What's next for Lala in NCIS: Origins season 2 (if she survives, that is!)

The NCIS: Origins season 1 finale brought us a shocking twist that, arguably, we should have seen coming. After all, Gibbs has not mentioned Lala’s name throughout 19 seasons of NCIS, so we knew that something big happened to “her.”

However, it’s not yet been confirmed that Lala died in that jeep accident at the end of the first season. Maybe there is a slim chance that she survived, but as TVLine says, this is highly unlikely. The wording of the showrunners is something that comes up time and time again, as showrunners need to tease to pull us in for the next season.

So, we’ll say that Lala survives the accident from the NCIS: Origins season 1 finale. What could happen to her next in NCIS: Origins season 2?

“Incognito” – Gibbs goes undercover for the first time with Lala as NIS works the case of a dead Navy seaman who may have been sharing top-secret intel that poses a threat to national security. Also, Lala struggles with her place on the team and an unexpected development in her personal life, on NCIS: ORIGINS, Monday, Nov. 11 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+

Lala could have to leave NCIS for medical reasons in NCIS: Origins season 2

While she could survive, that doesn’t mean she’s going to be well enough to rejoin her team. There’s a chance that she could have to leave NIS due to medical reasons, which could be the reason Gibbs ends up not wanting to think about her. Considering she was rushing to tell Gibbs about how she helped to protect his Hernandez secret, she could end up blaming him for his actions.

However, that doesn’t make sense. If she was angry and had been forced out medically, what would stop her from telling everyone the truth?

So, it would suggest that Gibbs is the one who feels the most guilt. This leads to him pulling away from Lala, turning to Denise instead, considering she has just shown up in the series and we know she is Gibbs’s second wife.

“Enter Sandman” / “Enter Sandman, Part 2” – NCIS: ORIGINS follows a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS, and is narrated by Mark Harmon. In the series, Gibbs starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office, where he forges his place on a gritty ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid), on the series premiere of NCIS: ORIGINS, Monday, Oct. 14 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television

This may not be the incident that kills Lala in NCIS: Origins

I think we all assume that Lala has to die. There’s a big reason for Gibbs not to tell the story of Lala. He doesn’t even mention her by name when he is telling the story, despite mentioning Kelly and Shannon by name. This suggests that he feels a lot of guilt for something that happened.

So, we know that she’s likely dead, but it doesn’t mean that this accident is the thing that kills her. She could end up rejoining the team, leading to an incident when Lala and Gibbs are working together, and Gibbs can’t get to her in time, or she ends up taking a bullet for him. This would allow for him to feel the guilt that it would take for him to not talk about her again.

However, that just seems to offer us a shocking season 1 finale without any follow-through. I still have a feeling that Lala won’t survive in the NCIS: Origins season 2 premiere.

NCIS: Origins season 2 will air on Tuesdays at 9/8c on CBS in fall 2025.

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