NCIS Hawaii series finale had a perfect ending... until CBS went and ruined it

CBS really chose violence with the NCIS: Hawaii series finale, and I’m about to tell you why. The show had the PERFECT ending – well, as perfect as we could have hoped for given the ending was not planned – but then CBS went and ruined that perfect ending with a scene that was totally unnecessary. 

Before getting into details, let me issue a spoiler warning as spoilers are coming up from the NCIS: Hawaii series finale. So if you haven’t watched the series finale, know there are going to be spoilers ahead regarding how the show ended. 

How did NCIS: Hawaii end? 

The NCIS: Hawaii series finale was primarily about the team racing to stop the deadly Compound Z bioweapon from being used by a group of terrorists to harm the family members of military leaders from both the U.S. and Philippines, who had headed to Hawaii for an event. Luckily, Tennant and the team were able to stop the bad guys in time and save the day. 

After bringing down the terrorists, the show jumped ahead three weeks and we learn that Sam had fully recovered after coming in contact with with Compound Z and was preparing to head back to Los Angeles. Before leaving town, the team surprised Sam with a surprise send-off complete with champagne and a few toasts from both Sam and Tennant. 

The camera began to pan out and it looked like that was going to be final scene, and it should have been, but instead, we see Tennant make her way home where she was greeted by an unexpected guest. Instead of her daughter Julie greeting her, Tennant walked into her house to find Maggie Shaw waiting for her on the couch. 

“No, Janey. Julie isn’t here,” Maggie said as Tennant called out for her daughter. “And you’re probably going to need a drink for what’s coming next….”

And with that, the show came to an end with what will become an unresolved cliffhanger. 

CBS should have edited out the final scene of the NCIS: Hawaii series finale

In all honestly, knowing NCIS: Hawaii had been canceled, CBS should have edited out the last minute of the episode in which Tennant walked in to find Maggie waiting for her. There was no point in ending the show with a cliffhanger knowing the series wasn’t coming back for another season, and we simply don’t understand why the network didn’t edit out that closing scene as it was unneeded. 

The series had the perfect sendoff with Sam’s farewell celebration which would have been a great way to close out the series knowing another season is not happening. The team had saved the day, Sam was heading back to LA, Tennant gave a sweet toast and the agents raised their glasses as the camera panned out. It was a perfect moment to end the show with all of our favorite characters together celebrating their victory, and honestly, it was a scene that could have worked as the closing moment for the show. 

It was a scene that left the door open for fans to imagine the agents continuing to fight the good fight and investing cases, without leaving them with unanswered questions. Instead, CBS left in the final sequence with Maggie which resulted in the show ending with a cliffhanger that will now have no payoff. 

The perfect ending was right there, and it’s a shame CBS wasted it by keeping the final scene with Maggie in the episode knowing it would not be bringing the series back for a fourth season.