Shows Like NCIS

Frequently asked about NCIS

Common questions people search for, with answers written by us at MoviesPack.

• What happened to Agent Kate Todd and why was her death significant?▾

  Special Agent Caitlin Todd was shot and killed by the terrorist Ari Haswari at the end of Season 2, just moments after surviving an earlier attempt on her life. Her death was significant because it marked one of the first major cast departures in the series and established that no team member was truly safe. Ari's motivation was partly to psychologically wound Gibbs, as he had developed a twisted obsession with proving himself against his nemesis.

• What is the backstory behind Gibbs's rules, and what is Rule 51?▾

  Gibbs's numbered rules are a personal code of conduct he developed over his career, many of which were inspired by lessons from his mentor, Mike Franks. The rules are never fully listed in order on the show, and their origins are revealed gradually across seasons through flashbacks. Rule 51, one of the few explicitly stated late in the series, is "Sometimes you're wrong" — a rare admission of fallibility that contrasts with Gibbs's typically unwavering confidence and hints at the personal losses that shaped him.

• Why did Gibbs shoot Pedro Hernandez, and how does it connect to his family's deaths?▾

  Gibbs's wife Shannon witnessed a drug cartel murder and was placed under federal protection, but a dirty cop leaked her location to cartel boss Pedro Hernandez, leading to her death and that of their young daughter Kelly in a staged car accident. Years later, Gibbs tracked Hernandez down and killed him in cold blood, a secret he kept from NCIS for most of the series. This act of vigilante justice is the dark foundation beneath Gibbs's moral code and his complicated relationship with Director Vance and later with Mike Franks, who covered for him.

• What was Ari Haswari's true allegiance, and who ultimately killed him?▾

  Ari Haswari was introduced as a Hamas double agent working for Mossad, but his true allegiance was always ambiguous — he appeared to harbor a personal vendetta against Gibbs rather than purely ideological motives. It is eventually revealed that he is the half-brother of Ziva David, and when he targets Gibbs directly in his home, Ziva shoots and kills him herself. Ziva claims she did it to protect Gibbs, but the act also freed her from a complicated and abusive family dynamic with their shared father, Mossad Director Eli David.

• What happened to Ziva David after she left NCIS, and was she really dead?▾

  Ziva David was believed killed when her family farm in Israel was destroyed in a mortar attack, and for several seasons she was presumed dead by both the team and her former partner Tony DiNozzo. It was later revealed in Season 17 that Ziva had survived and gone into hiding to protect her daughter Tali — and to shield Tony — from a covert threat linked to a shadow organization called Sahar. Her return and subsequent farewell tied off her story arc while deliberately leaving Tony's fate open-ended, as his actor Micheal Weatherly had already departed the series.