NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 18 ‘Cecilia’ is the answer we suspected and yet didn’t want. To why this is a “story about her.” And worse, why this is a story Gibbs doesn’t tell. And boy, does it hurt. It really, really hurts. Particularly because this show has done such a good job of telling good, character-centric stories in Season 1. And perhaps even because, even though we knew this story could only be leading to this place, we still got attached.
And we didn’t get nearly enough of Lala Dominguez, we truly didn’t. We wanted more. We deserved more. And so did Gibbs. That’s the tragedy of it. And yet, as much as this episode hurts, as much as I wish the show had found a way to stretch this moment out a season or two, I understand the storytelling logic that got us here. I always knew it was coming. The more I loved her, the more Gibbs loved her, the more obvious it got. Lala was the answer to the question Gibbs never really got to ask. Lala was the thing he was always missing. There was no world where Lala existed, and Gibbs was still the Gibbs we would one day meet.
I just didn’t want to have to face it.
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THE STORY OF HER
There have been a great deal of character deaths on TV lately, and I have complained about every single one of them. TV deaths are often unnecessary, done for shock value, and serve no purpose to the narrative. That isn’t the case on NCIS: Origins. I’m not saying I’m happy the show killed Lala Dominguez (can I pretend she’s just hurt?), I’m definitely not. If I were, the show would have done a really bad job with the character. I’m sad. Confused about how the show even goes on without her. I’m devastated at the thought of another season without the dynamics the show has established. But anger is not the prevailing emotion.
Part of it is that this is a prequel, so we all came into it understanding the rules of the game. Lala wasn’t a character we knew, so she wasn’t a character that was around in Gibbs’s future. The more hints we got that she was important, the more he told us that she was becoming essential, the more the word love got thrown around, the more we started to fear that this story might end tragically. But this was still, in many ways, the story of her. We still got to know her. Still fell in love with her, just like Gibbs did.
We got to know her strengths and her flaws. Learned what she would do for her friends and what she would do for the people she loved. We saw her stand up to Franks. And almost as importantly, considering NCIS: Origins is, in the end, an origin story for Leroy “Jethro” Gibbs, we learned how she shaped the man we will one day Gibbs. We understand now how Lala Dominguez is essential in the story of the man we know. Why the story of her is, deep down, the story of him, the story of Gibbs. Just as we understand why this is a story we’d never, ever heard before.
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WHAT NEXT?
NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 18 ‘Cecilia’ closes the story in a way that almost makes it feel like there’s no need for a second season. And yet, a second season is coming, and this show is going to reinvent itself completely. A part of me, the part that is still hurting, is tempted to say I don’t want it. But when this show was first announced, I remember asking if this show was even necessary. I was proven wrong then, so I’m willing to be proven wrong once again.
I will say this, Lala Dominguez’s absence, as much as the storyline makes sense, will be felt. Mariel Molino lit up the screen every second she was on it, and I will happily follow her to whatever project she does next. Procedurals never get enough credit for the acting, but absolutely everyone on NCIS: Origins Season 1 has done an absolutely incredible job when it comes to bringing their characters to life, giving them depth, and making them feel like actual people we have seen grow and change. That’s a credit to the cast, obviously, but also the writing and the crew who work very hard every day. It’s been a pleasure to cover this show weekly, and I look forward to doing it again for Season 2.
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Things I think I think:
- “Stars align, lives collide.”
- Lara Macy, we meet again. Ironic how the show is bringing back a character I’d almost forgotten about because well… Hetty is Hetty. And making her have such a connection to Gibbs.
- “We find a way to love them. We find a way to protect them. But maybe that shouldn’t be our job.”
- Gibbs saying “I’m on her team” is hilarious.
- The Lala going to Gibbs and the two going to Mike.
- “We’re already involved. That´s the truth.”
- The boss hitting on Lala is gross. And the bilingual shit? Yuck.
- Gibbs pointing out Lala’s reasoning for not telling Randy was his reasoning for not telling her is golden.
- That scene with all the guns was SCARY.
- “You owe me now, mama.”
- I’d punch Franks for even suggesting I did it. Lala is a better person than me.
- “It’s about you thinking I have it in me to betray him or you or this team.”
- GIBBS WHY?
- “Now I’m stupid too.”
- THE CHEMISTRY.
- “What you do affects other people and you just decide for everybody.”
- But are you done?
- Mary Jo calling Lala a force of nature made me tear up.
- And Mary Jo’s scene with Lara was ooofff.
- Okay, I knew Mike’s brother was going to come up again. I knew it.
- I can see why Randy is scared, I really can. But if he is, he’s a liability.
- “One night, my future collided with me.”
- Oh, that’s Diane. You know, Diane Sterling. Second ex-wife Diane.
- “Someone who was coming to tell me she had saved me.”
- “I would only find out later what she did for me.”
- “But that´s not what made me love her. I loved her all along. I still do.”
- “This is a story I don´t tell. I can´t find the words. But it never stops running through my head. The story of her.”
- Look, if there’s even a small chance that she’s just hurt, I’ll hang onto it. I doubt it, but since she hasn’t been pronounced dead yet, I can live all hiatus in denial, right?
- I wrote this through tears, I would like everyone to know.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think about NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 18 ‘Cecilia’? Please share with us in the comments below! And if you have any thoughts about the show, share them with us in our NCIS: Origins hub!
NCIS: Origins airs on Mondays at 10/9c on CBS.
Here are our last 5 NCIS: Origins reviews:
