NCIS: New Orleans has introduced various members of Pride's family with varying amounts of drama over the years, but one person who has been almost conspicuously absent is Pride's mom. Well, that will no longer be the case in the not-too-distant future. The Season 5 finale of NCIS: New Orleans will introduce Pride's mother, and she'll be played by none other than Six Feet Under and Odd Mom Out actress Joanna Cassidy.
Now, it's understandable if you're a little surprised by the casting. At 73, Joanna Cassidy is only 9 years older than Scott Bakula. Pride's family may be complicated, but I doubt his mom gave birth to him before she hit double digits! Well, as it turns out, her appearance in the Season 5 finale has a twist that may make the ages not so confusing.
Earlier episodes of NCIS: New Orleans established that Pride's mom is no spring chicken, has health issues, and requires the attentions of a caregiver. When she appears in the Season 5 finale, TVLine reports he "won't be seeing her in her current condition." Does this mean Pride's mom turns up in a dream sequence or a flashback? Or perhaps a hallucination?
His mom wouldn't be the first person Pride hallucinated this season, and it would make sense if his subconscious wanted to see his mom when she was younger and healthier as opposed to her current state. As viewers who saw Joanna Cassidy in recent projects like Odd Mom Out and The Cool Kids can attest, she's hardly looking infirm!
The Season 5 finale of NCIS: New Orleans will be called "The River Styx: Part II" and hit the airwaves on Tuesday, May 14 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. Two-parters in the NCIS franchise are rarely dull affairs, and the second half of the "The River Styx" pair of episodes will see Pride tracking the deadly underground spy network Apollyon to a war-torn region of Russia.
Unfortunately, Pride is separated from the team, and his people have to find the mole feeding info to Apollyon if they're going to rescue him from his grave danger. Unless Pride's mom happens to be hanging out in the South Ossetia area in Russia, I'd say the odds are pretty good that she appears via flashback, dream, or hallucination.
Unlike NCIS, NCIS: New Orleans has not yet been renewed for another season, so fans can only hope at this point that "The River Styx: Part II" isn't the end of the road for Pride and Co. Franchise fans are seemingly more concerned about the future of NCIS: Los Angeles than NOLA, as NOLA hasn't dropped what feel an awful lot like hints that the end is nigh.
You can catch new episodes of NCIS: New Orleans on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. A whole bunch of big season finales have already been placed on the calendar, and TV viewers could be in for an intense couple of months on the small screen.
