Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo also tell TheWrap about making the Paramount+ spinoff a “love letter” for longtime fans
Note: This story contains spoilers from “NCIS: Tony & Ziva” Episode 7.
“NCIS: Tony & Ziva” finally got its titular star-crossed lovers together for a steamy hookup. And while fans will be celebrating the intimate reunion in Episode 7, there’s one person who is not interested in seeing them get back together: Their daughter Tali (Isla Gie)
The episode, titled “Dark Mirror,” followed as Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo) returned to Paris to learn more about the people framing them in an international conspiracy. That involved hiding out in Ziva’s therapist’s apartment. He was inconveniently out of town, but his partner, played by “Ted Lasso” star James Lance, filled in as their sounding board while they learned more about Jonah (Julian Ovenden) and Martine (Nassima Benchicou).
As they sought shelter in the therapist’s home, the former special agents had a chance to take their guard down and be vulnerable with each other, leading to their first hookup in years — one that “NCIS” fans have been waiting to happen for more than a decade.
“It was very organic … and I’m not just talking about the sensuality of it,” de Pablo told TheWrap. “I’m talking about the intimacy of it, the vulnerability. That’s the most important thing. You could always have a sex scene, but if it’s not really anchored in something that is intimate and real, then there’s no payoff.”
But Tony and Ziva’s reunion means plenty of payoff for fans of the couple who spent more than decade on the flagship “NCIS” series caught in a will-they-won’t-they dynamic that continues to haunt fans years after both de Pablo and Weatherly left the show.
Bringing closure to the loyal audience around the world was the whole point of bringing the characters back for the 10-episode Paramount+ spinoff series. The streaming format also allowed the actors and EPs to elevate the action beyond what they had ever done on the CBS drama series, while keeping the lighthearted humor and grounded relationships at the center of the story.
“I came into the show like, ‘I don’t know, am I too old for this? Am I going to be able to meet expectations?’” Weatherly told TheWrap. “That went out the window so fast because the collaboration and the whole team came together for an awesome ride.”
But Episode 7 featured Tali’s hesitation at seeing her parents getting closer during their European mission. As she told her parents following their hookup, she didn’t even think they liked each other due to the fact they had barely spoken for years — a mystery that has slowly unfolded via flashbacks throughout the series and involves both Tony and Ziva’s unresolved issues.
“That’s obviously a hurdle, but I’m not sure they’re ready to give up on each other,” de Pablo said, adding that their current predicament of being framed for a cross-country espionage crime is also a big obstacle in their path to reconciliation. “For years, the universe has kept putting them back together in these impossible situations. They keep working through them and getting stronger.”
With three episodes left, the duo teased the action only gets more intense as we reach the season’s conclusion — especially with the cliffhanger that Ziva plants a seed of doubt in Martine’s mind about whether her partnership with Jonah is as strong as she believes. Stay turned for more nostalgic and surprising moments to come!
“The show is a love letter to the fans,” de Pablo said. “They waited a long time to get their characters back and get some sort of conclusion to this story, and we were not anticipating this much love. That obviously is the great part of the journey.”
