NCIS: Origins finally showed the one thing that NCIS has been missing, and it is fantastic. Ever since its premiere, NCIS: Origins has prided itself on being different from the flagship. It has featured deeper personal storylines and a wider cast range, and it has done something that no other NCIS spinoff really has. It has shown NCIS characters having developed friendships outside the office.

Through its 22 years on the air, NCIS has shown character growth and personal arcs, but they have all taken place over several episodes and seasons. NCIS: Origins is different. It focuses first on the personal, then on the case, making it unlike most police procedurals. NCIS: Origins episode 14 has taken this a step further, showing exactly how personal relationships among NIS agents can make or break the show.

NCIS: Origins Episode 14 Highlights The Power Of Female Friendships In The NIS
The Characters Show That Everyone Needs Some Support From Time To Time

NCIS: Origins episode 14 finally revealed Mary Jo’s backstory, and with it, her pain. Each NCIS: Origins episode features a different character as the centerpiece of the episode. This means that instead of the show acting as Gibbs’ prequel, it acts more as a drama that describes each person in Gibbs’ life at the time of joining NIS. It also leads to fantastic storylines, as NCIS: Origins is not limited to Gibbs’ NCIS canon.

NCIS: Origins has impressively been able to keep its procedural format while letting its characters shine too.

Mary Jo’s backstory revealed her struggles with infertility and the effect this had on her marriage with her ex-husband, Marcus. However, the episode also went further. It showed Mary Jo, Vera, and Lala sitting together at a bar outside the office, talking and catching up. The scene was meant to be lighthearted, but it also acted as a way to look at Mary Jo in a deeper sense, as she is such a strong character that it is almost difficult to imagine her struggling.

Besides the impact of the scene on Mary Jo’s character, it also highlighted the importance of showing female friendships in fiction. Representation is important, but it is especially important in a procedural set in a male-dominated field. Procedurals can also easily get lost in the case-by-case format of the show and forget to highlight the humanity behind its characters. NCIS: Origins has impressively been able to keep its procedural format while letting its characters shine too.

NCIS Has Never Had Any Kind Of Camaraderie That Mary Jo, Vera, And Lala Have In Origins
Focusing On Female Friendships Is New For The Franchise

NCIS is incredibly male-centered, and until recently, there had never even been more than two female main characters at the same time in the entirety of the NCIS franchise. The same can not be said for the male characters, as each NCIS team is primarily made up of men. As a result, in its 22 years on the air, we have never seen a female friendship like the one between Mary Jo, Vera, and Lala. While women have always existed in NCIS, they have typically only interacted because of their cases, unlike the friendship the NCIS: Origins women share.

Because there has usually only been one female NCIS agent, there just was not any possibility for there to be an NCIS female friendship. Some notable exceptions include Abby and Ziva, and Jessica and Ellie, but even then, the characters typically remained colleagues rather than true friends who could just hang out and share their personal issues. Female friendships have never been the focal point of NCIS, but I am glad that NCIS: Origins is finally changing that.

How Female Friendships Can Make NCIS: Origins Better Than The Flagship
NCIS: Origins Can Continue Telling Deeper Stories

The small scenes in NCIS: Origins episode 14 that showed Mary Jo, Vera, and Lala sitting together already added an emotional depth to the scene, so continuing this trend could improve the show even more. NCIS: Origins has always focused on personal backstories, but it was especially nice to see a personal moment occur in the present day as well. NCIS: Origins featuring a prominent female friendship adds a level of depth that took NCIS years to achieve.

NCIS started with a pilot, whereas NCIS: Origins was allowed to appear on the network right away, so there was an imbalance in the storylines from the beginning, as NCIS: Origins already had established characters. However, NCIS: Origins has continued to grow and expand its characters. Featuring a prominent female friendship is just the latest addition to an already emotionally complex series. In NCIS, it has also taken some time to warm up to some characters, but with NCIS: Origins, the show’s added complexity removes the barriers from the beginning. Adding more would just keep improving it.