Spoiler Alert for NCIS: Origins season 1, episode 4, "All's Not Lost"NCIS: Origins episode 4 continues to build the backstory of NCIS Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Mark Harmon played the character for 19 years on the show until Harmon's NCIS exit in season 19, episode 4. It wasn't clear whether the series would survive when the actor retired. Several years later, Harmon's original show is now in NCIS season 22, and there is a prequel show about the central character's career origins as an NCIS agent. The bona fide television institution hasn't suffered from Harmon's departure but has grown with the actor's executive producer roles within the franchise.
Austin Stowell is Gibbs in NCIS: Origins. Stowell paints a new picture of the agent, in line with Harmon's character, while contrasting the more composed Agent-in-Charge. Still, Harmon is integral to the series. Harmon narrates NCIS: Origins as his version of Gibbs, who is shown on camera retired in Alaska. He writes his story down as he reminisces about his earliest cases in the field. NCIS: Origins walks the line between the agent's past and present, and episode 4 continues to expand on Gibbs' stories from NCIS.
10 NCIS: Origins Episode 4 Features A Flashback Of Gibbs Getting The News About Shannon And Kelly
Gibbs Is Deployed When He Learns His Family Is Gone
NCIS: Origins finally paints the picture of the day that Gibbs gets the news about what happened to his wife and daughter. NCIS season 3 revealed that Gibbs was deployed on Operation Desert Storm in 1991 when he found out his family had been murdered. The NCIS: Origins episode puts the moment together and reveals that Gibb experiences another traumatic event right after he gets the news.
The opening of NCIS: Origins episode 4 expands on the flashbacks and stories from the flagship and shows how the Marine reacts at the moment. Origins shows just how shortly thereafter Gibbs experiences an explosion that puts him in a coma. Thus, NCIS: Origins episode 4 finally plays out the worst day of Gibbs' life, providing a window into his time overseas.
9 Special Agent Gary Callahan The K-9 Dog Is Introduced After Franks' Team Gets Fake Intel
Mike Franks Cares About His NIS Colleagues
In the fourth episode of NCIS: Origins, Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid) and his team investigate the murder of a science teacher while they try to find a missing girl named Mildred (Hattie Hoskins). The girl’s father is overseas, and she is staying with a family friend who has been murdered. When the team investigates, the girl is missing, but a neighbor claims they saw someone driving away with her.
The man's claim is the team's lead until they find out the neighbor is lying to feel important. At that point, Franks convinces Cliff Wheeler (Patrick Fischler) that he needs an old friend, despite the Agent-in-Charge's claims that he is past his prime: Special Agent Gary Callahan. Gary is a K-9 unit dog that Franks deeply trusts and pays special attention to. Mike Franks talks about his “sleepovers” with Gary, wherein he keeps the dog well-fed.
8 Gibbs Finds A Way To Work The Case Despite Franks' Instructions
Gibbs Has Keen Instincts
Since the case in NCIS: Origins episode 4 involves a missing little girl, Franks worries about Gibbs’ mental and emotional stability. When they go looking for Mildred in the woods with the help of Special Agent Gary Callahan, Franks tells the “probie” to stay back when they find some of Mildred’s belongings buried in the woods. Separated from the other agents, Gibbs scans through the woods and sees Mildred, showing just how capable the rookie NIS agent is.
When the team initially investigates the crime scene, Gibbs is the one who finds evidence of Mildred’s location during the murder. His ability to locate Mildred in the woods, getting ahead of his team and the K-9 dog, shows that Gibbs is a capable agent early on but that he has to balance his instincts with the trauma he is experiencing and how others view him. Similarly to NCIS: Origins episode 3, Gibbs finds a way to investigate despite being held back.
7 NCIS: Origins Reveals Gibbs' Near-Death Incident After Shannon & Kelly's Murder
NCIS: Origins 4 Shows Probably The Worst Day Of Gibbs' Life
Custom image by Simone Ashmoore
The NCIS prequel reveals the details of Gibbs’ near-death incident that puts him in a coma right after he learns about Shannon and Kelly’s murder. Gibbs was in Kuwait in the final moments of his Operation Desert Storm deployment when he got the news, and the explosion that almost killed him followed moments later. The franchise revealed the story in the NCIS season 3 “Hiatus” double episode when the doctor cited that Gibbs had been in a coma once before.
It’s shocking how quickly the explosion begins after Gibbs gets the news about Shannon and Kelly. Building on the moments in NCIS season 3, it puts the scope of the incident in perspective. Hearing Harmon narrate the scene as the retired Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the present moment bridges the timelines between NCIS and NCIS: Origins and brings the moment full circle for the franchise.
6 Gibbs Uses His Fatherly Knowledge To Get Mildred To Reveal The Killer
Gibbs Is Familiar With The Trotter Trio
While trying to find their murderer, Mildred, who saw the man kill their victim and is in NIS custody following the team finding her, is hesitant to identify their suspect. It’s understandable, since it was a traumatic incident, but the team needs to get closer to solving their case. Gibbs has been sidelined because he lost his little girl, which may affect his ability to investigate with a level head, but he finds a way to use it to his advantage.
