NCIS season 21, episode 5: Meet Jessica Knight's dad

NCIS introduced us to Jessica Knight’s dad Feng Zhao, the NCIS Special Agent in Charge of the Far East field office. We met him amid a case involving an NCIS agent who was undercover. So what was Knight’s dad like, and what did we learn about his ideas for his daughter’s future?

The case for the week involved NCIS Agent James Chen, who went missing while undercover on a ship. He had been aiding a woman named Dr. Mei Li to get her out of her country after she had created a bioweapon that was about to be misused by her government.

Agent Zhao was Agent Chen’s handler and hadn’t told anyone at NCIS what was happening, which annoyed both Jessica and Director Vance. While Jessica and her dad worked together, we learned that he always saw a plan to see Jessica work her way up to becoming NCIS director.

He would always have something to say about who she was dating, which included Jimmy as well. She had tried to avoid talking about her relationship with him, knowing how he would respond. When she talked to Jimmy about it, at least after some missteps, it was clear that they both seemed to be on different wavelengths when it came to where they stood.

Jessica wanted to focus on what made her happy right now. She didn’t know what the future held, but what she did know was she was happy where she was. That included Jimmy, who just wanted what she would want. Her dad talked about retiring and suggested that she take over for him.

However, Jessica declined and even though Jimmy seemed worried about the future, she knew what she wanted. We know Jimmy has been dealing with a lot about losing people, and she is someone he wants to hold onto, especially since he loves her. But he also is very supportive and loving. No matter what the future holds, it was great to see the couple communicating about how they felt about their relationship.

While Jimmy would go on to officially meet Jessica’s dad, Agent Tim McGee had some familial drama of his own. After taking a genealogy test, he learned he had another sister, albeit a half-sister. At first, McGee thought his dad had a secret daughter he didn’t tell Tim or his younger sister about.

However, it turns out his dad was a sperm donor for a couple who wanted to expand their family. It was a surprising turn that allowed Tim and his sister to meet a relative they never knew.

This episode showed how family can surprise you in different ways. Plus, we love that we got a mention of both Jessica and Tim’s sisters, the latter of whom was seen way back in season 4. We're excited to see what else we learn about the characters and their relationships as the season progresses!

Make sure to catch NCIS on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET. Catch up the next day on Paramount+.