Spoilers ahead for the January 24 episode of NCIS: Hawai’i on CBS, called “Spies, Part 2.”
NCIS: Hawai’i brought its first-ever two-parter to a close with “Spies, Part 2,” which dealt a personal blow to Jane Tennant by confirming her worst fears about Maggie betraying the United States. The story was told with the investigation into Maggie in the present as well as via flashbacks, to the earlier days in their friendship. In the process, the Hawai’i-set spinoff revealed a fun connection to Mark Harmon’s Gibbs, and now I’m ready to sign up for a crossover that would bring Gibbs to the Aloha State for an episode!
The Gibbs connection came through a flashback, when a younger Maggie was sharing an opportunity with a younger (and more brunette) Tennant that would have allowed her to return to her family in the United States while still working for the U.S. government, even if she had to give up her gig with the CIA to do it. Apparently, Tennant made quite an impression on Gibbs when they worked together in Kabul, because he asked Maggie to give Tennant his business card, with a message scrawled on the back:
That may not be Mark Harmon in the flesh, but a Gibbs rule making an appearance is better than nothing at all! While flashback Tennant initially dismissed the idea of becoming a “Navy cop,” Maggie vouched for him as “good people.” Of course, Maggie’s word might not count for so much for Tennant anymore in the present considering everything that happened in the two-parter, but Tennant obviously took the opportunity from Gibbs.
And so it’s thanks to Gibbs that Tennant is an NCIS agent in Hawai’i and star of the latest spinoff! Even though NCIS: Hawai’i was the first of the franchise spinoffs that didn’t launch via a backdoor pilot, it still has a strong connection to NCIS thanks to Gibbs bringing in Tennant back in the day.
I can’t be the only one who wants to see Gibbs pay Tennant and Co. a visit in Hawai’i now, right? He may not be active with NCIS anymore after leaving the job behind for retirement in Alaska, but surely there are still plenty of ways that he could be useful, and it would be fun to see how his character operates among the Hawai’i-based agents as opposed to his former team back in D.C.
Of course, fans of the original NCIS might be more hopeful to get him back to that show before wanting to see him off in the Aloha State, as there is no confirmation of when Gibbs might return to his old stomping grounds after Mark Harmon decided to step away. That show brought in a newcomer to replace Gibbs, and all the Gibbs updates (including a big one to begin the new year) have come with him off screen. One thing that has been confirmed, however, is that a crossover between two of the three current NCIS shows is on the way.
NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i are indeed crossing over with each other on March 28, with Wilmer Valderrama’s Torres (who just went through an ordeal on his own show) and Katrina Law’s Knight leaving the mainland to follow an investigation to Hawai’i! Gibbs presumably won’t be involved, but what’s not to love about closer ties between the shows in the long-running franchise, particularly after NCIS: New Orleans came to an end back in 2021?
For now, you can look forward to new episodes of NCIS: Hawai’i on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, immediately following episodes of NCIS. For more of what to watch and when to tune in, don’t forget to check out our list of 2022 TV premiere dates.
