NCIS season 18 finally delivered on one of its most burning questions when the CBS drama aired with a double-bill on Sunday as fans finally found out why Gibbs shot McGee.
When the 18th season of NCIS kicked off on CBS way back in November, it’s fair to say it did so with a bang. While much of the season so far has transported views back in time, the premiere opened with a sniper rifle-wielding Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon) shooting and successfully hitting colleague Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) twice – although exactly why remained a complete mystery. However, thanks to the most recent episode, NCIS fans finally got their answer.
It turns out the reason why Gibbs had to take such drastic action against his colleague and friend stemmed from the ongoing mission between Gibbs and Fornell (Joe Spano) to bring down an elusive drugs ring.
While the first episode of Sunday’s double-bill saw McGee and wife Delilah (Margo Harshman) soak up the sun in the Bahamas, the second instalment finally provided the answers.
The episode kicked off with Gibbs readying himself to investigate the drugs ring and its deadly yet mysterious leader Merriweather – although Vance (Rocky Carroll) threw a spanner in the works by suggesting the DEA would be taking over.
In a moment of desperation to keep their hopes of bringing down the criminal enterprise alive, Gibbs made haste to the airport where he spotted Merriweather’s plane.
But none other than Fornell emerged from the aircraft, leading to a slightly comical fight exchange between Gibbs and his pal before finding out what Fornell was doing there in the first place.
Fornell had gathered intel on the drugs ring and that a major new shipment was inbound – although this one could’ve led to catastrophic consequences as the basis of a terrorist attack following a warning from Vance.
Putting two and two together, Fornell and Gibbs worked out the new opioids were planned to circulate around the military bases via a nearby burger chain, which would result in the death of thousands.
Fornell had been posing as an employee at the burger chain and discovered his boss Chad had a rather shifty and criminal side to him.
Exposed as Vladimir Ivanov, Fornell and Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) teamed up to track the elusive figure – posing as pest exterminators while Bishop (Emily Wickersham) kept watch outside his house.
However, their mask soon slipped while investigating, leading to Fornell to save Torres from the criminal in a last-ditch shooting.
Their worst fears over Bishop’s safety outside were soon realised, however, as when they exited the property, she was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, she was used as a bargaining chip to try and get Vlad back by Merriweather and, of course, the airport is where they needed to be.
Gibbs roped McGee into the plan but was unable to inform of the new intel that the plane Merriweather and Bishop were presumed to be on was rigged to explode.
Therefore, as McGee approached the plane in the hopes of saving Bishop from it, Gibbs had no other choice but to shoot him in order to stop him from becoming embroiled in the explosion.
McGee was shot in the arm and leg and could only watch as the plane he was approaching became an inferno following the explosion.
Luckily, Bishop wasn’t on board and instead emerged from a nearby hangar where she shared an emotional embrace from Torres.
Merriweather was also nowhere to be seen but the team managed to track him down later in the episode.
There was a happy ending to Gibbs shooting McGee in the end, with it becoming clear he’d actually saved his life.
Fornell also managed to reunite with his daughter, the person who fell victim to the drugs ring back in season 16 which led to the gripping storyline.
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