A fan is someone who cares about someone or something. What the word fails to inform you is the duration of someone’s fandom. When I moved to Philadelphia in September 2014, I lived in the Kensington neighborhood working on $100 stipend, & I knew neither anyone nor anywhere. As a result, I watched TV, & a coworker enjoyed watching NCIS reruns. Looking for something to occupy my time, I joined her. Additionally, Tuesday nights new NCIS episodes premiere & we watched the season 12 premier. We also watched NCIS: New Orleans series premier, & to this day I watch it, even convincing Dad to join me. When I first began watching NCIS, I was 11 seasons behind. Fortunately, USA Network shows NCIS reruns on Mondays, Wednesdays, & sometimes Saturdays. My work schedule allowed me to watch all day Monday if I desired as it was our off day, Wednesdays our work finished around lunch & we were free until community night dinner, & Saturdays our work lasted until about lunch as well. Commence Mark binge watching! I watched many episodes then & still often watch reruns now. Therefore, while I have not watched NCIS for many years, I have spent far too many hours watching NCIS since September 2014.
Today marks the last episode of Tony DiNozzo. Yes, Michael Weatherly is leaving NCIS. For millions of fans including myself, we are sad to say goodbye to Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo. I guarantee tonight’s episode garners very high ratings, a fitting sendoff for the character & actor who love the limelight. Now, if you search online Tony DiNozzo you will find seemingly infinite links, discussions, highlights, etc. for him. After all, Michael Weatherly joins Mark Harmon, David McCallum, & Pauley Perrette as the only actors to appear on every NCIS episode, & Weatherly has appeared on all the franchises’ spinoffs. Totaled up, you can spend almost two straight weeks watching Tony DiNozzo! When NCIS showed its 300th episode earlier this season, a popular image displayed many statistics about the show. How many head slaps, how many nicknames DiNozzo bestowed upon McGee, how many bowties Ducky wore, & several others. DiNozzo plays a role in every statistic. How many head slaps he received, how many different episodes he gave McGee a new nickname, how many times he visited Gibbs basement. When Weatherly announced his departure, fans were shocked, & some even angrily said they are never watching the show anymore.
I can only speculate on the outcome of tonight’s episode. Based off last week’s episode & previews for tonight’s episode, it looks like DiNozzo leaves NCIS to find Ziva. I bet any monetary amount DiNozzo does not die by the end of the episode. As far as Ziva, it is a mystery. Perhaps even an unsolved mystery at tonight’s conclusion. Leaving the fate of Ziva unknown or showing her alive opens the possibility for Cote de Pablo to return, even if it is for a guest appearance such as for the series finale. If Ziva dies, the writers guarantee de Pablo never returns to NCIS, which she willingly left, so killing her character mirrors the death of Caitlin Todd. Sasha Alexander wanted to leave the show & NCIS subsequently killed seemingly someone nearly every season. Caitlin Todd, Jenny Shepard, Mike Franks, Ned Dorneget, & several other characters were killed, recently Tom Morrow. If NCIS did not kill a character, there is a strong attempt as all major characters have at least one near death experience. The death of Ziva also hypothetically ends those who clamor for the return of de Pablo. Lastly, Ziva’s death would scar DiNozzo as she arguably is his true love.
CBS renewed NCIS for two more seasons & cast two potential replacements for Weatherly. Sarah Clarke’s character Tess Monroe I disliked because her behavior appeared unprofessional at times, & if she took point for the injured Tobias Fornell, she became the FBI equivalent of Gibbs. Joining the NCIS team then is a step-down career wise for her. It also changes the dynamic of the show, which has maintained a healthy balance for 13 seasons. There have always been three major male agents & one major female agent. Gibbs is the surrogate team father, the two other men (DiNozzo & McGee) have a brotherly relationship, & the female is one the team deeply protects (Todd, Ziva, & Bishop). Wouldn’t Tess Monroe trump all the experience of McGee & discredit the hard work of Bishop? For both characters, it is an insult to all their success in the show thus far. The other possible replacement, Clayton Reeves, played by Duane Henry, I thought would be a suitable replacement. He is British which the writers could create into a unique friendship with Ducky, he brings comic relief to the show, & he has a police mindset to offset Gibbs’ military background, McGee’s tech savvy background, & Bishop’s intelligence. As with Ziva, his international background could allow the show to grow as he could teach the others different interrogation techniques, he could talk about popular British sports such as soccer & instead of movie references, the writers could show him walking into a crime scene joyful of a club’s victory. Additionally, because Michael Weatherly has stated he would love to return to NCIS in a guest role at some point, Clayton Reeves would be a friend to him just as the rest of the team is.
When DiNozzo returns, it could be for an episode such as when McGee gets married. For example, in such an episode, the team rushes to finish a case on time to make it to the church for the wedding. Upon their arrival, they see DiNozzo already at the church as the best man, & the first lines DiNozzo says are a movie quote about a wedding, & once he sees the team, he smiles & proclaims, “Hey guys!” Another possibility would be an episode concerning something international, & DiNozzo & Clayton Reeves would reconnect to share information, & viewers would see DiNozzo on the screen at MTAC. He could also come to bid farewell to the retirement of Ducky as David McCallum hinted his time on the show might be reaching its end. Lastly, DiNozzo could return for the funeral of a member, family, or friend of NCIS.
I will miss Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. While the shows’ writers wrote the character, the acting of Weatherly made the character a fan favorite. Michael Weatherly has acted brilliantly, transforming the character from a womanizer to a cautious leader to a loyal friend to a confident agent. DiNozzo brought comic relief to show, proved himself a capable leader in place of Gibbs, a mentor to other team members such as Bishop, & a failed womanizer who fans laughed at his struggles. The relationship between Tony & his father reminded fans that estranged relationships are not failed ones, only ones that required hard work. We felt sad for him when his relationship with Jeanne Benoit crumbled, & their reunion this season brought hope they would reconcile, only to leave each other on more civil terms. We hoped his relationship with Ziva would evolve into a romantic one, & we felt his pain when she chose to stay in Israel & he chose to return to NCIS. We laughed at every head slap, we enjoyed his endless movie quotes, & we loved how he pointed out the obvious. Tonight, enjoy the episode. Appreciate all the DiNozzo scenes, from movie quote, to a head slap, to a serious moment, to the heart wrenching goodbye scenes. At the end of the episode, when the credits begin to roll, give a goodbye nod. Farewell Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, we’re going to miss you.
