NCIS’s 500th episode had a shocking twist and a surprise cameo, but it turns out the latter wasn’t the first choice for the role!
Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for NCIS season 23 episode 13
NCIS’s 500th episode was a massive one. The framing device had Vance (Rocky Carroll) being called into a deserted NCIS office by an investigator. A month earlier, NCIS was disbanded and merged with the Army Criminal Investigation Division, with the agents moved to other agencies or, in the case of Parker, retired.
Vance’s interrogator (Adhir Kalyan) pressed Vance to detail the team's reunion, revealing that CID Director Wayne Rogers was part of a smuggling ring the team had been investigating for some time. At first, nerdy CID agent Thompson appeared to be helping them out.
Vance and Thompson found a bomb in the evidence locker, with Vance disabling it. Too late, he learned Thompson was in on the whole thing as the man shot Vance. The rest of the team was quickly on the scene, and Vance appeared okay thanks to a bulletproof vest.
However, the talk with the interrogator had Vance coming to the slow realization of the truth: He hadn’t been wearing a vest and was actually dead. The interrogator then revealed his true identity: A younger Donald “Ducky” Mallard, played once more by Adam Campbell. It was an amazing surprise to see Campbell back for the episode, but it turns out he wasn't the show's first choice for the cameo.
Speaking to TV Insider, executive producer Steven D. Binder revealed Ducky wasn’t their first choice for that role.
“You don’t need a special reason to bring back Adam Campbell. The man is a rock star. However, in this case, Ducky was actually not the first choice, simply because we lost David [McCallum] in real life and he was gone. It never crossed my mind that we could bring Ducky back. And there was a short list of candidates. But then I happened to catch one of the Young Ducky episodes on Paramount+, and the moment I saw Adam’s face, I realized what it needed to be.”
Ducky let Vance know of the fallout of his death as the team arrested Rogers, exposing how he’d tried to get NCIS shut down to stop the investigation. With the truth out, the agency was reinstated and ready to move on in Vance’s honor.
It was a surprise to fans, although it made sense. A fun touch was Vance noting how Ducky looked “younger than the last time I saw you" and Campbell smiling with “one of the perks.” Yet it makes one wonder who else it could have been.
An obvious choice for the person with Vance would have been his late wife, Jackie (Paula Newsome). Tellingly, we hear her voice when Vance walks through the door into the afterlife. It would make total sense for her to be there for him, and fans would have loved seeing their reunion. It may be that Newsome was unavailable due to scheduling and couldn’t make the filming.
Another possibility was Clayton Reeves (Duane Harry), the British agent who worked with the team and was killed off in the season 15 finale. That would have been a fun callback and him bringing his former boss into the afterlife.
While some fans may have wished for Mark Harmon to pop in as Gibbs, it wouldn’t make sense with the man still alive. There was the possibility of Vance’s father or a former mentor. However, Ducky did make the most sense given the duo’s long friendship and his standing as the heart of NCIS. Having it be a younger Ducky in his prime was also logical and a warm goodbye for Vance.
NCIS season 23 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.