Warning! The following contains spoilers from the NCIS episode "Reboot." Stream the episode with a Paramount+ subscription and read at your own risk!
After all the announcements and photos, LL Cool J's Sam Hanna finally made his big return to NCIS after his time on the canceled Los Angeles and Hawai'i spinoffs. With his New York series already announced, I expected for some hints about that to be dropped in his appearance in "Reboot," and I wasn't disappointed. Not only that, but I loved the sweet Jimmy subplot as well.
Why Sam Returns To NCIS, And What's Next?
The episode largely centers on Kasie helping the rest of the tech team organize an update to the NCIS mainframe, as it's put to a halt during an unexpected murder of one of the staff. In the midst of investigating, the team discovers Sam, who has a perfectly logical explanation for why he's sleeping on a couch in Ducky's old office.
Sam eventually reveals that he's in town on a layover and is ultimately on his way to help a friend in Dubai. His decision to crash on the couch is due to him wanting to catch some sleep, but once he learns that one of the NCIS techs was murdered, he lends his services to Kasie, Parker and Jimmy to get to the bottom of what's going on.
During the episode, Parker and Sam also get some one-on-one time. They talk about the death of Vance, and Parker mentions the overall feeling of denial the team has that something so shocking could even happen. Sam admits the death took a toll on him as well and says it left him wondering where he's headed to now:
I've been waiting to make a move for a while now. I haven't been able to settle on a direction quite yet.
Sam left it at that, but this episode ended with a cliffhanger. I'm assuming we'll get more details on where he's headed next episode, though we already know LL Cool J is set to be in the NCIS New York spinoff. That's planned to arrive in the fall of the 2026 TV schedule, so I'm assuming (or hoping) we'll get a much more direct tease in the next episode about the Sam heading to The Big Apple.
Sam Encourages Jimmy To Pursue A "Reboot" In A Pretty Big Way
Sam is a big help to Jimmy in this episode, who opened up and admitted he's felt he needed a "reboot" for a while now. Following the death of his wife, his breakup with Jessica, and his daughter inching closer to college age, he's felt like a "house cat" living in the NCIS office. He even reveal's he's wearing a thirty-pound weight vest, as part of training to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro in the fall.
Sam is supportive and shocked to hear that Jimmy hasn't shared his goal with the rest of the NCIS team. His encouragement, paired with Jimmy successfully using his newfound strength to take down the murderer at the end of the episode, leads Jimmy to reveal his intention to Palmer. The head admits to being caught off guard by that, but he feels confident that Jimmy will succeed in his ambitious goal.
I wonder if NCIS is setting up Brian Dietzen's Jimmy to be absent for a stretch of next season, which will ultimately pave the way for Nick and Jessica to pull the trigger on their relationship. Not that I don't think either would keep it a secret from him, but it would be easier to open up about romantic feelings for one another when the ex isn't lingering around the workplace at the same time. If that hookup does happen, I believe we all have Sam Hanna to thank for it.
NCIS continues on CBS on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Sam will be back in the next episode, so keep those ears open for any other clues that he may drop about a move to New York.
