{"id":3796,"date":"2025-11-03T23:59:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T23:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/?p=3796"},"modified":"2025-11-03T23:59:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T23:59:52","slug":"ncis-season-23-parkers-tragedy-fallout-is-the-end-of-gibbs-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/?p=3796","title":{"rendered":"NCIS Season 23: Parker\u2019s Tragedy Fallout Is The End Of Gibbs\u2019 Era"},"content":{"rendered":"

Parker is about to kick off the new\u00a0NCIS<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0season with a major personal case, and his method of doing so highlights just how different the series has become since Gibbs left the building. In fact, Alden\u2019s current storyline serves as a beautiful example of how frequent rotations in the\u00a0NCIS<\/em> cast of characters can change the show\u2019s entire tone.<\/p>\n

Fans must reach a point in\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0season 23\u00a0at which they realize Mark Harmon\u2019s likely never coming back. But\u00a0Alden\u2019s grieving his father while Jethro\u2019s spending all summer trying to remember whether his girlfriend died in a car crash or not<\/strong>, and the\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0season 22 finale\u00a0is the perfect springboard to examine how they approach such grievances differently.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

Parker Brings In His Whole Team To Solve His Dad\u2019s Murder In NCIS Season 23<\/h2>\n

Gibbs Would Have Run Over Carla With His Boat By Now<\/h3>\n
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\"Gary<\/picture>\u00a9CBS \/ Courtesy MovieStillsDB<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Anyone following\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0could already predict the next season premiere would be a Parker story.\u00a0Parker\u2019s meet-cute with Carla Marino largely fizzled out after she murdered Roman in Alden\u2019s home<\/strong>, so there\u2019s basically no way for these two crazy kids to get together without one of them donning handcuffs in a woefully unexciting way. And it\u2019s about to get worse.<\/p>\n

The two-part premiere of\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0season 23 will focus heavily on Roman\u2019s murder, even if there\u2019s arguably at least one better use for\u00a0Nancy Travis\u2019\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0character. But Alden won\u2019t be going it alone.\u00a0The network\u2019s description of the upcoming premiere suggests the whole team will be jeopardized by Parker\u2019s revenge plot<\/strong>, as indicated by the logline reported by\u00a0TVLine<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u201cProdigal Son (Part 1)\u201d \u2013 Reeling from his father\u2019s murder, Parker goes to extreme lengths to hunt down the woman he holds responsible, mob boss Carla Marino, jeopardizing not only his own future but the team\u2019s; Nancy Travis guest-stars as Parker\u2019s sister, Navy Vice Admiral Harriet Parker.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Obviously, this is a carefully worded logline to be taken with half a grain of salt. For instance,\u00a0the reference to Carla as \u201cthe woman [Parker] holds responsible<\/em>\u201d leaves room for doubt as to whether she actually is responsible<\/strong>. But the fact that Parker\u2019s hunt for Carla jeopardizes his entire team is another conversation altogether, highlighting his differences from Gibbs.<\/p>\n

Jethro wouldn\u2019t involve his entire team in a revenge plot. He\u2019d do it on his own. There\u2019s one episode that takes place in a ghostly diner in which Gibbs sees how his team might survive without him, and we learn that\u00a0Jethro doesn\u2019t see himself as sitting at the same table as those whose lives he feels sworn to protect<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Much like he did before\u00a0Jennifer Esposito\u2019s Quinn left\u00a0NCIS<\/em>, Gibbs is there to hear about others\u2019 personal struggles yet plays his own close to the vest.\u00a0Parker has been leaning on Jess even more heavily than Quinn leaned on Gibbs<\/strong>, suggesting he\u2019s less inclined to handle things without help. And, frankly, that\u2019s a necessary change.<\/p>\n

Why The MCRT Has Had To Evolve After Gibbs\u2019 Retirement In NCIS Season 19<\/h2>\n

A Direct Gibbs Replacement Never Would Have Worked<\/h3>\n
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\"Mark<\/picture>\u00a9CBS \/ courtesy MovieStillsDB<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

One major issue with managing a long-running series that goes through multiple cast changes is that the new fish can never escape comparisons to the actors and characters who preceded them.\u00a0Gibbs and Parker are different characters because they were never meant to be too similar in the first place<\/strong>, as Parker would then become nothing but a cheap imitation.<\/p>\n

Gibbs\u2019 departure was never going to work equally for everyone, but CBS has come under enough fire over recent cancelations that\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0doesn\u2019t need to be the next one.\u00a0Parker works as Jethro\u2019s replacement because he\u2019s a good boss with a slightly more laid-back attitude<\/strong>, and that vibe shift helps keep the show fresher than a direct Gibbs clone would.<\/p>\n

Springing forward from that,\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0had to face the challenge of making Parker as memorable as Gibbs, which is hardly a small feat.\u00a0Parker\u2019s\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0season 23 revenge plot\u00a0will certainly cement him into memory, but\u00a0the fact that Alden\u2019s handling this storyline differently than Gibbs might is central to his characterization<\/strong>. We need to feel them as distinct characters.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, many fans are still inclined to take issue with the fact that switching these characters in particular results in a philosophical shift regarding how the MCRT is run.\u00a0Gibbs had two decades to set a tone that Parker\u2019s leadership style largely abandons<\/strong>, but Alden\u2019s focus on collaboration and emotional vulnerability also heralds a bright future for the\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0franchise.<\/p>\n

NCIS\u2019 Brand New MCRT Dynamic Can Define Its Future<\/h2>\n

Prolonging A Series For This Many Years Has Its Pros And Cons<\/h3>\n
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\"Gary<\/picture>\u00a9CBS \/ courtesy MovieStillsDB<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Not all viewers have been fans of\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u2019 post-Gibbs identity, but it\u2019s been working for the series thus far. In fact,\u00a0there\u2019s been a subtle yet substantial role reversal in how Parker deals with his team<\/strong>. Gibbs is the man who\u2019s there to help people like Quinn through their own personal demons. Parker uses Knight to confront his actual ghosts.<\/p>\n

Like many procedural franchises such as\u00a0Criminal Minds<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Leverage<\/em>, the main hook that allows\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0to thrive is its focus on team dynamics. However,\u00a0the show spent years filtering its group dynamic through a character with a lone-wolf persona<\/strong>. Parker\u2019s more collaborative approach is a definite tonal shift, but it\u2019s also a welcome one.<\/p>\n

One example of differences between the two is\u00a0Gibbs\u2019 list of\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0rules. These became such a major part of the canon that, early in the spinoff\u2019s infancy,\u00a0NCIS: Origins<\/em>\u00a0fans were actually speculating on which of Gibbs\u2019 rules might get their own origin stories<\/strong>. Fans love that Jethro runs a tight ship, but there are also problems with that.<\/p>\n

Gibbs\u2019 solo approach can only carry an ensemble drama so far. We all hated Jenny for being good at her job and recognizing DiNozzo\u2019s expendability, but\u00a0Parker\u2019s leadership style demonstrates an unfaltering trust in his team<\/strong>. That\u2019s not exactly a bad quality to have in a boss, and the author isn\u2019t just saying that because he\u2019s submitting this past deadline.<\/p>\n

Parker involving his team in hunting Carla might go south, but this is a team that largely stood by McGee last season when he was clearly off the deep end.\u00a0NCIS<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0thrives on team dynamics, and Parker accentuates that better than Gibbs in numerous respects. He might be a new flavor for the series, but he\u2019s hardly a distasteful one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Parker is about to kick off the new\u00a0NCIS\u00a0season with a major personal case, and his method of doing so highlights just how different the series has become… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3796"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3798,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3796\/revisions\/3798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}