NCIS Season 23 Hints Parker Is About To Lose His Most Important Ally

The latest update for NCIS season 23 is hinting at troubled waters for Vance and Parker’s professional relationship, and as a result, Parker might lose the best ally he’s had since taking over for Gibbs. As Gibbs’ replacement as team leader, Parker has brought a very different vibe to the show and the team. He’s more open and more collaborative than his predecessor, and he’s changed the team dynamic.

It could even be argued that Parker is a far better NCIS team leader than Gibbs ever was, thanks to these qualities. However, the murder of his father, orchestrated by mob boss Carla Marino at the end of NCIS season 22, threatens to change Parker for the worse. There are hints that his pursuit of vengeance could bring out a dark side to the general genial Parker. He’ll need all the help he can get in NCIS season 23, but he may lose his greatest ally in that pursuit.

NCIS Season 23 Will See A Fracture Between Parker & Vance

Robert Voets / ©CBS / courtesy Everett Collection

EP Steven D. Binder shared quite a few details about the upcoming season, and he revealed that Vance will undergo a change in NCIS season 23 that portends a fracture in his relationship with Alden Parker, which, to this point, has been great. Per the original report:

“In the past, Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll) has helped his agents in similar positions. Not this time. ‘We’ve often played Director Vance telling his team they need to get back in the box, then he goes, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, and leaves the file on his desk while he leaves the office so they can look through something they need to. That’s not the case this time,’ warns Binder. There are ‘mysterious reasons’ for why he’s going back to being ‘very by the book.’ The resulting conflict between Parker and Vance will still affect them beyond the episodes that resolve the Carla arc.”

That seems like it will be a fairly big change for the director. Vance could hardly be described as an easygoing or permissive boss, and it’s not as though he lets his agents run around and do whatever they want. Still, though, Binder is right in that Vance has a history of looking the other way when he feels the morality of a situation trumps the bureaucracy involved.

Obviously, his “mysterious reasons” for blocking Parker and his team from learning specific information will tie into the Carla Marino arc and the murder of Parker’s father. Even though Binder has promised that the storyline will be wrapped up fairly quickly, it seems the repercussions will linger, and Parker’s relationship with Vance may be forever changed.

Parker Has Had A Much Better Rapport With Vance Than Gibbs Once Did

If there is a rift between Parker and Vance, it will also be a big change in NCIS season 23. Thus far, Parker and Vance have had a better working relationship and faster rapport than Vance ever did with Gibbs. Gibbs and Vance did not exactly get off to a great start when they first started working together.

At the time, Gibbs was lost in his grief, as was Vance. Both men had a relationship that was shaped by tragedy, and, at the time of the start of their professional relationship, both men were broken in multiple ways. They hardly saw eye-to-eye, and it took them literal years to get to a place where the tumult of their relationship smoothed out and they grew into a place of mutual respect. By the time Gibbs left, they were close, but it took a very long time to get there.

By contrast, Parker’s relationship with Vance was much easier from the start. Vance is almost two and a half decades older than he was when he first started working with Gibbs. He’s much more settled, not just in his role as NCIS director, but also in his own life and who he is as a man. He no longer has to prove himself.

Parker is also much older than Gibbs was when he first took over the team, and he’s also managed the demons of his past and come out the other side. The result is that the two men haven’t had to fight tragedy or growing pains with each other, so their relationship has been much smoother and mutually supportive.

Vance Breaking Parker’s Trust Will Lead To An Interesting NCIS Season 23

As such, this break in their relationship will introduce a very interesting new wrinkle in their dynamic. Vance has always had Parker’s back in the past three years, but now, when the case matters to Parker most – tracking down the woman responsible for the murder of his father – Vance’s help, at least beyond the rules, won’t be there.

It’s clear that Vance will have his reasons for doing so, which will come to light later this season. But, human nature being what it is, it’s unlikely that Parker will see it that way. Instead, he’ll almost certainly see it as a betrayal; it’s hard to see things clearly or professionally when it’s personal and you’re still wrapped up in grief and guilt.

The real question is how that will impact their working relationship moving forward, and what ripple effects it might cause. While Vance and Parker are consummate professionals, it’s inevitable that any significant change in their working relationship will surely impact the team, even if it’s not a net negative.

It will be even more interesting if this season finds Vance in danger. Perhaps the reasons for him toeing the line won’t be about Parker, but about himself, and it unfolds later in the season. How Parker and his team will respond then, with the rift still between Vance and Parker, will be interesting. Whatever happens, NCIS season 23 looks to be very different than the comfort they’ve enjoyed for the past few seasons.