NCIS had a surprise return for a late character, and we might somehow see more of them.
NCIS fans are still reeling from the show’s 500th episode and its shocking turn. After stumbling onto a criminal plot, director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll) was killed in the line of duty. His sacrifice exposed a criminal conspiracy and kept NCIS open while the team mourned him. It ended Carroll’s amazing 18-season run on the show.
So, fans were pleasantly surprised when the season 23 finale featured the return of Carroll in flashbacks as Vance helped his daughter Kayla (Naomi Grace) cope after she survived a cafe bombing. The flashbacks further showed Vance realizing Kayla was secretly investigating who was behind this and giving her aid.
Speaking to TV Line, showrunner Steven D. Binder discussed Caroll’s surprise return and how while “I wouldn’t say a plan,” they had “a clear understanding” they’d use Carroll for flashbacks as they’ve done for other characters.
“We were going to see him either in flashbacks, or in people's heads like Jiminy Cricket. So it was always the plan. The timing wasn't necessarily planned out, but it quickly became apparent to us that we needed to see him again. And when we realized that we were going to do the show a disservice by not bringing Kayla back, because that was going to happen at some point, it just seemed like, 'Let's not have her come back three years from now.' We needed to bring her in, and when you bring her in, it just seemed like, 'Let's see a daughter and her father together.' How do you not do that? I say this all in hindsight. [Laughs] This was, like, seven weeks of banging your head against the wall. But once you get the answer, then you realize that always had to be the answer.”
It was an emotional moment to witness Vance’s return, even in this form, so could we get more appearances?
So, will Vance return?
The idea of using more of Carroll would be fun. Surely, there are moments where a flashback to Vance interacting with the team that we didn’t see in an episode could pop up, especially helping them through some crisis.
However, it seems more likely he’d pop in as a ghost in someone’s mind, with Binder even suggesting him as a "Jiminy Cricket” type figure, comparing it to how Gibbs hallucinated his ex-wife Diane in the season 16 finale.
“Now part of the fun there was the fireworks whenever you got those two together, alive or dead. But it just was a really fun episode, having someone whispering in your ear at the worst possible time. And the idea of seeing Vance be that guy seems too juicy. Because when he's the [NCIS] director, there's a certain level of decorum. But when he's just the guy in your ear, you know, the gloves are off.”
That last line indicates that this could be a different version of Vance than viewers are used to. Carroll might actually love the idea of a Vance who’s not wearing a suit and all ramrod commander, but in casual clothing, laughing, joking, still a stern attitude when needed but now no longer tethered to the mortal world. That would be a great way to spike up a return for the actor.
We’ll see how it goes, yet it seems the door is open for NCIS to bring back Vance, just not in the way fans may be expecting.
NCIS is now streaming on Paramount+.
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