NCIS showrunner Steven D. Binder teases a surprising resolution to Alden Parker’s hallucinations of Lily. The CBS procedural continues following the Major Case Response Team, now led by Parker (Gary Cole), who took over when Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) chose to depart the Naval organization. The young character known as Lily first appeared in the NCIS season 21 finale, “Reef Madness,” where she was imagined by a gravely wounded Parker. Lily has since reemerged in NCIS season 22, but her identity and connection to Agent Parker largely remain a secret.
During a recent interview with TV Insider, Binder teased that the NCIS reveal surrounding Lily will be surprising. He explains when audiences finally learn about her background, any ongoing theories, including that she and Parker are siblings, may be disproved. The showrunner/executive producer adds that Parker will uncover more about his family and past occurrences, revealing how much he does or does not know, and that his father, Roman Parker, will return. Read Binder’s comments below:
If it’s a theory, it’s probably wrong. This is not his sister, and I wouldn’t even say her name is Lily necessarily. We all have family lore that gets passed down to us by our elders. And what is going to trigger Parker is he’s going to go dig into some family lore and find out it’s not what he had been told, that he has a memory of events and then there were the events that his father [Francis X. McCarthy] told him and then there are the events that actually happened. We’re going to see Parker’s father again. Parker’s going to get a chance to go question his father about this and realize that what his life — or some life history that he thought was real is not actually his history.
What Revealing The Identity Of Lily Could Mean For NCIS
Parker’s Recurring Hallucinations Will Have More Context
Speculation about Lily being a sibling to Parker possibly originated from her NCIS season 21 appearance. In “Reef Madness,” Parker called to her while bleeding out and being tended to by Jessica Knight (Katrina Law), but he never clarified who Lily was when asked, during that moment or afterward in the hospital. Hearing her whisper a nickname, Parker hallucinated a supposed memory from years prior, when Lily and his younger self were playing hide-and-seek on board a ship. Though he cautioned her near a ledge, his snap back to reality suggested that Lily might have drowned.
Parker saw Lily again in NCIS season 22, episode 8, “Out of Control,” walking through the halls of a hospital and standing on the street, nearly causing an accident. Later, when he decided to confront her, she vanished, leaving behind a pad of paper that seemingly warned him to stay quiet about something. Based on Binder’s comments, Parker may be incorrectly remembering past scenarios, so it will be interesting to see why he keeps going back to Lily, and what her message means when more context is eventually added.
Our Take On Parker’s Hallucinations In NCIS
Exploring The Past May Be Crucial For His Character
It seems that the hallucinations by Parker are tied to trauma, and recent episodes of NCIS confirm that he really cannot recall who Lily is or how he knows her. Therefore, exploring his past should be instrumental in understanding why he began seeing her, from the point of his near-fatal ship incident and onward. Parker will likely continue questioning Lily’s identity after that last encounter, and so bringing Roman back for an upcoming episode may also help.
From what has been revealed about Roman, he and Parker have a complicated relationship, and while he has been contemptuous at times, he remains appreciative of his son. Binder’s comments suggest that he can be a source of validity, which Parker desperately needs right now. In NCIS season 22, Parker admits he went to his father about Lily, but received no information. Because he rarely opens up about his late mother, who also appeared in some hallucinations, Parker may even discover additional details that will further shape his NCIS character.
