Earlier this week on NCIS season 23, we had ourselves quite a surprise in the form of Emily Wickersham’s return. The former cast member is now on her way back for one episode when the series returns in February, and we know already that this will be a different sort of Ellie Bishop than who we met before.

What do we know about her now? Well, she has been labeled a fugitive by Leon Vance following her initial departure for a deep-cover mission. Something has clearly gone wrong, and we recognize that this is someone who has gone through a lot of stuff since her exit. She could be dangerous but above all else, she’s a jaded, hardened person who may be harboring a lot of secrets. Jessica Knight has been tasked with trying to track her down in secret … but is she really going to keep that from Torres and everyone else?

We tend to think that producers are going to keep some of the details about Wickersham’s return under wraps for the next few weeks, but the actress herself is already expressing gratitude. In a post on her Instagram Stories she shared a lot of comments celebrating her return and calling them “sweet.” Meanwhile, the official NCIS Instagram has shared a new video of Emily back on set. Even if her return is a brief one, we do appreciate the show revisiting some previous loose ends to get a little bit more closure. This is something that we weren’t sure we were ever going to get with Ziva once upon a time, and we’re happy that we’re getting something similar with Bishop now.

Despite everything she’s gone through, we still root for Ellie with Torres. We’ll have to wait and see what happens from here.

What are you hoping to see from Emily Wickersham with her NCIS return?

Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Once you do just that, come back — there are some other updates ahead.