NCIS: Origins Confirms Gibbs' Darkest Secret

This article contains spoilers for "NCIS: Origins" Episode 4, "All's Not Lost"

"NCIS: Origins" has unveiled new Gibbs rules and shed some light on the agent's humble beginnings as an agent working in the field. For anyone wanting to learn more about the beloved detective's history, it's essential viewing. However, viewers shouldn't go into CBS' prequel series expecting a story about an aspirational go-getter rising to the top of his profession. This is a dark period of Leroy Jethro Gibbs' (Austin Stowell) life, and the show doesn't sugarcoat it.

Gibbs' "NCIS" backstory is littered with tragedy, but the deaths of his wife and daughter really shook him to the core. The agent has never truly moved on from losing his loved ones, but "NCIS: Origins" reveals that he completely lost the will to live in the wake of their deaths. "NCIS: Origins" Episode 3's canon-breaking conversation between Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid) and Gibbs' father, Jackson (Robert Taylor), sees them discuss the agent having a death wish, and they weren't exaggerating, as it's becoming more apparent with each passing episode.

Episode 4, "All's Not Lost," chronicles Gibbs' military history and him feeling suicidal in the heat of battle. What's more, if some events of the main "NCIS" series are anything to go by, it's going to take a while until the agent rediscovers his desire to live.

"NCIS: Origins" Episode 4 opens with a callback to "JAG," with Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the middle of Operation Desert Storm. However, the prequel series breaks canon once again by showcasing a different version of the character. Both series depict him learning about his family's deaths while deployed with his regiment and entering a warzone afterward. However, he still tries to avoid the explosions on "JAG," while "NCIS: Origins" sees him disregard them completely, seemingly hoping that the blast takes him.

Later on the same episode, Mike Franks asks Gibbs if he's ever wanted to take himself out, knowing that his agent is currently living life without any concern for his own well-being. It's clear that Franks knows that his protégé harbors those thoughts. Elsewhere, the elderly Gibbs' (Mark Harmon) narration explains that he felt alone and didn't have a reason to live during the aforementioned Desert Storm stunt, essentially confirming those depressing truths. His dark secrets are completely out in the open now.

The original series' "Hiatus" episodes feature flashbacks of Gibbs dealing with his family's deaths, with one moment showing him almost turning his gun on himself after his wife and daughters' funeral. However, "NCIS: Origins" explores his negative mindset in far more detail. Gibbs has yet to bury his family members on the prequel series, so viewers might have to deal with his darker moments for a while yet. The good news, though, is that we know he finds some semblance of peace eventually.

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