It’s never easy lose a loved one, and knowing that the end is coming soon just brings about more angst and worry than anyone deserves. I’m talking about TV characters here, if that wasn’t obvious, and particularly Michael Weatherly’s Tony DiNozzo, who will be vacating his special agent post at NCIS soon. Showrunner Gary Glasberg thankfully took some time to help us mentally wrap our heads around this by offering up some tidbits on what viewers can expect from Weatherly’s last episode as a regular cast member next month. On the emotional impact:
People should absolutely be planning on some really serious, heart-wrenching moments. There’ll be tissues involved. I’m very proud of the emotional resonance of what this is, even in terms of what we’re filming right now in the finale.
Weatherly’s last episode is almost a rarity in TV these days. Usually characters exit shows in shocking ways, such as an unpredictable death, or in unamicable ways, as when behind-the-scenes problems getting too overwhelming. But everyone knows that DiNozzo is leaving, so that allowed Glasberg and his creative team to really plan the best way possible to see him out, and I’m hardly surprised that there will be some tearjerking moments as he says goodbye to the people he’s worked with side by side for over a decade now.
Of course, it won’t just be his coworkers around for his swan song. Glasberg told TVLine that there will be a “significant guest cast,” specifying that we’ll be seeing the return of the great Robert Wagner as big papa Tony DiNozzo, Sr., who will come in and offer some insight on his son’s character. In fact, all of the guest spots – and we’re holding out major hope for who some of those might be – will be used to reflect on what DiNozzo meant to the show and these other characters for so long.
And yes, there will apparently be a notable moment between DiNozzo and Gibbs that Glasberg says resulted in something he “didn’t see coming.” That just opens up a small world of speculation on how that moment will pass. Hopefully it’ll end with Gibbs telling his friend that he can come back anytime, and then DiNozzo rethinks his decisions and agrees to come back immediately for all future seasons. It can happen, right? No? Dang.
While we admittedly can’t wait to see just how Tony DiNozzo’s big goodbye episode goes, we’re also interested in seeing how his replacements work out, as well as how the First Lady’s cameo will play. And we obviously can’t wait to see what Michael Weatherly’s next role is like.
But first, we’re stocking up the tissue closet to bid farewell to a longtime favorite. Soak up all the Tony DiNozzo you can when NCIS returns to CBS on Tuesday, May 3.
