I can’t get enough of NCIS. It’s one of my favorite shows, one that I can put on and binge-watch on a lazy weekend away from the laptop. There is so much that this iconic CBS military drama offers, from great acting to action that is movie-grade material. However, as much as I love Gibbs (Mark Harmon), there is another NCIS character that truly made the series as great as it was: the mysterious and badass Ziva David.
10“Designated Target”
Season 5, Episode 8
Overall, Season 5 was a quiet year for our NCIS heroine. She mostly played the support role, blending in with the team more and not having a lot of A-plots. Maybe it was due to the fact that we were still figuring out Ziva and her role within NCIS, which is understandable, given that she was just introduced to us a couple of seasons prior.
Having said that, there are some true standout Ziva moments, especially in “Designated Target,” which sees Gibbs in the team investigating the assassination of a Navy admiral. We see Ziva’s investigative skills at work, and she was an integral part in trying this messy case up in a neat bow.
9“Enemies Foreign”
Season 8, Episode 8
While the first three Ziva seasons were a bit of a learning curve for us, it is in Season 8 where she truly finds her footing. By this time, she’s become a full NCIS agent after being rescued by the team at the end of Season 7 and becoming a U.S. citizen. So, it was only natural that the showrunners would give her more room to lead A-plots, and this is where “Enemies Foreign” comes into play.
In this episode, which is widely considered one of NCIS‘ best, the team has to protect the director of Mossad, Eli David (Michael Nouri), who also happens to be Ziva’s dad. We get to dive into the relationship between Ziva and her father, and how far she is willing to go to protect him from terrorists who are trying to end his life. This episode ended on a great cliffhanger (which we’ll discuss more about later), and it culminated in a great two-parter that showcased why the addition of Ziva was a great move by the showrunners.
8“Cloak”
Season 6, Episode 8
One of the best highlights of the entire series is watching the relationship between Ziva and Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly). They work so well together, and when they finally got together, I was so happy. The two were not a romantic couple in the Season 6 episode “Cloak,” but it was the first time we saw these two interact on a more personal level.
“Cloak” finds Ziva and DiNozzo testing out the defenses of a top-secret military facility, only to find out that the facility in question was a hoax, and that one of Gibb’s teammates is a mole. While the central plot of the episode focused on how to get Abby (Pauley Perrette) out of trouble, we see some heartwarming moments from our favorite NCIS couple, making this a very essential episode for Tony and Ziva fans.
7“Dead Letter”
Season 13, Episode 23
By Season 13, Ziva had become a central part of the NCIS team, and she was needed in a big way in “Dead Letter,” which was also a very emotional episode as we were preparing to say goodbye to DiNozzo. But first, Ziva needed to clear the name of Jacob Scott (Vince Nappo), a former agent who was framed for ambushing FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell (Joe Spano) at Gibb’s place, and creating a “hit list” of NCIS agents to kill.
The only person who could get him out of this pickle was Ziva, who could prove that Scott was innocent. We see Ziva in full action here, and it was clear from the outset that Ziva was comfortable leading the A-plot of an NCIS episode. As mentioned earlier, “Dead Letter” is essentially a two-parter, with the season finale, “Family First,” as we’re led to believe that Ziva died in the bombing of the farmhouse where her father was at. It was a gut-punch, but it was “Dead Letter” where we truly felt the weight of the blow, and is widely considered one of the most essential Ziva episodes.
6“Stakeout”
Season 5, Episode 12
As aforementioned in the first entry of this piece, Season 5 didn’t see a lot of Ziva A-plots as we were just starting to learn more about her. However, her breakthrough came in “Stakeout,” which sees the team trying to find a high-tech radar that goes missing, but is mysteriously found.
Much like in “Designated Target,” we see how well Ziva fits in with the team, bringing the skills she learned with Mossad to assist the team in solving the case of the radar that goes missing, gets found, and goes missing again, with a murder added on top of it. “Stakeout” is one of the earlier essential Ziva episode that you should not skip over.
