NCIS: Origins Season 3 Finally Tells Gibbs' Canceled Romance Story
CBS has confirmed that NCIS: Origins Season 3 will finally tell the story of Leroy Jethro Gibbs' romance with Special Agent Lala Dominguez, a plotline that seemed effectively canceled by the franchise's existing canon. The prequel series, starring Austin Stowell as a young Gibbs, returns to CBS on Tuesday, October 6, at 10 pm Eastern.
The upcoming season brings back Mark Harmon, who played Gibbs in the original NCIS series for nearly two decades, in all 10 episodes. This marks Harmon's most significant return to the franchise in years and adds a new layer of complexity to the former Special Agent's story.
What happens between Gibbs and Lala in Season 3?
The official trailer for NCIS: Origins Season 3 shows at least three intimate scenes between Gibbs and Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino), his fellow team member at the Camp Pendleton field office. The agents have shared a right-place/wrong-time romance arc throughout the prequel, building a connection they couldn't act on for several reasons.
That changes in Season 3. The trailer shows the agents kissing and meeting up both at NCIS and outside office hours to carry on their romance covertly. These developments build on the Season 2 finale, when Gibbs finally made his move and kissed Lala outside her home.
Why was this romance seemingly canceled before?
The original NCIS series already told the story of Gibbs' second wife, Diane Sterling, played by Melinda McGraw. Once NCIS: Origins introduced Diane in Season 1's finale, it was only a matter of time before she married Gibbs. That played out in Season 2, which showed how Gibbs and Diane wed impulsively in Las Vegas.
Since Gibbs and Diane stay married until he moves to Washington years later, franchise lore suggested the prequel would forgo Gibbs and Lala's romance entirely. However, NCIS: Origins walked back that development, explaining in Season 2 that Gibbs and Diane separated despite staying married. That gave Gibbs and Lala a window to act on a romance that seemed abandoned.
Will Gibbs and Lala's romance last?
In the Season 2 finale, Gibbs' narration suggests the romance won't last. After he asks Lala to stay rather than resign from NCIS and move off the grid with Manny (Miguel Gomez), he says,
We got our happy ending. I only wish it could've lasted forever.
However, Harmon's older Gibbs talks about Lala's story in the Season 3 trailer, which could bring the agents back together in the present timeline. As Harmon returns for a season-long story, a theory has emerged that Gibbs and Lala will end up together, and Season 3 could be setting up that story.
Regardless of what unfolds, Lala will be at the center of the next installment. Harmon's Gibbs says in the trailer,
I know now, Lala's story isn't hers alone. It's ours.
Along with Stowell and Molino, the rest of the NCIS: Origins Season 3 core cast is returning, reuniting for what may be Gibbs' most important case.