With the AI-driven crisis of episode 8 behind them, NCIS briefly wraps itself in Christmas cheer in the week before the holidays. However, the holiday glow is soon overshadowed by Parker's past colliding with the present once more.
Caution: This post contains spoilers from NCIS season 23 episode 9
Parker and NCIS fans alike get a Christmas miracle, though — the long-awaited answers about Elenor Parker's death, who Lily is and who was with Roman the night he died, all of which are part of the same cold case.
The truth about Eleanor Parker's death in NCIS season 23 episode 9
At the end of episode 7, Parker finally agrees to face the past and have his mother exhumed. It's time he learns what happened to her. At the beginning of episode 9, Jimmy walks him through the injuries, most of which are consistent with the crash, except for the blunt force trauma to her head — a fatal injury that suggests she was murdered, and the accident was staged.
While shocking, that's only scratching the surface. Kasie delivers the blow a few minutes later — the woman on the autopsy table is not Eleanor Parker. The revelation raises a whole set of questions: Who is she then? And where is his mother? Could she still be alive?
Digging for the truth, the team finds Lester Burm, the trooper who wrote the original accident report, back in 1972. It's a long shot, but Parker and Knight visit him. The man is nearly 80, and claims his memory isn't so good. They leave almost empty-handed, except for the photo of Lester's wife. Back in Kasie's lab, Knight notices how similar the woman in the photo and the reconstruction of the exhumed woman's face look.
The twisty episode isn't done with the blows: the lipstick on the wine glass from the night Roman Parker died is a 48% match to the mystery dead woman, so her close relative was there that night. How are all the pieces coming together? Through Lily.
NCIS season 23 episode 9 reveals who Lily is
Parker has been seeing Lily since he almost died at the end of season 21. Since then, he's been trying to figure out who she is and how she is connected to him. And while NCIS made it clear who she wasn't connected to after season 22, it barely gave answers as to who she is to Alden Parker and his family — until now.
After the visit to the retired trooper Burm, Agent Knight finds the original photo of him and his first wife, Judy, with the girl Parker's been seeing. When confronted, the old man admits that it's Nelly, his daughter.
That's all it takes for Kasie to run a search with the new name and the mystery woman's face, finding a Penelope Johnson whom Parker and Knight go to visit. Parker isn’t ready to open the door to a girl who looks exactly like his Lily, or to hear her name — Eleanor. Her grandmother, Penelope, is the Lily from his visions, and Parker is much less ready for the revelation that comes next.
His mother and hers used to be friends, and Judy confided in Eleanor, telling her about her abusive husband, Lester. Eleanor planned to take them to safety to her cousin Connie in Pittsburgh, but they never made it. Lester found them first, and while Eleanor dropped Alden home, Burm took Lily with him to work. Eleanor and Judy followed, but Lester forced them off the road.
He killed Judy, staged the accident, and then hunted down Eleanor, who managed to escape and take Lily away. He found them at a motel where they were hiding, dragged Eleanor away, but never found the girl. At last, the mystery is solved — Parker's mother died while trying to save a little girl. And following Lester Burm's interrogation, Alden finds her body and gives her a proper burial.
The very ending of this episode proves that one of the old fan theories about why Vance wanted to talk to Nick at the end of NCIS season 23 episode 2. While the theory wasn’t entirely right, it did contain a core of truth — or, at the very least, some inspired fandom flair. NCIS is bringing Eleanor Bishop back as a wanted fugitive, with Jess Knight tasked to track her down. What's the story behind that?
With that final reveal, NCIS gives viewers a reason to count down the days until the winter break ends. NCIS Season 23 resumes on Tuesday, February 24, on CBS at 8/7c.
Get the latest NCIS updates and more with Precinct TV.