first few years at NIS — as the story of "her," referring to Agent Dominguez. Mark Harmon's narration as Old Gibbs describes Lala's story as one he doesn't talk about, which suggests Lala's story is another tale in a series of traumatic instances from Gibbs' past that he doesn't much like to discuss, like Shannon and Kelly's murder.

The focus on Lala within six months of Gibbs' tragedy, rather than Shannon and Kelly's deaths, suggests that Agent Dominguez's story is somehow even more tragic than Pedro Hernandez murdering his family. Thus, Lala might die, too, since it's hard to imagine why Gibbs would place so much importance on his co-worker in 1991 while processing the death of his wife and daughter. In addition, the NCIS: Origins story suggests Lala doesn't trust Gibbs and believes he shouldn't be out in the field, but repeatedly dismisses that instinct. The pattern of Molino's character foreshadows impending danger.

4 Cliff Wheeler

Played By Patrick Fischler

While we don't know much about Special Agent in Charge Cliff Wheeler, due to his lack of mentions in NCIS and his minor presence in NCIS: Origins, he is a driven character, and we can make some assumptions about where he lands. On the surface, it's hard to read whether that character positively or negatively impacts Mike Franks' team and whether he is a villain. However, Cliff seems aligned with Frank's moral com despite their differences, such as allowing Franks to hire Gibbs despite his failed psych evaluation, which suggests a few possibilities for his future.

While Cliff Wheeler operates outside the law like Franks, other instances suggest he's more by the book, like when he suggests Franks elect Dominguez for a promotion because she was due for it. It could be that Wheeler is a morally sound leader who will guide Gibbs and Franks' NIS team as the agency becomes NCIS. Then again, someone like Wheeler could be responsible for covering up the findings about Buggs, as revealed in NCIS: Origins episode 10. Wheeler could either get the boot in his future or advance to Deputy Director of NCIS or some other advanced bureaucratic position.

3 Mike Franks

Played By Muse Watson & Kyle Schmid

We know what happened to Mike Franks, Gibbs' original NIS team leader, due to his robust story in the flagship NCIS series. Muse Watson established the Michael Franks character on NCIS, appearing more than most of the series' recurring guest characters. Mike Franks first appears in NCIS season 3, episode 23, "Hiatus Part I," when Director Jennifer Shepard calls on the former team leader to jog Gibbs' memory back to the present in one of the best NCIS episodes. Watson continues to appear as Franks through season 15, ultimately appearing as a hallucination when Gibbs needs advice from his mentor.

Due to his NCIS backstory, we know that Franks left NCIS in 1996 after disagreements regarding the Khobar Towers bombing, with Franks' warnings that Osama bin Laden was behind the attack ignored. After his retirement, Franks flees to a beach in Mexico to pursue a simpler life, where Director Shepard eventually finds the former team leader. Unfortunately, after a robust presence on the show, Franks dies in NCIS season 8, episode 1, "Spider and the Fly." Therefore, we know Franks will make it through the NCIS: Origins prequel series, but he won't be at the agency within five years.

2 Mary Jo

Played By Tyla Abercrumbie

Since she's a new character for the franchise, very little is known about the fate of the secretary for the NIS Camp Pendleton Field Officer, Mary Jo Hayes. Still, while Mary Jo is never mentioned in the flagship NCIS series, that doesn't necessarily mean she meets a tragic fate. There are no context clues that Mary Jo is heading toward her demise, as there are with Special Agent Lala Dominguez. While it's true that Gibbs never mentions Mary Jo in the NCIS story, his lack of mentioning the secretary could easily be explained by the many years that have ed.

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It's apparent by mid-season that Mary Jo is a source of for Gibbs, so she is likely one of the many influential of his circle who have come and gone over the years. While Mary Jo may meet a dark fate due to her association with the agency, like when the secretary was thrust into danger while looking after a little girl in NCIS: Origins episode 4, it's expected that Mary Jo will retire after an exhaustive yet satisfying career at NIS, settling down to enjoy her retirement. Still, no one at NCIS is ever truly safe.

1 Leroy Jethro Gibbs

Played By Mark Harmon & Austin Stowell

Perhaps the most familiar and recognized conclusion of all Franks and Gibbs' original NIS team is Leroy himself. What happens to the Agent in Charge is established in NCIS season 19, episode 4, "Great Wide Open," which served as Gibbs' retirement and Mark Harmon's NCIS exit after nearly two decades with the series. After a case takes Gibbs and McGee to Alaska, the former decides to stay and retire in "The Last Frontier," finding peace in Naktok Bay, Alaska, where he fishes with his senior field agent before McGee bids him farewell and takes off for Washington alone.

While we didn't hear from Gibbs for several years following his retirement, NCIS: Origins picks up where the flagship left off, checking in with Mark Harmon's Gibbs character as he pens a previously unwritten story about his early years at NIS in the 1990s and his relationship with Special Agent Lala Dominguez. While Gibbs' future was previously a closed book, the franchise has reopened the future of Mark Harmon's story by opening up Gibbs' past, using the character's present-day perspective to explore a pivotal moment in his past. Therefore, what happens to Gibbs is still being written.

Source: TV Line, Cinemablend

NCIS

7.6/10

Created by

Donald P. Bellisario, Don McGill

First TV Show

NCIS

Latest TV Show

NCIS: Sydney

TV Shows

NCIS: Tony & Ziva

First Episode Air Date

September 23, 2003

Cast

Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, Cote de Pablo, Sean Murray, Rocky Carroll, Brian Dietzen, Wilmer Valderrama

The NCIS franchise is an American media franchise that focuses on military-related criminal investigations by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. It began with NCIS in 2003, a spin-off from JAG, and has since expanded to include multiple spin-offs set across different locations.

Current Series

NCIS: Sydney

Spin-offs

NCIS: Tony & Ziva

TV Show(s)

NCIS

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