Is Lala Dead? 3 Theories After Gibbs’ ‘NCIS: Origins’ Bombshell

Since the premiere of NCIS: Origins, there’s been one major (two-part) question: Why didn’t Gibbs (Mark Harmon on the mothership, Austin Stowell in the prequel) ever mention Lala (Mariel Molino) and what is “the story of her”? The Tuesday, October 27, episode seemed to answer that … maybe.

Harmon is in every episode of Origins Season 3, as part of a present-day storyline tied to the ’90s. Someone tried to kill him in Alaska in the premiere — he let them think they succeeded — and since then, he’s been on a mission to find out who’s after him and who’s the “one to go.” He’s already seen Woody (Bobby Moynihan) and Tony (Michael Weatherly) along the way, and now Bishop (Emily Wickersham) has joined him. When she saw him looking at a photo of himself and Lala from the ’90s, she asked about her. Gibbs told Bishop her name and said she was “one hell of a special agent.”

When Bishop wondered if she could be the other target, Gibbs said she couldn’t be, that she “died a long time ago” in a “plane crash.”

Sonja Flemming/CBS

But let’s be honest: Would NCIS: Origins really reveal Lala’s fate in the present after all this time just like that? We don’t buy it. That’s why, below, we’ve rounded up our theories about that “confession” from Gibbs.

Lala is dead

Perhaps we should believe Gibbs when he says Lala died. That would explain why he’s never talked about her: He lost her tragically, and it came after what we’re already seeing from their personal relationship post-kiss, which includes him telling her she’s the one.

Even if that is the case, we don’t buy the plane crash of it, unless it’s connected to a case. There has to be more to the story.

The ‘90s team fakes Lala’s death

What if something happens in or after (our preference, because the series needs to keep going and include Molino) 1993 that puts Lala’s life in danger and the only way to protect and save her is to fake her death — and to never see her again. Gibbs and Lala’s chance at a life together would then, essentially, be dead and we could get a heartbreaking farewell in which he maybe offers to go with her but she tells him he can’t. (Stowell and Molino would crush that scene.)

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She fakes her death & Gibbs thinks she’s dead

What if Gibbs wasn’t lying to Bishop but only because he believes she’s dead? That would explain why he hasn’t been able to talk about her until now (very briefly to Bishop and writing in his journal) and could set the stage for a shocking, amazing reunion in 2026 — or put Gibbs on his next mission.

If this is the case, we’d also love if Franks (Kyle Schmid) knew, to give us some more great scenes between him and Lala in the ’90s leading up to it (they’re a great pair). With Franks dead in the present, it would also explain why that secret has remained secret … and perhaps sets the stage for Gibbs to find something his old boss left for him with a clue to her location.

What do you think? Do you think Lala is dead, or do you think something else is going on? Let us know in the comments section below.

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