It’s not surprising that NCIS has seen some ups and downs in its run of more than 20 seasons, but one development that might have struck some viewers as particularly odd is Jennifer Esposito’s Alex Quinn departing the show after just one season. Casting changes aren’t exactly uncommon in a long-running series, with the NCIS season 22 cast and the original NCIS cast sharing exactly zero characters in common (McGee’s been around so long, it can be easy to forget he didn’t join until season 2). But Quinn is the only main character not to do more than one season.
Now that an NCIS season 23 renewal is confirmed, surviving despite the series’ drop in ratings, fans don’t have to worry about all the questions that might never be answered for a while longer. Fortunately, no matter when the show comes to an end, NCIS set up a storyline that justified Quinn’s exit several episodes before it happened. While Jennifer Esposito had justifiable reasons for leaving, the door is still open for her to return at any time. In fact, looking more closely at just how Alex Quinn left NCIS, there’s a chance that Esposito might be open for just such a reunion.
Jennifer Esposito’s Abrupt NCIS Exit Explained
Esposito told Deadline that she was grateful for her time on NCIS, but she didn’t extensively detail why she left. Because of her appearance alongside John Travolta in Speed Kills shortly thereafter, it can easily be assumed that she left for professional reasons. This would differ greatly from why co-star Emily Wickersham left NCIS a few years later, the reasons for which were more personal. However, Esposito clarified on X (or Twitter at the time) that her character was only intended to be on the show for a short time from the beginning.
This is a pretty far departure from the bizarre fan theory at the time that Esposito was fired for having celiac disease, but it makes sense in light of rumors reported by Deadline that NCIS planned on changing creative directions in season 15. NCIS showrunner Gary Glasberg was responsible for creating Quinn’s character, but his passing put an end to any ideas he might have had planned for her in the future. Esposito had a great rapport with her co-stars, but it seems the series just couldn’t figure out how to keep Quinn around without input from her originator.
How NCIS Wrote Out Esposito’s Quinn
One of the most disappointing aspects of Quinn’s departure from NCIS is that the series didn’t really pay it much attention. She receives a couple of phone calls from her mother during the season 14 finale but takes both of them off-screen. In the season 15 premiere, Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) exposits that Quinn took a leave of absence to care for her mom. Quinn is wanted for questioning after the MCRT is reprimanded for a problematic operation in Paraguay, but this questioning is neither shown nor even mentioned again at any point in the episode.
Mercedes Ruehl portrays Quinn’s mother Marie in season 14, episode 20, in which her condition plays a major role in the plot. She keeps forgetting the death of Quinn’s father, at one point forgetting it only seconds after Quinn reminds her. The NCIS episode establishes that Marie’s Alzheimer’s has been an ongoing issue, and it appears to be worsening. At the end of the episode, Alex decides to move in with Marie to avoid putting her in a nursing home.
Considering Marie’s condition during her appearance and the fact that her memories can regress only seconds after being brought back to the present, the reveal that things have finally gotten bad enough for Alex to take leave suggests a rather tragic fate for her character. People don’t generally take on the role of caretaker for reasons other than necessity, and Marie herself acknowledges the harsh reality that she may one day forget her daughter. NCIS might establish an understandable reason for Quinn’s departure, but it definitely doesn’t give her a happy ending.
