5 NCIS characters we’d bring back from the dead (and 5 we wouldn’t)

NCIS has had a wide array of characters who have come and gone over its 20-season span. From beloved long time agents to characters who played the antagonists or relatives, there has always been a memorable role that left fans reeling once they were no longer part of the cast. Of all the NCIS characters who have died, who would we bring back and who should stay dead? Here’s a list of five NCIS characters we’d bring back from the dead and 5 we wouldn’t.

Currently on hiatus due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, season 21 has had little to no updates in regards to what will be going on when the show returns. At the moment, we do know there’s a cliffhanger involving Nick, but whether he stays part of the show is up in the air.

In the meantime, we’re looking back at memorable NCIS characters who we have come to know, or despise, during the show’s airtime. The question though is if we would bring them back from the dead or not?

Now before we begin, if we listed every single character we would bring back from the dead, it would be such a long list considering how long the show has been running.

Therefore, some honorable mentions go to Agent Caitlin Todd, Emily Fornell, Breena Palmer, and MI6 Officer Clayton Reeves. They are absolutely missed and deserve a shoutout. But who else would we bring back and who would we leave for dead?

5 NCIS characters we would bring back from the dead

Diane Sterling

Diane Sterling was a character who may not have had many appearances, but she was connected to many NCIS individuals. She was the former wife of both Agent Gibbs and FBI Agent Tobias Fornell, and the mother of Emily Fornell. Storylines involving Gibbs’s exes have always been fun to watch and her death was a shock to fans. She was a character we would love to see return from the dead.

Mike Franks

Mike Franks was a former agent who was close with Gibbs’s and also met his demise in the show. He was one of the few people who really understood him and was beloved by fans. Franks met his demise via the Port-to-Port killer, Jonas Cobb, played by Kerr Smith. Even though Franks would appear in flashbacks later on, he’s one of those characters we wish we could bring back from the dead.

NCIS Special Agent Ned Dorneget

Even though Dorneget, played by Matt L. Jones, was first introduced as a probie and later seen after rising to the rank of Special Agent in a minor role, he was still a character we grew to love. He was killed in a terror attack after attempting to save civilian lives. His death was tragic and for such a small part, he’s been a memorable presence to fans since.

Eli David

As Ziva’s father and the Director of Mossad, Eli David was an interesting character to watch throughout the series. His death in season 10 brought on a series of events that culminated in arcs for plenty of characters, including Director Leon Vance.

Jackie Vance

Jackie Vance was the beloved wife of Director Leon Vance and was tragically killed in a shootout in season 10 alongside Mossad Director Eli David. She’s a character we would love to bring back, as there was so much potential to see how she played a part in the NCIS universe.

While those are just some of the characters we would love to see again, what about those we wouldn’t?

Let’s face it, we can’t love every single character on a television show, especially after so many seasons. While some characters are fun to watch, there are those who have served their purpose, or are such awful characters that we don’t need to see them on screen.

Whether they were an antagonist or a character we just didn’t jive with, these are just five characters who are just fine staying dead.

5 NCIS characters we would NOT bring back from the dead

Trent Kort

Former CIA agent Trent Kort was an antagonist in the series who would be responsible for corruption and multiple instances of murder and attempted murder, including in the case of Agent Ziva David. With his reign of terror ending in season 13, we are not sorry to see him go.

Ari Haswari

While Ari Haswari is a name that is very familiar to fans of the show, we would not bring him back from the dead. He has a connection to many characters, considering the fact that he is the terrorist who killed Agent Caitlin Todd in the season 2 finale. His death introduced us to his sister Ziva David and his father, Eli David, who would also meet his end in season 10. His actions were the catalyst for many of the later arcs that would occur over the years so we will leave him to rot.

Jennifer Shepard

Played by actress Lauren Holly, Jenny Shepard was Agent Jethro Gibbs’s former partner and would take over as NCIS Director after the first director stepped down in 2005. She died in a shootout while in the field three years later and it was hinted she was sick before being killed. Shepard was one of those characters that was polarizing and since there was not much to see from her arc other than revenge against an arms dealer and her previous romance with Gibbs, there’s no need to bring her back.

Paloma Reynosa

Paloma was the daughter of the man who had Agent Gibbs’s wife and daughter murdered years ago. Since Gibbs killed her father, she went after him for revenge and was eventually gunned down in an accidental shooting by her brother. Considering she was prepared to do anything to kill Gibbs, we would not bring her back from the dead.

Benham Parsa

Parsa was a terrorist who was responsible for the bombing that killed Secretary of the Navy Clayton Jarvis and led to Agent Timothy McGee’s girlfriend, Delilah Fielding, becoming paralyzed. Considering his reign of terror, which ended at the hands of Gibbs himself, he can stay dead.

Those are the NCIS characters we would either love to bring back from the dead or are fine with them being long gone from the NCIS universe.

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