Was Hetty in the NCIS: Los Angeles series finale?

All eyes were on whether fan favorites would make it to the NCIS: Los Angeles series finale. Of course, most fans were concerned about Hetty.

When we find out a long-running show is coming to an end, one thing we want is a big goodbye. We want to see some fan-favorite characters from the past, and we had hoped that we could get closure about one particular character.

It was all about Linda Hunt’s Hetty, who has been with the series since the beginning. It was clear she knew far more about Callen than she was willing to let on, and she was constantly up to something that nobody else seemed to be clued in about. With the pandemic, she wasn’t able to film with the others, so the creators had to find a way to handle that.

It led to Hetty showing up on the screen in greens in the middle of what looked to be a warzone. All this led to Hetty potentially being bombed while in a coffee shop. However, it was clear she didn’t die when she did voice a message in the three-way crossover, despite not being seen at all throughout NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14.

Did Linda Hunt return for the NCIS: Los Angeles series finale?

We’d already been warned not to expect Hetty in the series finale. Due to CBS’s timing of the cancellation, it was impossible to get everyone back. That included Linda Hunt, and she wasn’t the only one not to make it back.

But what about that cliffhanger of her being stuck somewhere? Nell came back in the NCIS: Los Angeles series finale to share that she had put a team together to get Hetty back. This does open the door for a spin-off or some sort of TV movie to close off this chapter, but it also reminds us that life goes on. Some storylines aren’t going to be resolved. We just have to trust that Nell would do what she can to save Hetty.

NCIS: Los Angeles is available to stream in full on Paramount+.