Note: This story contains spoilers from “NCIS: Origins” Season 2, Episode 18.
“NCIS: Origins” wrapped up Season 2 with a big kiss, a surprise kidnapping and lots of questions about what’s coming for the ’90s-era series.
Episode 18, appropriately titled “Hollywood Ending,” followed as the NIS agents grappled with the potential closure of the Camp Pendleton office after a scandal brought unwanted scrutiny to their operations — threatening to disband the team for good. The twist led Lala (Mariel Molino) to consider leaving the organization altogether, in exchange for a sheriff position in the remote California town where her love interest Manny (Miguel Gomez) was taken for witness protection.
But the possibility of losing Lala finally encouraged Gibbs (Austin Stowell) to fight for her — and sealed the episode with a big Hollywood-style kiss. Lala immediately decided to stay and it seems like the duo will give this relationship a go.
“Bringing that moment to life was really satisfying, especially because it feels like there’s so many things in the world that are sad, so it felt good to have a moment of happiness — especially in contrast with what we did last season,” co-showrunner Gina Lucita Monreal told TheWrap. “We really went for it!”
The episode also concluded the mystery surrounding the elusive cult that Franks’ brother Mason (Philip Winchester) got himself caught up with — leading to potential romantic sparks between Mike (Kyle Schmid) and FBI agent Joey Swanson (Hannah Barefoot). The hourloug episode also resolved its potential office closure with a comedic twist to the origin story behind the organization’s name change from NIS to NCIS — a resolution based on real life. Oh, and Randy (Caleb Foote) was kidnapped, leaving his fate in question for the summer.
Beyond what happened in the episode, the Season 2 finale also marks Monreal’s final episode as co-showrunner on the CBS crime procedural. Co-creator David J. North will continue as the show’s only showrunner in Season 3, which is set to return this fall and consist of 10 episodes.
Below, Monreal and North break down the finale’s biggest moments and reflect on how their collaboration shaped this celebrated prequel series from the very start. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
TheWrap: What a great, high-stakes finale you left us with this season, and a very different vibe from the first season ender. What inspired this Hollywood-themed episode to close out Season 2?
Monreal: We knew from the beginning of the season that we wanted this to end in a kiss with Gibbs and Lala. Usually on “NCIS,” we will tease that out until we cannot tease it out anymore. We really wanted to do something different and give people a surprise and hopefully that landed.
Lala and Gibbs, our favorite fated duo, had quite a journey this season, yearning from afar when they couldn’t be together and seeing other people — Gibbs getting married and divorced. The threat of Lala leaving finally gets Gibbs to show up and they seal her staying put with a big kiss. You knew this is where you wanted to end things this season. Why not keep the slow burn going?
North: We’ve had reasons to do that on “NCIS” before and it’s worked there, but in this case this felt like the right time to do it. We’re excited to see where things go now between these two.
Monreal: We know that, for whatever reason, they don’t end up together. So we wanted to earn this moment of togetherness.
Gibbs himself calls it a happy ending, before teasing trouble ahead saying it didn’t last long — and of course we know she wasn’t in the picture in the lore. So how much of this happy version of them do we get to explore before you break our hearts?
North: Everybody just has to stay tuned for what’s going to happen with this story. Obviously, it’s the story of her. We know that they don’t end up together, but the why and what happens with Lala is [up in the air]. Stay tuned for Season 3.
“The story of her” is the series’ big throughline we’ve had since the pilot. Where are we with that story and how much more “Origins” could we get out of it?
North: Oh, there’s plenty more “Origins” to be had, and love stories last a lifetime. So we just focus on trying to do the next right thing, as far as what we think is really authentic between these two characters, without falling into too many of the tropes that TV usually does with the will they, won’t they. We just kind of try to tell it in an authentic way for us.
And of course the big cliffhanger for the summer is that Randy was the target instead of Lala and ended up kidnapped for his work putting the NIS archives into a computer database. How worried should we be for him? Why put him in the line of fire this time?
North: Worried! Listen, we know what happens with Franks. We know what happens with Gibbs, but no one knows in “NCIS” canon what happens with Randy. So there’s reason to be concerned about our beloved Randy.
