As much as we would love to think people can live forever, they can’t. David McCallum passed away in Septebmer 2023, and we knew it meant we’d have to sy goodbye to Ducky in NCIS Season 21.
The goodbye episode is soon, as well. We learned that it would be the second episode of the season, with Brian Dietzen co-writing the episode. This is a tribute that sees Ducky help to solve one last case.
The preview for the episode is certainly setting us up for tears. Make sure you have the Kleenex ready!
NCIS 21x02 promo
The promo for the episode gives us an idea of what’s to come for Palmer. He walks into Ducky’s house with coffee and immediately greets Ducky’s dog. As he walks in, he says “Ducky,” and you just know what he’s likely seeing.
In a good way, it looks like the series has opted to give Ducky a natural death. And I feel like that is the way that it has to be done. Allow Ducky to go out of the series peacefully, but with a murder case that he was investigating. The team will then want to solve this one last case with him.
I’m not going to lie, though, it’s the dog laying down that broke me.
NCIS 21x02 synopsis
The agents will mourn the loss of Ducky together, and they’re going to do it in true NCIS style. Ducky had one last case open, and the team will make sure they solve it. This case involves a woman whose father was dishonorably discharged from the Marines. It sounds like there is something much bigger to her father’s history, and Ducky wanted to figure that out.
"As NCIS mourns the loss of Ducky, the agents find comfort in working on one of his unfinished cases involving a woman whose father was dishonorably discharged from the Marines."
NCIS airs Mondays at 9/8c on CBS. Catch up the following day on Paramount+.