Did Lala die in “NCIS: Origins”? Emily Wickersham breaks down Gibbs’ plane crash revelation

Wait, I did NCIS: Origins just revealed the current fate of Lala (Mariel Molino)?! The final episode reunites Mark Harmon’s Gibbs with Emily Wickersham’s Bishop in 2026, and he talks a little about his former teammate (who was much more than that). TV Insider spoke with Wickersham about this and more. (Read what she said about reuniting with Harmon here.) Warning: spoilers for NCIS: Origins Season 3, episode 4 early!

The scenes that end the episode take Gibbs back to a very familiar place – his basement – ​​and Vance left him a note on November 26, 2021: “I’m not sure you’ll ever come back here, but in case you do, fix your wall for you. No charge. Leon.” It’s actually just before NCIS Episode 8 of Season 19 aired (November 29, 2021), in which Kasie (Diona Reasonover) wondered WWGS (What Would Gibbs Say?) while considering purchasing a gun.

Bishop joins him after Tony calls her since she now works in the books and begins to investigate Roland Briggs, the tracker who found him. He has been used by the CIA for years as one of their contractors, and they monitor his usual haunts. She notices that the basement is bigger without the boat, and he admits that he thought the same thing. He then (finally) removes the bullet from his shoulder after drinking a glass of bourbon (from a jar that previously contained bolts and nails, of course).

It is in the final scene of the episode that Bishop asks about Lala after seeing a photo of her and that of Austin Stowell’s Gibbs Harmon; the teen that the 90s team helped during the episode’s case took it. (“Maybe we just look good together,” Lala remarked.) Gibbs gives Bishop Lala’s name, calling her “one hell of a special agent.” But Bishop can tell she was more than that to him and asks if he thinks she could be the other target. “No, I don’t,” he said. “She died a long time ago.”

Bishop asks if she was killed in action. “No,” he told her. “Plane crash.” (Do anyone do you believe it? Because it’s not, not after all this buildup.)

Sonja Flemming/CBS

After that, they head to the tracker’s location in Baltimore. “Get ready,” Gibbs said, and Bishop smiled. “I never thought I’d hear you say that again,” she explains.

Below, Emily Wickersham reveals Gibbs’ revelations and teases what’s to come.

Does Bishop believe Gibbs that Lala is dead? Because no.

Emilie Wickersham: I try to think about how I felt at that moment. I think it was all very confusing for her. This is not the case. You don’t believe it now, but did you?

No.

I feel like Bishop has actually never known much about Lala, because he’s so private, and I think Bishop can also tell immediately that there is, and always has been able to tell, that there is so much more between the two of them.

How much does Bishop understand what Lala means or meant to Gibbs? She’s able to tell, isn’t she, because as she points out, in the photos he has in that container, there are only certain people inside.

Yeah. I think part of Bishop’s job is reading people. I think it’s an integral part of what she does in her daily life. And because they have such a relationship together, I think she’s able to know immediately that there’s a mountain of stuff about Lala that she doesn’t know anything about.

What was it like filming on the Gibbs Basement set?

It was so weird. When I tested for the first time NCISthat’s where I tested in this basement. So it was very strange not being there for so many years and coming back to this specific set. It was weird, but it also felt so familiar.

Also, because it’s the last place Gibbs and Bishop came face to face (pictured below).

Yeah. Yeah, that’s true.

So, did that bring back any memories of filming that last scene there?

Of course, of course. I mean, I think for me and Mark, I have so many good fun memories of working with him and to be able to literally go back to the place where we filmed so many of those fun scenes together and had so many good times, it was awesome. It was a great feeling.

Cliff Lipson/CBS

I have to say, I love the exchange about how the basement is bigger without a boat. Was the setting also different without the presence of the boat?

This is what happened. I mean, they moved the setting from Santa Clarita to Paramount, which also made me go, “Whoa, that’s weird too.” But yes, no, it was very different without the boat because all these years the boat was there.

What’s next for Gibbs and Bishop now that they’ve found the tracker? What can you say about what they do next?

I don’t know if I can say much, but I feel like they’re returning to their old ways together and supporting each other. And Bishop on this one says, we’re getting to the bottom of this, and they’re in this together.

What surprises Bishop about the Gibbs she sees now?

I think there’s a quality in Gibbs that Bishop sees that’s different. It’s a little more, maybe more, like Bishop; I think Gibbs also seems more settled in his skin.

Do you think Bishop was tempted to go see her old headquarters, see the people?

Always. I still think she’s tempted.

Because I was wondering, do you think she told Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) that she was in Washington or not, because then she would have to explain why?

I don’t know. They have a special bond, so I guess maybe, just maybe.

Do you think they are in contact? Because it feels like things are never resolved between these two.

Oh yeah. No, I think they are in contact in different ways. I don’t think it’s an everyday thing, but it’s like there are people in your life that you don’t shake, that you just have such a connection with, and I think they’re like that. They’re still, even if they don’t talk for months, they’re in touch. They have a rope that connects them together.

Can you say how many episodes you are in?

A bunch. (Laughter)

Can you say if we’ll see Bishop with any other familiar faces while she’s with Gibbs?

You will be.

Is there anything you can say in general about working with anyone?

I think as the scripts came out, I was surprised who was coming out of thin air, and I was so excited that Michael and Tony were there, and I think there will be a lot of fun surprises for the fans along the way, which will be great for this season.

Was there anything you learned about Bishop that surprised you by returning to the role of Origins?

I was surprised to be asked to participate in the show since it takes place in the 90s. (Laughter) It was surprising.

But who is Bishop now, it’s just more of what we saw in our last season, what we see of her in this episode?

Yes, I think the information I got is basically what we saw last season; Bishop is somehow still in this world doing this thing.

Do you think she could ever get back to a regular job like at NCIS and an almost office job compared to what she’s doing now?

Of course. I think it’s time for him to retire. I watched the show Lionessand I feel like I’m almost imagining it in a way a bit like that. It’s like they’re going off on these crazy missions, and I think it’s a very difficult lifestyle for people to live, but I also think at some point people might want a little more sanity in their daily lives and consistency. And I think if Bishop ever wanted to, it would be going back to NCIS, although you don’t even know what’s going to happen day to day about that.

Which ’90s character do you think Bishop would have the most fun working with?

Well, I personally love them all. I think this cast is so cool, so talented and so much fun. I could see Bishop and Lala (Mariel Molino) having so much fun – and I really mean all the actors, but I always feel like it’s kind of a guy’s world that when the women work together it’s pretty cool.

Do you think Bishop could have still been happy if she had stayed at NCIS all this time?

Maybe. I think there would be a constant search for more and just curiosity about what else she can do to help, and I think that was bubbling within her.

Yeah, because she’s really thriving. Even when she says, “I’m not in the books anymore, you call me about things outside the books,” it feels like that’s who she is.

Totally. I think it’s interesting, its evolution coming from the NSA and actually being in the books and in the computer. I definitely think that over the years the character has grown, and I like the storyline that they came up with last year, and I like where she’s gone.

Because it also feels like she was calmer when we first met her, because she was always sitting somewhere or whatever, but now she’s really the one moving around.

Yeah, I think she’s definitely grown up. She found these parts of herself. She’s accessed or activated these parts of herself in ways that weren’t before, and now they are, and I think that’s more her.

And it all comes back to working with Gibbs and working with the team.

Yeah.

So it’s a nice little full circle to see her and Gibbs again now.

Totally.

NCIS: OriginsTuesdays, 10/9c, CBS