How ‘NCIS: Origins’ Just Set up Gibbs & Tony’s Reunion

Gibbs’ (Mark Harmon) present-day mystery continues on NCIS: Origins, and it’s a good thing that one of his former team members is now high up at the agency. The prequel’s latest installment — which continues the series’ streak of strong episodes, showing Origins is hitting it out of the park right now — sets up the Harmon and Michael Weatherly reunion coming on October 20. Warning: Spoilers for NCIS: Origins Season 3 Episode 2 ahead!

When we pick up with Gibbs in 2026, he’s back in San Diego. “You get on a plane you don’t want to get on. You walk back into a place you swore you were done with because somewhere along the line, you got bonded to somebody, and that bond doesn’t really give a damn what you want,” he says in voiceover. “That’s the whole job of a teammate. Especially when everything in you is saying turn around and run like hell back home.”

He goes to see Woody (Bobby Moynihan), who greets him with, “You’re still stunning,” and “This can’t be good.” He double-checks what Gibbs tells him, since he’s 83 and heavily medicated, “mostly just for fun,” and while he gives him kudos for pulling the fingerprint in the “very Michael Franks-ian” way, he tells him he needs someone with equipment from this century. But since Gibbs is hoping to “be dead,” as those who came after him think he is, he’s turned to the guy who owes him a favor…

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Speaking of, the story returns to the ’90s timeline, with Woody in Tijuana, Mexico, surrounded by the police. At that point, he’s just guilty of a bar brawl, after stepping in to help a woman who was being harassed by guys. But when Gibbs (Austin Stowell) brings him home, they find a dead body in his house — and the victim is a fellow bowler with whom Woody had history (as in her prank led to him tearing every ligament in his wrist). She was strangled, and his fingerprint is on her necklace.

The FBI agent on the case, Casey Bloom (Sean Harmon!), the inspiration for Keanu Reeves‘ Johnny Utah in Point Break and Swanson’s partner (Frank is very interested in what she’s said about him), is certain he’s guilty. But the team refuses to not work the case, even when they’re pulled from it, and eventually, it’s Gibbs who cracks it: He remembers that Woody complained about his lock, and that leads to the discovery that someone copied his key and the arrest of the real murderer.

What the episode does well is what all like this in a procedural do: highlight the bonds and loyalty of the team. Woody’s innocence is never called into question by any of them, and there’s a great balance of humor and heart throughout — including in Woody, with Moynihan delivering his best performance of the series to date. He’s a great comedic actor, but with this one, we see he can play the emotional as well, in moments with Gibbs and Phil (Ely Henry) in particular.

There’s even a moment to address Gibbs and Lala’s (Mariel Molino) situation, when he wants to break the rules to help Woody, and she remarks that he needs to think more than five minutes ahead for once. He argues that he knows how to wait since he’s done just that for months as a sniper (please don’t let it take decades of waiting for Gibbs and Lala to get the ending they deserve). It takes until near the end of the episode for them to actually talk about that, and yes, that was about Gibbs marrying Diane. But he reminds her that she almost ran off with Manny. She tells him he got her, but he says, “Not how I want.” (Gibbs, delivering those romantic lines…) She admits she can’t help but let what happened affect their work, but he assures her that it’s not so easy for him.

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Transitioning back from the past to the present comes as Woody embraces now being a wolf — they travel in packs, Gibbs told him, and this one isn’t giving up on him ever — and tells Gibbs he owes him one. In the present, Gibbs is collecting — but not on the fingerprint. Rather, he’s having him watch his dog, Blue, and he’ll be back to get him.

As for the print, Woody was able to run it, but the profile is locked up beyond his reach. Gibbs needs someone with serious access, and fortunately, “I know just who to take it to,” he says.

And so, as Gibbs returns to the NCIS office he left behind five years ago, we hear his voiceover: “You don’t think. You just go. You get on a plane you don’t want to get on. Walk back into a place you swore you were done with. But when you get there, you’re home, and home means family.” He stops by the team’s desks, hearing their voices — “Welcome home, Jethro,” “It’s good to have you back, boss,” “Hello, Gibbs, Aren’t you going to say something?” — and then heads upstairs.

“And whether it’s been 10 minutes or 10 years, when you need them, family’s always there,” Gibbs’ voiceover concludes as he walks into Director Anthony DiNozzo’s office.

What did you think of the latest episode? What are you hoping to see from next week’s reunion? Let us know in the comments section below.

NCIS: Origins, Tuesdays, 10/9c, CBS