Warning! Spoilers ahead for the NCIS: Origins season 2 premiere, “The Funky Bunch.”NCIS: Origins season finally answers what happened to Lala after her fatal car-wreck, and frankly, it’s worse thand eath. The NCIS franchise has expanded with its very first period show tackling Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ first few years with the NIS, and that comes with a brand new ensemble surrounding him.
While the NCIS: Origins cast features several familiar faces like Mike Franks and Vera Strickland, it also debuts fresh players such as Mariel Molino’s Lala Dominguez. Unlike Franks and Strickland, Lala was never mentioned in the flagship, let alone appear in it. Despite that, NCIS: Origins has made it abundantly clear that she plays a vital role in Gibbs’ formative years in the agency.
When NCIS: Origins was announced, it was sold as Gibbs’ prequel. Understandably, there were some skepticism because the flagship had tackled what seemed like every vital narrative in his past life. That said, the offshoot eventually proved its importance, not just by offering new information about Gibbs, but also expanding its narrative to the rest of its cast.
Mark Harmon’s old Gibbs narration even declared in the premiere, NCIS: Origins is about Lala. So when the season 1 finale set up what appeared to be the end of her life, the long wait for answers about her fate started. Luckily, CBS answers it in the first hour of its sophomore year.
NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 1 Reveals That Lala Survived The Crash
As previously hinted at, Lala did survive the car crash in the NCIS: Origins season 1 finale. For what it’s worth, it didn’t really make any sense for the show to write up the character that quickly, especially as her dynamic with Gibbs has been at the center of its storytelling. That said, the prequel gets a little more creative with how it reveals Lala’s ultimate fate.
The top of the episode doesn’t pick up immediately after the crash. There’s a considerable time-jump that establishes Lala’s absence in Franks’ team. Harmon’s narration reveals that the squad and the job just haven’t been the same without her. It is also through his voice over that confirms Lala’s survival, although it details the harrowing rehabilitation that she has been going through to get back to work. It isn’t until the case of the week is fully set that Lala comes back to join the team.
By the end of the episode, Lala is fully back in action. Several times in “The Funky Bunch,” the team crowds on her to make sure that she’s okay. While she hasn’t seen any intense action, bar a chase that doesn’t last very long, it does seem like Lala is capable to contribute to Franks’ team. What’s curious now is if NCIS: Origins will revisit the immediate aftermath of the crash, including what happened to Lala in the hospital.
Why Lala’s Survival Is Worse Than Death
Admittedly, Lala surviving the car wreck isn’t the most shocking way to resolve the cliffhanger. Killing her didn’t make sense either, but that would have been a bigger swing for NCIS: Origins, a bold move that is reminiscent of Kate Todd’s death in NCIS season 2. It would also allow the show to keep her at the center of its storytelling no matter what is happening in Gibbs’ life moving forward.
While a dying character is never a good thing, it might have been a better route for Lala than the hell she finds herself in when she returns in NCIS: Origins season 2. As it turns out, during her recuperation period, Gibbs found himself starting a relationship with Diane, whom he eventually marries, per the flagship. For context, Gibbs and Lala got very close to letting their feelings for each other known at the end of the show’s debut year. Lala was rushing to Gibbs when she got into the freak accident, effectively cutting their romance short.
Now, Lala has to act as if Gibbs being with Diane doesn’t bother her, even though it clearly does. Mary Jo attempts to tell her he’s only with his new girlfriend in an effort to cope with her near-death experience. In a usual setting, this situation would just be another way to extend the tried and tested will-they/won’t-they storyline. However, the fact that it’s canon that Gibbs ends up marrying Diane makes this a tragedy for Lala until the very end.
Is There A Chance For Gibbs & Lala To Still Be Together?
It would be risky for NCIS: Origins to never pay off the teased romance between Gibbs and Lala. While NCIS was able to do something similar with Tony Dinozzo Jr. and Ziva David, they still shared special moments and made their feelings clear for each other. At this point, the prequel’s main issue stems from the established canon, which mandates that Gibbs and Diane will have to get married.
Perhaps, there’s a break in Gibbs and Diane’s romance that allows him to get together with Lala until they are inevitably separated again. Maybe they become a couple on the heels of Gibbs’ divorce to Diane — something that is also established in the NCIS canon. Otherwise, NCIS: Origins may just decide to create some plot holes for the sake of its own storytelling.
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NCIS: Origins
- Release Date
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October 14, 2024
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Austin Stowell
Leroy Jethro Gibbs
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Kyle Schmid
Special Agent Mike Franks
