The NCIS writers certainly made sure the 500th episode would go down as one of the most shocking and unforgettable episodes in the show’s history. Heading into the episode, we knew that the writers likely had some surprises up their sleeve. What fans did not expect was that the milestone episode would bring the exit of one of the show’s longest-tenured cast members.
After 18 seasons playing Director Leon Vance, Rocky Carroll has exited NCIS and it’s an exit that is sadly quite permanent. Warning, spoilers ahead from NCIS season 23, episode 13, “All Good Things.”
In the 500th episode, NCIS was officially shut down by the Department of Defense, and the agents were all reassigned to other agencies. When the son of a Marine who Gibbs once helped came to McGee seeking his help in a moment of desperation, McGee quickly brought the rest of the team up to speed to help him clear the name of the man’s sister, a petty officer who had been wrongly accused of murder.
As the team worked the case off the books, they came to discover that CID Director Wayne Rogers was dirty and part of a smuggling syndicate, as was his friend Agent Thompson, who tried to cover for his boss and friend by destroying evidence at NCIS. While Vance was able to stop the bomb and prevent the evidence from being destroyed, Vance paid the ultimate price and was killed by Thompson, who shot Vance multiple times in the chest before Parker and Torres showed up to take Thompson down.
Vance’s actions helped to not only clear the petty officer’s name but also get NCIS reinstated after proving that CID Director Rogers had cooked the books in order to keep the agency and his smuggling operation up and running. His death came as a shock to viewers, and it brings the exit of Carroll from NCIS after over 18 years playing Director Vance on the show.
Rocky Carroll did not choose to leave NCIS, it was the writers' decision
With Vance's death on the show comes Carroll's exit, marking the end of one of the show's longest-tenured members of the cast's time on the show. Sadly, Carroll's exit was not a decision made by the actor. That's right, it wasn't Carroll who wanted to leave the series. Rather, the writers came to him with the storyline late in 2025 and informed him they were looking to use the 500th episode to bring Vance's storyline to an end.
Speaking with TVLine about his exit, Carroll revealed that he was approached by executive producer Steven D. Binder, who walked him through the planned storyline and the decision to kill Vance off in the series.
"Our executive producer Steven D. Binder came into my trailer and said, 'Hey, we've got an idea for the 500th episode. We want to do something that really sends shockwaves through the TV community and the fan base, and your character is central to the storyline. ' I was like, 'I'm interested.' So he proceeds to tell me the storyline that the agency comes under fire, and it's on the verge of being dismantled and folded into another agency, and... Director Vance saves the agency, and in the process of saving the agency, he loses his life. 'It's a great story. It's gonna be really huge.' And my first thought was, 'Back up to the part again: He saves the agency and loses his life?'"
Like the fans, Carroll admitted that the storyline caught him by surprise, but he was able to recognize that it was an amazing story that no one would see coming. It didn't take him much convincing from there to jump on board the plan, though he admitted that he had hoped to stick around until the end and was not looking to exit the series.
"I would have loved to have been one of the characters who was there for the very last episode, when they board up the windows, and when they officially do say, 'All right, it's time for everybody to turn off the lights and go home.' You'd like to be one of the last men standing. But after 18 seasons, I couldn't have asked for more. If somebody had told me 18 years ago, you're gonna do this show for nearly two decades, I would have bet the farm against that. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized if there's ever a time to write a story where your character is a central figure of it, and there's closure... I don't know what the end of NCIS will ultimately be, but at least I feel like my character really kind of came full circle. With the 500th episode, Steve Binder said his objective was, 'I want this to be a tribute and a love letter to your character.' And I think that's what we accomplished."
It was indeed an incredible sendoff for Vance, and he joins an elite group of characters who were surprisingly killed off the show, including Caitlin Todd, Jenny Shepard, and Clayton Reeves. It also proved once again that NCIS is not afraid of killing off main characters and making bold decisions that surprise the fans watching at home.
Considering Carroll has been a part of the show since season 5, it's hard to imagine NCIS without Vance, and his exit is going to bring about some major changes to the show. We'll have to wait to see who is brought in to replace Vance as NCIS Director, and we're certain his death will have an immeasurable impact on the NCIS agents.