‘NCIS: Origins’ Season 2 Episode 8 Recap: The CBS Series Drops Its Most Explosive Ending Yet for Lala and Gibbs

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 8.Each episode of NCIS: Origins Season 2 has followed some kind of theme, and Episode 8, “End of the Road,” brings forth the idea of connection. Of everyone on the team, Lala (Mariel Molino) is the most adept at building connections with people, whether that be victims, loved ones, or confidential informants. The opening scenes give us a heartwarming montage of Lala chatting to her C.I.s in a safehouse, treating each of them as a person rather than a tool. Naturally, she has a favorite, a familiar face we saw in Episode 6, Twitchy Tony (Travis Hammer).

Tony ran underground fights, and Lala made a deal with him to provide information about an illegal steroid ring that kept popping up in the area. To build a foundation of trust, she would play poker with him, replacing chips with buttons. During one of the games, she realized Tony didn’t have any friends and gave him her watch, a reminder that he always had someone in her corner. It’s a heartfelt start to the episode, priming us for the worst to come.

Tony’s Life and Gibbs’ Relationship Are on the Line in ‘NCIS: Origins’

Image via CBS

Before the episode jumps into Lala’s connections, it reminds us how poorly Gibbs (Austin Stowell) communicates and connects. Diane (Kathleen Kenny) is moving to L.A. for a new job, and instead of finding a compromise, Gibbs decides to call the entire relationship off, then heads to work. This leads to an episode-long running gag of people playing the song, “End of the Road,” followed by Randy’s (Caleb Foote) horrified expression as he blurts out that Gibbs and Diane broke up. Between this comedic subplot is the gut-wrenching case, one that is deeply personal to Lala.

Tony is shot, and his ledger, which he used to take notes for Lala as a C.I., is missing. Despite not being family, she is allowed to ride in the ambulance with him, thanks to an officer dubbed Lady Franks, who allows NIS to do a joint investigation into the homicide, despite the case not being military-related. At the hospital, a stranger walks into the room, and Lala recognizes Tony’s watch on his wrist. When he runs, Lala loses pursuit but assumes he stole the watch and shot Tony. Lala’s investment in the case continues to deepen, especially after meeting Tony’s mother, who gave Lala a photograph of a smiling, happy Tony.

Throughout the episode, Lala goes through various methods to render an image of the stranger’s face, but surprisingly, success comes when the usually insufferable Dalton (Jeffrey Boehm) manages to create a sketch using her vague descriptions. Upon seeing the sketch, Gibbs and Randy immediately recognize him as someone who was in the underground fighting ring during Episode 6. The mystery deepens when the forensics team finds a page from the ledger stitched into the lining of Tony’s jacket — clearly, whoever killed Tony was after the ledger. They get a tip that a copy of the ledger may exist and could be in Tony’s warehouse, so the team sets up a stakeout to catch the stranger.

During the stakeout, Randy also builds a connection with Herm (Daniel Bellomy), who was now an as-required field agent due to Randy’s petition and belief in him. Randy helps him calm his nerves and insists that he won’t freeze up again, creating a fun yet distracting scene of them freestyle rapping on the job. Meanwhile, Gibbs and Lala are naturally arguing, where Lala accuses him of ruining something good with Diane while also needling him about not visiting her after the car crash. In true Origins style, the conversation is cut short when they see the stranger enter the building; this was a missed opportunity to explore Lala and Gibbs’ connection, something we are lacking in Season 2.

‘NCIS: Origins’ Season 2, Episode 8 Reflects on Franks and Lala’s Growth

Before we head into the resolution of the case, let’s talk about the growth we see from two particular characters during this episode. We delve into some of Lala’s memories after the car crash in the Season 1 finale, from cute impromptu clubbing scenes with the girls to Randy stopping by to tell her that Gibbs was dating someone. Between those moments, we also see Lala’s vulnerable side, the pain and trauma of an injury that could potentially take her job away. It intensifies when Franks (Kyle Schmid) comes over to tell her she failed the physical test at work and the bureau wouldn’t allow her on the field, the very thing that drives her. It’s a very different Lala from what we see now.

Meanwhile, while the team is tackling the investigation, Franks is on the reserve, visiting his brother. Friction arises when Franks suggests another method for breaking a wild mustang, a method that deviates from the traditional, forceful methods and gives the horse a bit more control and room to trust. Franks’ brother, Mason (Philip Winchester), accuses Franks of going soft (decorative pillows and light beer being additional evidence), which Franks scoffs at. It shows Franks’ growth from his “macho” demeanor to someone who welcomes change occasionally, and eventually, Mason relents and tries Franks’ “soft” method of breaking the horse. It works.

Throughout Franks’ stay at the reserve, he is also encouraged to talk to one of the younger members of the group, who doesn’t quite fit in. Stanley (Julien Crane) is an eye-rolling twenty-something who creeps Franks out with his random philosophical remarks. He’s a strange, seemingly nonsensical addition to the episode, but he does have a significant scene later on.

‘NCIS: Origins’ Season 2, Episode 8 Ends With a Jaw-Dropping Bang

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Back at the warehouse, the team manages to grab the stranger, resulting in him yelling out four staggering words: “I’m a federal agent.” During his interview, we find out he was an undercover federal agent who had been working the steroid ring for over a year. During this time, he recalls the toll working undercover takes on him and how his mind had gone to a dark place. So, Tony gave him Lala’s watch to give him hope, echoing her words about someone always being in his corner. The agent was at the warehouse to find the copy of the ledger and find out who shot Tony: he recalls Tony saying he kept the copy in the “safest place he knew.”

Lala immediately recognizes the words, and they find the ledger in the safehouse she used to talk to him in. They figure out that Tony’s shooter was none other than Lady Franks, an officer who had been turning a blind eye to the illegal activities. She thought Tony was onto her, and he was, but she didn’t know that Tony hadn’t exposed her yet. He saw the good in people and thought she could change. As the case wraps up, Lala recalls one last memory of Tony visiting her after the car crash, gifting her a big clock and encouraging her to never give up until she got her job back. Clearly, the motivation worked.

The final ten seconds of the episode hit us with a quick succession of major revelations. First, Tony survives the gunshot wound, leaving our hearts intact for another episode. Second, Gibbs is probably a tad too inspired by Lala’s ability to make connections and not only reunites with Diane, but impulsively marries her in Vegas. Third, remember Stanley? He blows up a movie theater. And on that explosive note, Origins wraps up another weirdly paced, but still heartfelt episode.