Warning: SPOILERS for the NCIS: Origins episode “End of the Road” are ahead!
Well, NCIS: Origins fans, the show just wrapped its run on the 2025 TV schedule. Don’t worry, Season 2 will resume airing in a couple months, but tonight’s midseason finale gave us a lot to chew on. Lala Dominguez and Leroy Jethro Gibbs got some especially big moments, and recurring character Herm Daniels finally accomplished a career goal he’d been working towards. On top of all that, “End of the Road” came to a literally explosive end that has me hooked on this latest plot twist and all the more eager for Origins to return.
Lala’s Recovery Process Was Revealed
Lala got caught in a car crash in the final moments of the NCIS: Origins Season 1 finale. While we’ve seen a few physical signs of her injury and have certainly witnessed how the accident affected her mentally, “End of the Road” finally delivered flashbacks of her recovery process in the midst of her investigating the shooting of her favorite criminal informant, Twitchy Tony (don’t worry, he survived). Lala’s sisters made sure she was following the doctor’s instructions to make sure her leg healed properly, and she was also visited at her apartment by Vera, Mary Jo, Randy, Mike Franks and Tony at various points.
Those last two visits were particularly notable, though for wildly different reasons. Franks had the misfortune of telling Lala that she failed her fitness for duty test, meaning at that time, she wouldn’t be allowed back in the field because of the limitations of her leg. This upset her because she didn’t want to spend the rest of her career behind a desk, Obviously that didn’t end up happening, and we have Tony to thank for that. During his visit, he urged Lala to “defy the odds” and to try things like aquatic rehab and even go to church to pray for a miracle, both of which she did.
Now you may have noticed I didn’t mention Gibbs stopping by Lala’s apartment during this period. Well, as mentioned in the NCIS: Origins Season 2 premiere, the only time he went to see her was when she was unconscious at the hospital. She finally called him out on this in “End of the Road,” saying he got scared and pushed her away, and accused him of doing the same thing with Diane. Which brings us to the next topic of discussion.
Gibbs And Diane Got Married
Early on in this NCIS: Origins episode, Diane showed up at Gibbs’ apartment to tell him she got a job at Jordis Financials as an assistant, putting her on track to become a “full-blooded accountant” by the next year. However, this job is located in Los Angeles, so Diane asked Gibbs to move with her there and work from the LA NIS office. Gibbs told her he couldn’t move because of his “family” (i.e. the NIS people he’s close to at the Pendleton office), and since Diane couldn’t pass on this job and said that long-distance relationships are for “idiots,” it seemed like their relationship had come to an end.
NCIS fans know better though, and by the end of this Origins episode, not only did Gibbs and Diane reconcile, they got drunk and flew to Las Vegas to get married before giving long-distance a try. Gibbs went way too far taking Lala’s advice that he shouldn’t push Diane away, and we know this won’t end well. Gibbs and Diane eventually divorce, so now we await their messy separation.
Herm Is Back In The Field (Part-Time)
Since the start of NCIS: Origins, Herm Daniels has either been working in the evidence room with Kowalski, helping Randy out with computer stuff or taking K-9 Special Agent Gary Callahan (the goodest of boys) out to put his super sniffer to work. Herm used to be a field agent, but that ended when he froze out in the field once. Luckily for him, he has a great friend in Randy, who put together a petition for reinstatement on Herm’s behalf for people in the office to sign, and Special Agent-in-Charge Cliff Wheeler (who had an eventful time last episode) approved it.
Herm crushed his return out in the field thanks to Randy’s musical encouragement, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to become the fifth member of NCIS: Origins’ main team. Herm’s field duty is on an as-needed basis for now, so we’ll still mostly be seeing him in the evidence room or leading Gary Callahan around. Still, it’s nice to know Gibbs, Lala, Franks and Randy can count on Herm to have their back if the situation calls for it.
A New Threat Has Emerged
Now, we come to arguably the biggest shocker of “End of the Road.” Mike Franks spent most of his time in this episode spending time with his brother Mason, who’s been living at The Range ever since he was forced to give up the Franks family home in Texas. The brothers got into another spat, but I’m sure things will be fine the next time we see them together. What’s more important is we also met The Range’s newest inhabitant, a 22-year-old man named Stanley who’s been spending a lot of time by himself and got injured while trying to break one of the community’s horses.
Stanley was behaving a little strangely, but I didn’t think much of it… until he reemerged in the final moments of “End of the Road” to bomb a movie theater. To quote Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy, “Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean that really got out of hand fast.” Who is this guy and why did he set that bomb? Does he have other targets? Whatever the answers to these questions are, it appears we have our next multi-episode bad guy. Count on Stanley, and whomever he might be working for, to be further explored in the latter half of Season 2, just like the Sandman case in Season 1.
And now the countdown begins for NCIS: Origins Season 2 to resume Tuesday, February 26 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. You’re welcome to use this extended break to revisit old Origins episodes with your Paramount+ subscription if you don’t plan on keeping CBS on to watch the Olympics airing on the 2026 TV schedule.
