NCIS fans have been loving the romance of Jimmy Palmer and Jessica Knight. But the latest episode has some worries that the popular couple may be hitting rocky waters! Is there a breakup coming?
Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for NCIS season 21 episode 5
“The Plan” had the team tracking the vanishing of an undercover NCIS agent which led to them working with Jessica’s dad, Feng Zhao (Russell Wong), the “Gibbs of the Far East” coming from the Yokosuka office.
Jessica was less than pleased that her dad had ghosted her on the phone to show up in person for the case. Jimmy was excited as he met the man with just the right coffee, all smiles, gushing on how excited he was to meet the elder Knight…and then slowly realized Feng had no idea who he was. Yes, in two years, Jessica never mentioned her boyfriend to her father. Awkward…
It didn’t take long for Feng to figure out Jessica and Jimmy were together and even looked up the guy’s record fast. They had a talk about it, with Feng seemingly down on Jimmy and pressing on how this was interfering with “the plan,” which Jessica tried to brush off.
How the "plan" caused tension between Jimmy and Jessica on NCIS
In a classic paused elevator talk, Jessica explained that, like any overprotective dad, Feng had long had a plan for Jessica: become team leader, then SAC, then Deputy Director, and then Director of NCIS. Losing her SAC team had set her back, but Feng was still convinced Jessica was as dedicated to this as he was.
Jimmy wondered if Jessica was holding onto it and she told him that he and his daughter were all she wanted and she was happy with her life…”for now.” The “for now” clearly shook Jimmy, making it seem like Jessica might change her mind.
To complicate matters further, Feng announced he was planning to retire and had already recommended that Jessica take his place heading up the Yokosuka office. Jessica naturally fumed at him doing this without even talking to her first and how he brushed off her and Jimmy as “just a thing.”
Did Jimmy and Jessica break up?
After the team handled the main case, Jessica and Jimmy talked in the morgue with Jimmy cracking “we had a good run,” leading Jessica to worry if they were breaking up. She assured him she was staying and happy there with Jimmy repeating “for now.”
The pair did meet with Feng at a diner with Feng saying that if Jessica was happy in D.C., he was happy for her. Jimmy told him he loved Jessica and would always support her with Feng seeming to accept that.
So it looks like the romance is continuing but Jimmy was clearly shaken by the idea Jessica might choose her career over them. Also, his line on supporting her could easily be stepping aside if it meant Jessica could rise up in NCIS as her dad wished. This might be just a bump in the road but NCIS fans could worry that this may be a crack in the previously tight romance of Jimmy and Jessica.
NCIS season 21 airs Mondays at 9/8c on CBS and streams on Paramount+.