Warning! The following contains spoilers for NCIS' "...And Executioner." Read at your own risk!
Gibbs almost met his end in the second part of NCIS' latest story arc, but of course, the grizzled veteran of the series wasn't about to go out in a random episode. Determined to find out who was after him, Gibbs relied on his team, and it required a rare candid conversation he hoped to avoid. Eventually, there seemed to be no way around it, and Gibbs told the team his secret: he murdered the man who killed his family.
It turned out Gibbs was being targeted by a federal judge, who was part of a network of other judges who were doling out their own form of vigilante justice outside the court of law. Judge Deacon had flown under the radar, but the untimely death of a guilty man from a case the NCIS team had been working on prior put them on his trail.
With Gibbs closing in on him, Deacon put out a hit and used the recently disgraced Mallory (ex-girlfriend of Vance) to carry out the deed. All that was figured out following a print scan on a photo, which only happened after a desperate Gibbs had to reveal that he murdered Pedro Hernandez long ago. In a very Gibbs way, the leader quickly told Bishop, Torres, and McGee (who isn't going anywhere) the vigilante judge's other motive for going after him.
The trio was understandably shocked by the admission, which is still a crime any of them could arrest him for. Apparently, Gibbs has a lot of trust in his team, or he's feeling pretty confident none of his detectives have the proof required to bring him in on charges. That latter fact appears to be true, as McGee later theorized a lack of evidence is why the judge opted to put out a hit rather than have Gibbs arrested.
Bishop, Torres, and McGee are just the latest to be let in on the secret, which Gibbs has shared with a handful of people over the years. Vance wasn't around for the reveal, but has heard the story before, and Gibbs has told his dark secret to former team members like DiNozzo, Abby, and Sloane in the past. Although it's still a relatively big deal that he told the secret, it's not exactly like this is the first time this has happened.
Will there be fallout for the reveal? The NCIS team didn't indicate they disagreed with what Gibbs did, and it's safe to say no one in that group is eager to jump on his case with the exception of Bishop. She made it clear she's not as afraid of Gibbs as the others, and showed that when she directly disobeyed one of Gibbs rules earlier this season. Will she continue to press him for details following this?
Fans can find out for themselves by tuning into the last couple of NCIS episodes of the season Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Stick with CinemaBlend for more updates on the CBS show, and more entertainment news in other television shows, movies, and pop culture.
