Gibbs’ Longest Con Lays The Groundwork For NCIS’ Most Useless Death

Warning! Spoilers ahead for NCIS: Origins season 2, episode 8, “End of the Road.”NCIS: Origins begins Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ longest con, which also sets up the most useless death in NCIS. Originally criticized for CBS’ supposed attempt to just milk the NCIS franchise’s continued success, the Mark Harmon-backed prequel has proven itself in a season and a half. Impressively, NCIS: Origins has managed to come up with compelling professional and personal storylines for Mike Franks’ Camp Pendleton team.

Building on the solid foundation that its debut year established, NCIS: Origins season 2 has been doing an impeccable job developing its characters. 1992 has been a busy year for Gibbs, in particular. After Lala’s near-death experience, he was reunited with Ducky and worked on a case that would eventually be solved by MCRT three decades later. In NCIS: Origins season 2’s fall finale, however, he makes another major decision when he marries Diane Sterling.

Gibbs’ Marriage To Diane Is His Longest NCIS Lie

CBS

NCIS‘ canon dictates that Gibbs and Diane get married, although it’s NCIS: Origins that fleshes out their story by revealing the specifics of their relationship. When she was introduced to the mothership, she and MCRT’s then-leader clearly had an icy dynamic, which made sense, considering Gibbs’ struggles when it came to personal relationships. Diane chalked their eventual divorce to her ex-husband’s inability to move on from his first wife, Shannon, which rang true, until NCIS: Origins started setting up Gibbs and Lala’s romance.

During a rare moment of vulnerability during their time in Washington DC, Diane admitted that she left him because it was difficult to constantly be with someone who couldn’t move on from his ex-wife. But while she was convinced that Gibbs was unable to move on from Shannon, he was actually having feelings for Lala instead. To make matters worse, Diane also confessed that Gibbs was her Shannon — meaning that she was never really able to move on from him.

Diane Marrying Gibbs Sets Up Her Death In NCIS Season 12

After breaking up for a brief moment, NCIS: Origins season 2, episode 8, “End of the Road,” pulls a final plot twist — Diane and Gibbs get married in Las Vegas. Their marriage isn’t going to last long, the canon long-established, but it will be up to the prequel to fill in the specifics of their eventual divorce. Unfortunately, Diane’s association with Gibbs from this point forward will lead to her tragic death in 23 years.

In NCIS season 12, episode 11, “Check,” Diane was targeted by Sergei Mishnev in an effort to seek revenge for the death of Ari Answari. She was killed similarly to how Kate Todd was murdered to make her demise so much more painful for Gibbs. While the loss was understandably part of the bigger story that the flagship was telling back in 2015, the incident barely had any impact on Gibbs beyond the hunt for the villain. Instead, the tragedy had a bigger effect on Tobias Fornell, as the grief contributed to Emily’s drug use and eventual death.

So while Diane is happy to marry Gibbs in NCIS: Origins, what she doesn’t know is that her failed marriage in-the-making begins the end of her life.