This Is The Best NCIS Season Finale Storyline According To Fans

As one of the longest-running series currently on television, "NCIS" has an extensive history. Finishing its 18th season in May 2021, "NCIS" is still going strong, with a large and loyal fanbase that loves to have in-depth discussions about the show together. A crime procedural, "NCIS" centers around a team of agents at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service who solve various cases of murder, terrorism, or other serious crimes related to the Navy. The show also has a stellar cast, including David McCallum as Ducky, Pauley Perrette as Abby Sciuto, Cote de Pablo as Ziva David, and many more talented actors.

Over the seasons, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and his team go through a lot, including major conspiracies and the loss of friends and family, and like any other television series, a lot of the show's biggest storylines tend to happen at the end of a season. In the past, some of the season ending plots have included the "Port to Port Killer" in Season 8, the tragic death of Special Agent Jennifer Shepard (Lauren Holly) at the end of Season 5, and a terrorist group called the Calling in Season 12, among others.

But which season ending is the best? Some "NCIS" fans took to Reddit to find a definitive answer to this question, and the consensus might just surprise fans of the CBS series. 

While fans might think that "NCIS" has always been a steady and dependable show for CBS, with no reason for the cast and crew to worry about cancellation, that's not the case. Just like any other TV series, "NCIS" has to plan their season finales around the possibility that it might be the last, leading to few seasons ending with a true cliffhanger. But according to a Reddit poll created by u/FarahZiva27, the one time the show risked it and left fans waiting half a year to find out if their favorite characters survived is also their favorite. Fans declared that Season 9, which features Harper Dearing, played by Richard Schiff, as the best season ending storyline. 

In the finale episode of "NCIS" Season 9 titled "Till Death Do Us Part," the team finds the joy of the upcoming wedding of Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) interrupted by a mourning father gone dark, as Dearing enacts a plan to get revenge on the people he blames for his son's death, which includes Gibbs. The episode begins with the discovery that Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll) is missing, leading the team to continue their pursuit of Dearing as the criminal goes on a deadly rampage. But fans don't get to see a happy ending to this story by the end of the episode, as the finale ends with the fate of the entire team unknown. While Gibbs and most of the team end up in the NCIS building when a car bomb goes off, elsewhere, Ducky learns of the violent attack and suffers a heart attack. The season ends without any clear idea about who survives and what might happen next, creating huge anticipation for the Season 10 premiere. 

The poll didn't include every "NCIS" finale, but a few others that seem to be favorites are Season 6's story of the corrupt Mossad agent Michael Rivkin (Merik Tadros), as well as the end of Season 13, which features Michael Weatherly's last appearance as a series regular playing Tony DiNozzo.