Ziva made her long-awaited return to the official land of the living in NCIS' Season 17 premiere, and there are still a lot of questions about what she's been up to. One thing about Ziva's life in the years she was presumed dead that has remained the same is her feelings for the people she left behind. Although neither longtime love interest Tony DiNozzo (who is also the father of her child) nor Tali herself appeared in the premiere, they got a namedrop, and fans are freaking out.
Did NCIS Hint At A Ziva And Tony Reunion In First Season 17 Footage?
Neither Tony nor their daughter seem to know that Ziva is alive, but Ziva is fighting with everything she has to defeat her elusive enemies and get back to her friends and family. Even though she's changed a great deal during her time on the run, she clearly hasn't stopped loving the people she so deeply cared about before. When she and Gibbs were fleeing some baddies in the premiere, she finally declared that defeating Sahar and overcoming her enemies is the only way to return to Tony and Tali.
That feels like a promise that a reunion between the little family has to happen, right? Michael Weatherly seemed to be hinting at a reunion not so long ago, but Cote de Pablo's subsequent comments were more than a little discouraging, especially when she reminded that Weatherly is starring in a show of his own despite controversy during last season. Still, as long as there's Ziva (and as long as Michael Weatherly is on CBS), there's hope!
Read on to join fans in celebrating Ziva's mention of Tony and Tali!
What's a little violence and line-crossing if it leads to a reunion of Ziva with Tony and Tali? She's visibly desperate in the scene when she finally spells it out for Gibbs that she has to hunt down Sahar and her enemies or she'll never be back safely with the man she loves and their daughter. Gibbs wasn't 100% on board with her methods, but he clearly sympathized with her plight. How could you not?
Another fan broke out the emojis to express their feelings about Tiva's declaration:
This person tagged CBS' official NCIS page on Twitter, so you know she was serious! Of course, that's only if the 13 crying face emojis hadn't gotten the message across.
Somebody else pointed out that Tiva fans would have liked a reunion to come well ahead of Season 17:
Hey, if the reunion wasn't going to come in the 2014-2015 TV season, NCIS fans will clearly take it in the 2019-2020 TV season! Cote de Pablo is scheduled for more appearances in Season 17 at this point.
For somebody else, there would be no justice if there's no Ziva/Tony reunion:
Yeah, NCIS, Cameron from Modern Family has a point! It would be kind of messed up if Ziva didn't get to reunite with Tony and Tali after everything she's been through. Of course, if Michael Weatherly is too busy with Bull, NCIS could always stage the entire reunion off-screen or just show Tali/Ziva, with a Michael Weatherly stand-in lurking just out of focus. But I bet that would still be kind of messed up, in this Twitter user's opinion!
Another NCIS fan is trying to use the holiday season as a reason for a Ziva/Tony/Tali reveal:
That's not that much to ask for as a Christmas present, is it? A happy ending for a few fictional characters would certainly make some spirits bright. This person busted out a variety of emojis to emphasize the plea.
Another person went pretty far to emphasize the need to see Ziva back with her family:
Between the sheer number of exclamation points, the sheer number of hashtags, and the all-caps "DYING" about the desire to see Ziva, Tali, and Tony together, I'd say this fan isn't messing around to get the message across.
If Ziva's desperate return and the above tweets weren't enough to break your heart about Ziva's drive to reunite with Tony and Tali, this last post might do the trick:
With some creative editing, this person on Twitter made it look like Ziva, Tony, and Tali had already reunited, and Ziva was watching Tony and Tali's adorable shenanigans from just across the room. Could this dreamy gif become a reality by the end of Season 17?
How NCIS Is Handling Ziva And Tony's Relationship: 'Answers Will Be Forthcoming"
The answer to the question of whether Michael Weatherly will return and NCIS will give Ziva a reunion with Tony and Tali may not be answered for quite a while. I wouldn't put it past NCIS to hold off on giving Ziva a shot at a happy ending until the end of her last episode in Season 17. If that's the case, I only hope it will be worth the wait.
I could be wrong and a reunion could come much sooner, so be sure to tune in for more of Ziva's story with new episodes of NCIS on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
