Warning: spoilers ahead for the April 2 episode of NCIS on CBS, called "Mona Lisa."
NCIS dropped a bombshell on longtime fans earlier in Season 16 with the reveal that Ziva David is not dead after all, despite what seemed to be the confirmation of her death back in Season 13. Ziva didn't appear in any scenes set in the present, but she left a message for Bishop revealing that she is indeed still alive. Although the show moved away from the Ziva plot in subsequent episodes, "Mona Lisa" seemingly revealed that Season 16 isn't done with her.
The majority of "Mona Lisa" actually dealt with Torres waking up on a fishing boat, covered in blood and seemingly responsible for the death of a young woman. Meanwhile, Vance was working to uncover the truth about the CIA keeping tabs on him via his girlfriend, who was a plant. Still, the episode found time to drop what strikes me as a hint that the Ziva mystery will be revisited, and it came during a scene between Bishop and Gibbs.
While trying to get to the bottom of what happened to Torres, Bishop received a text from the woman who rented Ziva the private office that was revealed earlier this season. Gibbs was taken aback that she was mentioning Ziva and the office while they were in the field on an unrelated case, but Bishop explained that the woman was repeatedly texting her about Gibbs clearing the rest of Ziva's things.
At first, Gibbs said that he would do it, and he just hadn't gotten around to it, not taking up Bishop on her offer to take care of things. After a few moments, however, he thought better of his determination to do it himself, and asked Bishop to handle it. She knew that it wouldn't be easy for Gibbs to handle Ziva's things. Now, Bishop is poised to jump back into the mystery of Ziva's whereabouts, even if her only intent is to clear out the office.
Bishop was already quite connected to the mystery, as she received the note from Ziva asking her to "keep my secret" for the safety of her family. Bishop seems to have stuck to Ziva's request; will she find something in the office that makes her change her mind? Or reveals more of what's going on? Or opens the door for Ziva to return in the flesh?
Ziva returning in the flesh would be the most surprising of those options, in my book. Actress Cote de Pablo didn't leave on the happiest of notes, and she didn't appear in Michael Weatherly's last episode, which many fans expected to warrant an appearance from Ziva. Instead, that episode seemingly killed Ziva off and left Tony to raise their daughter, who she'd never told him about.
Still, anything can happen at this point. Even if the odds aren't necessarily the greatest, we can't rule out Ziva turning up again on the show. For #Tiva fans, we can always hope that the return of Ziva could also warrant the return of Tony. They may never have had a conventional or especially functional relationship, but surely they deserve a shot at life as a family!
Only time will tell how much of Bishop delving into the contents of Ziva's office will be showcased on NCIS. Is it possible that Bishop's mission to clear out the office will never be revisited, and the contents of the office don't mean anything at all? Technically, yes. But I can't imagine NCIS would go to all this trouble and drop such clues without intending to go back and reveal more to fans.
The next episode of NCIS will air on April 9 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, and it will see the team investigating an active shooter at a naval hospital, and somebody from Sloane's past will be a key witness. Will this mean more details on Sloane's adoption storyline? We'll have to wait and see.