Monreal: We knew from the beginning, when we started breaking the season. We figured out where we were going with all the characters in this last episode. So we’re really writing to the app, which is why we wanted to set up the computer of it all. But we really worked hard to give everyone an arc and an ending. You know, an arc throughout the season, but then it lands in an interesting, unexpected way in the finale.
The big plotline in the finale was the potential closure of the Camp Pendleton office and separation of the team, which brought the hilarious technicality that originated the NCIS name change. How did you crack telling such a crucial story in the franchise’s history?
Monreal: Well, in real life, this was happening in ’92 at the time, they were transitioning to a civilian director and they sort of rebranded the organization because of a scandal and changed the name from NIS to NCIS, so all of that was based on reality.
The thing that we took license with was that it was our people that came up with this “C.” We just thought, “Wouldn’t it be funny if this all came down to a C?”
It was also fun to see Franks and Swanson evolve this season from coworking nemeses to potential love interests. How much of their dynamic do you hope to explore next season?
North: Plenty. I really love seeing Franks have a crush and she’s, I think, a good match for him. There’s really a lot of chemistry between them on camera. So we haven’t seen the last of FBI Swanson.
Monreal: When Hannah Barefoot first came on we were sort of unsure what we wanted to do. We knew we needed a new FBI presence, but we were unsure if it was going to work chemistry-wise and all that but she was wonderful.
The way they play off of each other is just so dynamic. We love the idea of seeing more of them … I get why she would like him and why she wouldn’t like him at the same time. So as an audience member, I think it’s fun to put yourself in her shoes.
The show will be back for Season 3 this fall, but Gina will not return as co-showrunner. Gina, why did this feel like the right time to step aside?
Monreal: I want to take some much needed time to have quality time with my family. Then I’ll see where the writing takes me after that. This really has been a highlight of my career. You know, not only working with David, but also working with this group of people, the cast really have all been amazing. The support that we’ve had from Amy Reisenbach and David Stapf and everybody at CBS and CBS Studios, I feel so honored to have gotten this opportunity. That will never be lost on me. I will always be grateful.
The show is in the most capable and amazing hands. I’m so excited to see what he does with it. It’s been an honor to work with him. I don’t know anyone more talented than David North.
North: I wrote that all up and she memorized it.
Gina’s written by far the best episodes of the original “NCIS” that ever existed, and then she was off doing some amazing things. Building this show with her and her coming back to the “NCIS” franchise was a great gift to the fans and certainly to me and changed my life. I don’t think a human could give more in two years, the amount of writing that she’s done — I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before and we’re just so grateful.
This fall, “Origins” shares the night with “NCIS” and new show “NCIS: New York,” with LL Cool J back as Sam Hanna. How epic will that crossover be? You must already be talking about it.
North: (laughs) We’re always open to crossovers and different things like that. But yeah, there’s a lot of moving parts with everything right now, but it’s going to be an awesome night. We’re so excited to have LL Cool J and the team leading us in, to have him leading us in. That’s going to be an exciting show and part of an exciting season.
You guys got to really tap into the characters’ backstories and psyches this season, from the leads to Gary Callahan — which of these explorations stand out in your mind when you look back on this season’s episodes?
North: So much goes into all of these episodes. We’re really proud of the Wheeler episode and the day with Mary Jo. You mentioned the Gary Callahan episode too. We knew for two years we wanted to do that. It takes me a long time to figure out things I want to do, and I was going to write it. So Gina kept kicking the can for me, so I had time to figure it out.
Every one of the episodes is a labor of love, and we’re really proud of the character exploration that we do on this show. I don’t think there’s any show like it on TV, and maybe I shouldn’t say that since it’s our show, but I’m really proud of it. I really don’t think there’s anything like it.
Monreal: For me, David had the idea for a Gary Callahan episode since the beginning, so for me, to watch him create and see his vision through was really rewarding. As his friend to see him do that and see how wonderfully it was received and rightfully so. And then for me, the Lala/Manny episode (15) really meant a lot to me. I just thought it was so beautifully acted and directed by Anthony Hemingway. That one was one of my favorites, and I would also say the finale, because getting to that moment where he puts on the NCIS jacket, for me as a writer and just as a fan of the show, was really rewarding.