5“Dead Man Walking”
Season 4, Episode 16
When discussing the most essential Ziva episodes, you really can’t have that discussion without mentioning her partner and future love interest, Anthony DiNozzo. These two have such an electric chemistry on-screen, and it’s no wonder why the writers would later want to pair up these two in a romantic way.
However, in Season 4, a “Tony and Ziva” romance was far from the minds of the writers, who were, naturally, more interested in establishing and defining her role as a character. That doesn’t mean that we don’t get to see some great Tony and Ziva moments, and one of the earlier ones was “Dead Man Walking,” where we get to see the seeds of their relationship planted, and watch it grow. It’s here where we see the two finally get on the same page, and realize how important they are to each other, and it was beautiful to watch.
4“Enemies Domestic”
Season 8, Episode 9
I told you we would circle back to the midway point of Season 8, which contains two of the most essential Ziva episodes. We already discussed “Enemies Foreign,” which sees the team assigned to protect Eli David, Mossad’s director and Ziva’s dad. That episode ended on a cliffhanger, and we see how it all plays out in “Enemies Domestic.”
Here, Eli goes missing, and the team, especially Ziva, uses all of their tactics to track him down after he went into hiding to elude the assassins trying to kill him. We see how much Ziva cares for her dad, and her desperate attempts to save his life. The storyline was tinged with razor-sharp tension, and, much like the other episodes on this list, we see Ziva at her best, which sharpens the reasons why she was NCIS‘s best character outside of Gibbs and DiNozzo.
3“Housekeeping”
Season 9, Episode 12
By Season 9, Ziva is fully integrated into the NCIS team as a full member. A lot of people forget that in the first six seasons, Ziva was only a liaison for Mossad, and wasn’t an actual NCIS agent. That didn’t happen until Season 7, when she became a U.S. citizen, which enabled her to become an NCIS agent full-time. However, she hasn’t forgotten the skills she used during her time with Mossad, and we see them put to good use in “Housekeeping.”
The Season 9 episode finds the team investigating the murder of a Navy Commander, which leads them back to an earlier investigation involving a fake FBI agent who wanted to kill DiNozzo. What makes “Housekeeping” such an essential Ziva episode is that, for the first time, we get to see actual progress in the romantic relationship between her and Tony. We waited patiently for years, and we finally saw real and intangible progress being made on that front.
2“Truth or Consequences”
Season 7, Episode 1
When thinking about the ranking for this list, I was really torn on “Truth of Consequences.” When you speak to most NCIS fans, most will tell you that this episode, which was the Season 7 opener, is the most essential episode for Ziva, and I really can’t argue with them. However, after going back-and-forth, re-watching these episodes, I came up with the conclusion that it’s definitely in the top three, but there is another episode that tops it. Having said that, “Truth or Consequences” has a Ziva A-plot that is dripping with tension.
Here, the NCIS team is reunited, minus Ziva, who is desperately trying to find a replacement for her, thinking that she’s dead. But you and I, and the team, all knew that you couldn’t replace Ziva, and it turns out that Ziva was, indeed, alive and rescued by the team. Not only was this episode action-packed, but we got to dive into what makes Ziva so special and why she is so important to the NCIS team. It was usual seeing the team without her, and heartening to realize that there was no one that could ever replace her.
1“Under Covers”
Season 3, Episode 8
So, “Truth or Consequences” was about to be crowned the most essential Ziva episode, until I watched the Season 3 episode “Under Covers,” which sees Ziva get her first A-plot of the series, and the first episode that teamed her up with Tony. Here, Ziva and Tony go undercover as married assassins to find out who hired them for a target.
“Under Covers” is a pivotal episode for Ziva, as it firmly establishes her as an integral part of the NCIS team. Keep in mind, this was only her fourth episode as a main character, so she needed to make a good impression on the audience, and that she did. We also see one of the first seeds planted in the blossoming relationship between Tony and Ziva, which was always, and still is, a joy to watch. It’s no question for me, “Under Covers” is the most essential Ziva episode.
