Summary
19 years after losing Kate Todd, a newNCISproject highlights the biggest missed opportunity for Sasha Alexander’s character in the series. WhileNCISwas born fromJAG’s success, its events didn’t really start until Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team encountered Kate. By then, she was still working with the Secret Service, but a foiled assassination attempt on the president led to her losing her job — a case that was revisited inNCIS' 1000th episode. Developing a kinship with Gibbs, Kate joined the Major Case Response Team (MCRT), and it didn’t take her long to settle in.
Despite not appearing during theJAGbackdoor pilot of the police procedural unlike the rest of theNCISoriginal cast, it became immediately clear that Alexander was the right actor for the role of Kate. She had a unique dynamic with all members of MCRT, but her banter with Michael Weatherly’s Anthony DiNozzo Jr. was extremely fun to watch. They were occasionally flirtatious, but their relationship was more reminiscent of siblings. So, whenKate was unexpectedly murdered in theNCISseason 2finale by Ari Haswari, it was both unexpected and heartbreaking.
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NCIS Rewatch Podcast Highlights The Potential Of Kate & Ziva’s Team-Up
Alexander & de Pablo Come Together In A New NCIS Rewatch Podcast
Once Ari was reprimanded for his unspeakable crime,NCISeventually moved on from the tragedy, although Kate was mentioned occasionally. Almost two decades later, however, a new endeavor emphasizes a missed opportunity when the character was killed off. In the inaugural show forOff Duty: An NCIS Rewatchpodcast,Alexander joins host Weatherly and Cote de Pabloto discuss her time on the CBS series. Along the way, it becomes a reminder of thepotential of a Kate and Ziva David team-up inNCISthat the show was never able to take advantage of.
While the pair never shared a screen as Kate and Ziva, the rewatch podcast highlighted their chemistry. They also shared that there was actually some kind of passing the baton behind the scenes between them, with Alexander giving de Pablo, who was very young when she joinedNCIS, encouragement, as well as advice. Much has been said about the camaraderie in the police procedural, but one thing it hasn’t really fully on is female relationships, and it would have been great to see both Kate and Ziva work together, even for just a brief period.
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How NCIS Would Have Changed If Kate Didn’t Die
It Was Alexander’s Choice To Leave NCIS
It’s difficult to predictwhatNCISwould look like if Kate didn’t die. For context, it was Alexander’s choice to leave the series because of the grueling hours of filming that the show demanded. There was no drama whatsoever about her exit. Just based on the biggest change that was brought by Kate’s death, however, this means thatde Pablo wouldn’t have been brought in as Ziva. Even if she was recruited as part of the team to take down Ari, it was unlikely that she would have been a series regular since there wouldn’t be a vacant spot.
Perhaps the police procedural would have tried to establish a romance between Kate and DiNozzo, but something about that is off-putting looking back at everything that has transpired in the show.
From there, the changes would snowball. Not having Ziva meant that her and DiNozzo’s romance, which is the core of theirupcoming spinoff,NCIS: Tony and Ziva, would not all happen. Perhaps the police procedural would have tried to establish a romance between Kate and DiNozzo, but something about that is off-putting looking back at everything that has transpired in the show. Ultimately, it’s impossible to tell ifNCISwould be better if Kate stayed, but it’s undoubtedly going to be very different.
NCISseason 22 will return as part of CBS' 2024-2025 programming schedule.
NCIS
Cast
NCIS is a television series that follows a team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Premiering in 2003, the show explores various cases involving Navy and Marine Corps personnel, ranging from murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines.