When Gibbs learns that Lala tried to give Mildred “Donna Donkey” the Trotter Trio doll, he takes the identification kit and talks to “Millie” himself. Franks hesitates, but Gibbs insists that just because he lost his little girl doesn't mean he can’t relate to another one. Gibbs uses his fatherly knowledge to get Mildred to sing Whitney Houston with him, cleverly making the suspect identification kit an activity they could do together. Gibbs’ understanding of why Mildred didn’t want Donna Donkey (because "Donna Donkey sucks") allowed Gibbs to see that he could best relate to their victim.
5 NCIS: Origins Sets Up Mary-Jo's Own Story As She Relates To Gibbs
Mary Jo Relates To Gibbs' Sadness
NCIS: Origins episode 4 sets up Mary Jo’s backstory in a moment with Gibbs on her back porch. Gibbs comes to deliver something that he believes Mildred will like, and she’s staying at Mary Jo’s house, so he passes it on to her to give the little girl. In a moment between them, Gibbs begins to tear up, likely thinking about Kelly, and Mary Jo relates to the agent.
Mary Jo remarks that he’s not alone. She begins to tell Gibbs she has circumstances that allow her to relate to him, but she gets cut off when the phone rings, and she goes back into the house before she can continue what she’s saying. While she didn’t get to finish, the moment set up Mary Jo to reveal her backstory later. If she can relate to Gibbs’ tragedy, then Mary Jo has also been through something difficult, and it will add depth to her character and the NCIS: Origins story.
4 Gibbs Gives Away Kelly's Toy To Comfort The Victim Child
Gibbs Lets Go Of Kelly's Harlo Horse
The rookie agent comes to Mary Jo’s house to deliver Kelly’s Trotter Trio Doll, Harlo Horse, to Mildred, who stays at Mary Jo’s house while waiting for her dad to come home. Gibbs tells Mary Jo that Harlo Horse “has special powers” and is the "only one that glows," and begins to tear up when Mary Jo notes the doll has been loved. Gibbs is overcome with emotion and opts not to personally give the doll to Mildred.
The moment shows that, while otherwise throwing away their stuff or letting it sit in the home he no longer lives in, Gibbs parts with a piece of Kelly to make Mildred’s life better. While it’s difficult, Gibbs is open to moving on. By giving the Harlo Horse doll a new life, Gibbs is constructively making something positive of his situation while dealing with the aftermath of his tragedy.
3 Franks Confronts Gibbs About His Dangerous Behavior On The Field
Franks Is Looking Out For Gibbs
After keeping Gibbs at a distance throughout the case, Franks confronts his newest agent about why he’s holding him back. Franks tells Gibbs that when someone comes close to taking themselves out, you never know how close they are to going back. While Franks is vague in his language, he communicates something that Gibbs understands and puts an issue on the table that needs to be addressed.
Gibbs assures Franks he is okay, and the episode reflects that more or less. While Gibbs does feel an emotional connection to the case, in episode 4, he uses that to his advantage. Still, Franks' comment follows up on a concern that Jackson Gibbs (Robert Taylor) raises in the NCIS: Origins premiere when he confronts his son's new boss. Jackson felt that Gibbs was too close to the line of fire in his current state of grief and processing.
2 Gibbs Delivers The News To The Hitman's Father That His Son Is Dead
Gibbs Isn't Afraid To Be Real
After Franks tells Gibbs to go home with the case resolved for the day, the rookie agent shows up at NIS. Gibbs asks about Mr. Hatcher, the murderer’s father, who has unwittingly lost a son, and says that he wants to break the news to him that he killed Hatcher Junior to protect Millie. While Franks hesitates, Gibbs insists that delivering the news is part of the job.
Having a close connection to NIS himself with the death of Shannon and Kelly, the moment shows that Gibbs understands the human aspects of his work. While he’s new to the job, he has intimate experience with the value of NIS and what they provide beyond the murder investigation since Franks' team was on Shannon and Kelly's case. The moment mirrors Gibbs getting the news about his wife and daughter at the beginning of the episode, further explaining how Gibbs knows the moment's gravity.
1 NCIS: Origins Explains Why Franks Is So Important To Gibbs
Franks Looks Out For Gibbs
NCIS: Origins explains why Franks is so important to Gibbs in the final moments of the episode when Gibbs joins Franks and Tish for dinner. Franks makes a case for the event at the beginning of episode 4, saying that Tish likes to "break bread" with everybody who has his back. He explains that everyone on his team comes to eat dinner and then does it again. Franks’ insistence pays off when Gibbs joins him at the end of the episode.
Harmon's Gibbs remarks in his narrative track that, “It was only me, until it wasn’t,” suggesting that Franks’ gesture helped make Gibbs feel less alone during an isolating time in his life. NCIS: Origins explains that Franks recruits Gibbs because he thinks he is suited for the job, playing a massive role in his life following the death of his family. Franks' dinner invitation suggests he will continue to show up in the rookie agent’s life in meaningful ways, and Gibbs remembers it years later.
