Bishop, Tony, Ziva & More ‘NCIS’ Exits: Which Ones Were the Most Shocking?
NCIS said goodbye to one of its own — though not necessarily for good, since the character is still alive — in the Season 18 finale, and it was far from the first time the team bid farewell to one of its members. It also wasn’t the first time that someone left unexpectedly.
Ellie Bishop’s (Emily Wickersham) seasons-long arc culminated in her becoming a disgraced NCIS agent as a cover for some sort of undercover op, the details of which are unknown. And while it could easily have only lasted over hiatus (and she could have been back with the team early on into Season 19), the star confirmed after the finale aired that it was her final episode.
Wickersham joins a list that includes Sasha Alexander (Kate Todd), Michael Weatherly (Tony DiNozzo), Pauley Perrette (Abby Sciuto), Duane Henry (Clayton Reeves), and others. How does Bishop’s stack up against the other characters’ exits in terms of shock factor? Scroll down to see.
NCIS, Season 19, Fall 2021, CBS
Alexandra Quinn (Jennifer Esposito)
Shocking? No
Creative? Not particularly
Between Seasons 14 and 15, we learned that Esposito would not be returning as Quinn. When the new season began, we found out Quinn was taking care of her mother, who had Alzheimer’s.
Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette)
Shocking? No — we knew she was leaving
Creative? Somewhat — Abby had done plenty of charity work over the years, so it was fitting for her to move on with tha
Though it looked like Abby might be one of the characters who died in her final episode, she made a full recovery after getting shot. Instead, her next chapter was tied to that of another exiting character’: Reeves, who was shot and killed because he was with her. Abby did what he had planned to do: charity work honoring his mother.
Jack Sloane (Maria Bello)
Shocking? Not really
Creative? Somewhat
Jack was planning her exit on-screen ahead of her final episode, though it didn’t turn out as she ostensibly said it would (pretty much a vacation). She ended up staying in Afghanistan to help the village where her friend had been located. She and Gibbs (Mark Harmon) even finally kissed. The writing was on the wall from the moment she got on the plane for Afghanistan.
Ziva David (Cote de Pablo)
Shocking? Which time? Not compared to what came after
Creative? Yes
Ziva’s (initial) exit wasn’t too surprising, as she left NCIS and shared a heartbreaking goodbye with Tony. What was surprising was her subsequently being killed off (off-screen!) and then turning up alive in Gibbs’ basement.
Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly)
Shocking? Yes — we knew she was dying but she was killed in the field
Creative? Somewhat
The story did seem to be building to something as Jenny left her protection detail (Tony and Ziva) at an agent’s funeral in Los Angeles, though she took a fatal shot off-screen. But what came after her death is definitely up there in terms of shock value: The team was split up.
Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham)
Shocking? Yes — nothing onscreen definitively said she wouldn’t be back
Creative? Yes — and it utilized an ongoing storyline
Ever since Bishop met ex-CIA instructor Odette (Elayn J. Taylor) and began training with her, we saw little moments here and there demonstrating how she’d changed. It all culminated in her taking an undercover assignment for which she had to appear as a disgraced NCIS agent — and therefore confess to leaking NSA files. She left the team behind (and Wilmer Valderrama’s Torres with a kiss), but the real surprise is that her exit was overshadowed by Gibbs’ boat exploding. Plus, mos casual viewers might expect to see her back with the team or on her operation when Season 19 begins.
Clayton Reeves (Duane Henry)
Shocking? Yes — the focus had been on Abby’s exit
Creative? Yes
Reeves was shot because he was with Abby when she was targeted. It was simply the wrong place at the wrong time — and with an original cast member exiting, to be honest, we had expected it to all be about her. (It was.)
Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly)
Shocking? Yes — Tony and Ziva have a daughter?!
Creative? Yes
The pieces were falling into place for Tony to say goodbye to NCIS in his final episodes, and then came the real surprise: Ziva was dead (not really, as we found out later) and she and Tony had a secret daughter — one Tony didn’t even know abou. Wait, what?!
Kate Todd (Sasha Alexander)
Shocking? Yes — the team thought the threat was over
Creative? Yes
The first major death came just as Gibbs, Tony, and Kate thought the danger was over. With terrorist Ari Haswari (Rudolf Martin) presumably targeting Gibbs, Kate was put on his protection detail. Kate ultimately dove in front of Gibbs and took a bullet to her vest. Just as they thought all threats in the area had been eliminated, that’s when Kate suffered a fatal shot to her head, which kille her instantly.
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R
I’d love to see Ziva come back!!
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G
Most shocking = Kate's. (Ranks right up there at the top of TV history along with BtVS's Jenny Calendar's 'exit')
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R
As much as I love NCIS I feel it's becoming tired and so are its characters. The chemistry is long gone between Gibbs, McGee, Torres and Vance.
Every episode of the past few years, seems forced as far as interaction between the cast goes.
The entire cast looks bored to tears and the scriptwriters must share the blame.
For me, personally, I think the show should have ended when Tony and/or Abby left.
Definitely for me, the most shocking exit was Kate's.
I stopped watching it 2 years ago because the life had gone out of it but did catch the last 20 minutes of Gibbs, with his real life wife (more awful acting) before he launched his latest (red) speedboat, and predicted that it would blow-up but of course, he miraculously survived - yet again.
Seriously, CBS? Time to end it
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D
I don't know why more people don't see the possibility of a Ziva and Bishop TV show
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P
Bring back Tony and Reeves. Reeves' death was bull. No pun intended.
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G
Disturbing that of the nine departures/deaths, seven have been women and two have been men.
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