CBS has managed to surround Austin Stowell’s Gibbs with a mix of new and familiar faces in Camp Pendleton — all of them are expected to shape the eventual MCRT leader that he would become. That said, aside from Franks, arguably the most influential person in his life during this time was Mariel Molino’s Lala. Aside from being a co-worker, she’s also Gibbs’ love interest in the prequel. Admittedly, this creates some canon issues, but that doesn’t take away from how compelling their evolving story is.
Because of this, questions about the possibility of Gibbs and Lala reuniting in the present time plague NCIS: Origins — something that North and Monreal address in a new interview with TVLine. Ultimately, the pair says that it’s way too early to tackle the mystery. When asked about a possible timelime, they reveal that they are “kind of fluid on how we do things.” Read their full quotes below:
DAVID J. NORTH: It’s too soon for those conversations, to reveal what the end of her story is. We knew this would be a big week with this two-hour “NCIS” crossover, and we had originally toyed with opening our hour with clips, kind of a “best of” clips of Mark, but Gina and I spoke, and we thought this would be a great time to check in with Gibbs after four years, and as far as a dog, it just felt very Gibbs. Mark and I have a long history of collaborating on screen with dogs.
GINA LUCITA MONREAL: Yeah, I think Gibbs is a character that tries a lot to be alone. He tries to push people away. He’s done that. We’ve seen him do that his whole life since his wife and daughter died, but ultimately, it doesn’t work for him. In the mothership, we see him embracing this whole family; here in “Origins,” we see him embracing this whole family, so when David had the idea to have him be out there with a dog, it was just brilliant because he really is the character that is not meant to be alone.
They also clarify that the song that Harmon’s Gibbs is listening in the NCIS season 23 and NCIS season 2 crossover opener is not exactly a reference to Lala. Instead. It’s Gibbs’ general perspective on time.
NORTH: [North and Monreal share a silent glance, and nervously laugh] That was… well thought out. Gina picked the song, I’ll let her answer it.
MONREAL: Well, I personally love the song, and I feel it’s very Gibbs to be listening to a song like that. The chorus talks about time slipping away in general, not so specific to a love, and I think that’s what we were going for, the 30 years between our two episodes, the 30 years of Gibbs growing in his career. But, the idea of Lala is always an undercurrent in the show. It’s always an undercurrent with our Gibbs in “Origins.” So, I guess never say never as far as whether the song relates to Lala as well.
There are theories that after Harmon’s retirement in NCIS season 19, Gibbs reunited with Lala in Alaska, hence his decision to stay behind and not return to Navy Yard. The flashforward in NCIS: Origins season 2, episode 5 somehow debunks that, as Gibbs is seen on his own living in a shack that he likely made himself. He is now accompanied by a dog, however.
What makes paying off Gibbs and Lala’s evolving relationship in NCIS: Origins in the present time is that throughout Harmon’s stint in the flagship, it was firmly established that the reason why he couldn’t make any relationship work was because he was still hopelessly in love with his first wife, Shannon. The prequel already challenges that notion, having him develop this emotional bond with Lala around a year after Shannon and Kelly were murdered. There has to be a way to give them a satisfying ending without changing the core of Gibbs character for two decades.
