NCIS: Origins Just Intensified the Gibbs/Lala Bond and — Surprise! — Introduced a Young [Spoiler]
The following contains spoilers from the Nov. 11 episode of CBS’ NCIS: Origins.
NCIS: Origins this week took steps towards establishing why the story that narrator Gibbs is telling us about “her” aka Special Agent Lala Dominguez resonates with him to this day.
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Along the way, we briefly laid eyes on a young version of a character who would appear in the NCIS mothership’s very first episode, and pop up now and again to this day.
As Gibbs (Mark Harmon) shared in this episode’s opening narration, Lala (played by Mariel Molino) would at some future point confide in him that she felt trapped in a “box,” and one that seems to be growing smaller. Things such as Franks (Kyle Schmid) suggesting she is a “workplace distraction” for Gibbs (Austin Stowell) clearly weigh on her. Lala, though, is in no rush to let “probie” know what she is feeling. Rather, she’s still irked about last week’s case, during which Gibbs drew his gun on two nobodies who were giving her a hard time.
Lala heads out with Vera (Diany Rodriguez) and Mary Jo (Tyla Abercrombie) for a “girls night,” to celebrate the former getting a green light for her profiling program. When Lala gets paged regarding NIS work, she heads to her car — only to have the guy she was kinda dancing with follow her and climb into the passenger seat uninvited. Lala tells the guy to get out, noting that she has work to do (and a boyfriend). But then a switch “flips” for her, and she suddenly pulls the stranger in for a kiss (and more?).
Lala is not herself upon reporting to the crime scene with smeared lipstick, and is notably “off” that whole night and day after. (No, Gibbs, offering a bowl of cereal won’t cure what ails her.) But they proceed to investigate the murder, which was made to look like suicide, of a Navy wonk who had access to military secrets.
Along the way, Franks asks SAC Wheeler (Patrick Fischler) to lean on his FBI contact for information the bureau has on the likely buyer. When Franks and Wheeler meet up with the FBI source at a Mexican restaurant well-populated by LEOs, the G-man waves over his young colleague “Tobias” — as in Fornell! The young version of Joe Spano’s NCIS character, whom Gibbs will first meet in the NCIS series premiere, is played by Lucas Dixon, whose previous TV credits include episodes of The Tick and Blindspot.
“In 1991, Agent Fornell is an affable underling who’s still finding his footing at the Bureau,” reads the official character description obtained by TVLine.
When the opportunity presents itself for Gibbs to pose as the man buying the stolen Navy intel, Lala tags along to coach “probie” through his first undercover op. And boy, does nervous Gibbs need the assist. With a glam Lala posing as Gibbs’ date at an exclusive bar, the two watch for the seller. There are sudden embraces (to dodge Gibbs’ dentist!) and the cupping of faces (to see the cover). Soon enough, Gibbs is invited to meet with the seller in a back room — both agents unaware that their SWAT team backup just got pulled away to another gig. So when Lala repeatedly uses the “congratulations” code word to signal SWAT’s breach… nothing happens. And this being 1991, the wire Lala’s wearing is only one-way. When Gibbs’ briefcase full of “show me” money counts up light, the seller and his goons smell a rat. Gibbs thinks fast and holds an ice pick, which had been deftly slipped to him by “tipsy” Lala, to the seller’s neck, while Lala manages to snatch a gun and pick off the goon who has a pistol aimed at her partner.
Afterwards, we see Lala overhearing NIS locker room talk about how hot she looked in her undercover dress — but she does what she always does, “deflects” it with equally inappropriate jabs of her own. That is the “box” she finds herself trapped in.
Or, at least one of them.
Because it then becomes clear that she feels to also be inside a “box” at home, into which her beau has been trying to move. And before the episode ends, we see Lala start to tell him about the parking lot hook-up, and presumably then give him his walking papers.
What did you think of the episode “Incognito,” and the Young Fornell reveal?
Want scoop on NCIS: Origins, or for any other TV show? Shoot an email to [email protected], and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
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