This article contains spoilers for NCIS: Origins seasons 1 and 2
Lala’s survival in NCIS: Origins season 2 is all but confirmed, but that might not actually be a good thing. The NCIS: Origins season 1 finale ended on a shocking note with Lala getting into a potentially fatal car crash. However, recent behind-the-scenes photos of NCIS: Origins season 2 revealed Lala’s actor, Mariel Molino, was still an active member.
Lala may have a continued presence in NCIS: Origins season 2, and potentially beyond, but her character will likely still face harsh circumstances. As NCIS: Origins follows the canon of its flagship series, NCIS, it can be difficult to ignore some key storylines. Lala’s story, or absence of one, is unfortunately one of those that NCIS: Origins just can’t ignore.
Lala’s NCIS Absence Is Inevitable
NCIS: Origins has some leeway with certain plots and characters, but Lala’s disappearance in NCIS must be addressed. Throughout all 22 seasons of NCIS, Lala is never mentioned once. While she may be an important person in Gibbs’ life in the early 1990s, her disappearance from his life by the time the NCIS pilot airs hints at a devastating fate.
While the exact explanation behind Lala’s absence is still questionable, it is clear that it must be something devastating. NCIS: Origins can play around with her character, but they can’t give her a happy ending. She either dies or has a horrible falling out with the team for her to never be mentioned by Mark Harmon’s Gibbs in NCIS.
Delaying Lala’s Disappearance Will Only Hurt Gibbs
Since Lala’s disappearance is inevitable, delaying it will only cause more pain. It will especially hurt Gibbs, who has already faced so much loss in his life after the death of his family. Now that Lala was in a car accident, it was the perfect time to kill her character off, since we already know something similar is coming.
The NCIS: Origins season 1 finale also showed Gibbs meeting his ex-wife for the first time. While there is never a perfect time to kill off a beloved character, killing off Lala after this meeting was the best time. Gibbs was coming to terms with the changes in his life. Lala’s passing could have coincided with this.
However, since Lala’s character supposedly survived the car crash, Gibbs will have to go through the grief of potentially losing her, only to go through it again when Lala inevitably leaves his life for real. Lala’s character arc is great, but her character was doomed from the beginning of NCIS: Origins. Delaying her exit only causes more pain.
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NCIS: Origins
- Release Date
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October 14, 2024
- Directors
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Niels Arden Oplev, John Terlesky, Diana Valentine, Edward Ornelas, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Lionel Coleman, Loren Yaconelli, Pete Chatmon, Pamela Romanowsky, Ruben Garcia, Jessica Lowrey
- Writers
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Brendan Fehily
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Austin Stowell
Leroy Jethro Gibbs
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Kyle Schmid
Special Agent Mike Franks