
Spoiler alert! This story reveals the end of the Lala Dominguez mystery in Season 2 of “NCIS: Origins.”
The case file fans demanded reopening ahead of the Oct. 14 Season 2 premiere of “NCIS: Origins” (now streaming on Paramount+) was obvious: Was NIS Special Agent Cecilia “Lala” Dominguez (Mariel Molino) dead or alive?
It might sound crazy, considering Dominguez is one-third of the holy trinity in the “NCIS” prequel series that features young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell), his mentor Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid) and Dominguez in 1990-era Camp Pendleton. You don’t kill off a beloved main character who nearly broke a season’s worth of tension with Gibbs during a steamy pool clinch in the Season 1 April finale.
Or do you?
It seemed like all bets were off, and this love affair was over before it really started when Dominguez flipped her Jeep on her way to urgently meet Gibbs. The last finale episode moments show the motionless Dominguez, blood coming from her nose, in the overturned vehicle. Moments later, Gibbs, unaware of Dominguez’s peril, meets his red-headed real estate agent, Diane (Kathleen Kenny). “NCIS” canon dictates that Diane and Gibbs will marry. Their instant chemistry reinforces that direction.
Then, Mark Harmon, the OG “NCIS” Gibbs, who provides rueful “Origins” voiceover, intones about Dominguez, “I loved her all along. I still do.”
That all sounded past tense and very fatal; even actress Molino thought so.
“When I first heard the details of that episode, at the end of the conversation, even I asked, ‘Wait, do I die?'” Molino tells USA TODAY. “And then Gibbs meets Diane, I could totally justify that Lala dies, and it changes Gibbs’ life trajectory. But I was assured, Lala’s story continues.”