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NCIS season 21, episode 2 preview: The team says farewell to Ducky

The preview for NCIS season 21, episode 2 teased the emotional tribute to Ducky as the team says farewell.

By Elizabeth Learned

“Birds of a Feather” – When Agent Parker is framed for murder, the team puts their jobs and lives on the line in order to buy time and uncover the truth on the 19th season finale of CBS Original Series NCIS, Monday, May 23 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. Pictured: Sean Murray as Special Agent Timothy McGee and David McCallum as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2022 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All
“Birds of a Feather” – When Agent Parker is framed for murder, the team puts their jobs and lives on the line in order to buy time and uncover the truth on the 19th season finale of CBS Original Series NCIS, Monday, May 23 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. Pictured: Sean Murray as Special Agent Timothy McGee and David McCallum as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2022 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All /
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After the season 21 premiere of NCIS aired, fans were excited to finally get to see the crew again. But at the end of the episode, a phone call would change their lives. While we knew it was coming, it still didn’t make it any easier.

At the end of the episode, Parker had just given the team an arson case when he got a frantic phone call from Jimmy Palmer. Even though he didn’t say it out loud, we know it was about Ducky. Actor David McCallum passed away in September 2023 and a tribute episode was announced weeks later. 

While seeing Parker giving Agent Tim McGee a long look was hard enough, the preview for episode 2, "The Stories We Leave Behind," was worse. In the preview, it looks like Jimmy was paying a morning visit to Ducky before being greeted by his adorable dog.

Being the closest person to Ducky besides Gibbs, knowing Jimmy is the one to find him is devastating. Just seeing Jimmy grieving was difficult. The preview didn’t give much away, but we did see each of the team mourning, with Nick still finding it unbelievable.

In one clip, Jessica Knight comforts Jimmy after we see the team together smiling, possibly having just finished sharing stories about Ducky. It’s unknown if any previous cast members will show up for the tribute episode, but we are looking forward to joining the team and paying respects to a much beloved character.

Actor Brian Dietzen, who plays Jimmy, got to co-write the tribute episode. He said in an interview with TVInsider that since this was a 10-episode season, he didn’t have plans to write an episode. But writer Scott Williams not only wanted to write it, but he wanted Dietzen to be a part of it as well. He said the showrunners told them to “go off and do your thing.”

Dietzen also said that he wanted to make sure the episode paid homage to not only the current team that Ducky worked with, but everyone he encountered, from Ziva to Abby to Ellie Bishop, among others. Needless to say, it sounds like we’ll need one or two boxes of tissues for this episode.

NCIS airs Mondays on CBS at 9/8c. Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more NCIS coverage.

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