Nick Torres in jail? He must be working undercover! NCIS executive producer Steven D. Binder cannot confirm or deny the report. Someone behind bars holds information that the team needs to stop a t3rr0rist att4ck in the Season 20 finale.
“We don’t know what shape Torres will take in prison,” Binder warns, adding that Wilmer Valderrama’s special agent “can be a little hotheaded and do things that aren’t necessarily appropriate for an agent with consequences.”
“His experience in prison is going to bring up a lot of demons from his past,” finale cowriter David J. North says. “With the emotional baggage that he’s carried dating back to before he even joined the show when he was constantly doing deep undercover work and his problems with alcohol, his journey in prison will be very emotionally taxing for him.” While Torres may not have the team with him – though there will be “fun moments” thanks to a visit from Parker (Gary Cole) – they will be attempting to assist him.
The good news is that Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard has returned! “David McCallum is always great on screen, and one of the things his character has been great for is having a wild and varied history where he’s had his hands in all kinds of things, and we’ve heard stories about some of the adventures he’s had in the past.” Binder says of the NCIS historian, “Some of his history will help.”
They’re thrilled to have McCallum back because “it’s just such a joy for the rest of the cast and how much it means to the audience,” North adds.
The bad news is that a major cliffhanger could derail NCIS. It all comes back to Torres’ past reappearing. The author teases that he “is put in a difficult position of deciding how to handle this demon: sweep it under the rug or take care of it.”
“We’ll be wondering if Torres is about to break Torres. Is he going to destroy everything he’s worked for and done in order to put some old demons to rest?” Binder inquires. “He’s at a crossroads where he’ll either go forward and continue to be a functioning agent, or he’ll do something from which he may never recover.”
It’s a situation reminiscent of his ex-boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), who did cross lines. “Will [Torres] follow in Gibbs’ footsteps?” Is he going to go as far as Gibbs and destroy everything he’s built? Or is he going to manage this in the way that a professional would?” The EP is still going on.
According to North, “before Gibbs went to Alaska, he warned Torres about trying to put himself in a better emotional place and not letting the job be everything, because it can go bad.” And then, at the end of Season 20, we’ll see that Torres has reached a tipping point where things could go very wrong.” But, in keeping with the family theme, the team will be “on his journey with him,” according to Binder.
Is it possible that the team will look different in Season 21? Torres “may be making a choice that will end his time with us,” North reveals. Is this referring to the team or the show? Binder would only say, “this could go in any direction,” when asked about Gibbs’ time in Mexico (which we did see onscreen). He could be back, he could be gone, or he could be gone for a short period of time. There are a lot of big issues we’re dealing with right now on this subject, so I don’t want the audience to think this is a game. These are significant stakes for this character.”
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