When NCIS star Wilmer Valderrama teased an “earth-shattering” death in the Season 22 finale, no one could have guessed who the victim would be. Mob boss and Parker’s (Gary Cole) longtime enemy, Carla Marino (Rebecca De Mornay), escalated things when she killed Parker’s dad in cold blood, pulling the rug from under him when he and his dad had begun to get along. This will have far-reaching effects in the new season airing this fall as Parker tries to move on. “He is not going to find his inner zen and not find a good place here,” showrunner Steven D. Binder told TV Insider. “He’s going to be destabilized and he’s going to be out for revenge and out for blood in a way that it will seem very atypical for someone like him, not a way you’d expect a character like him to behave and yet entirely motivated and justified, which is what makes it interesting when people get put in situations where they act differently than they normally would,” he added. This is not the first time characters on the show and the wider NCIS-verse have lost people they cared about. Binder explained:
“We had some precedent in the past in our show with this. Gibbs (Mark Harmon) was a man on fire when his wife and daughter were killed. Bishop (Emily Wickersham) was a woman on fire when someone was attempting to kill Torres. We’re going to see some of that.”
Parker’s Loss Will Affect Everyone in ‘NCIS’ Season 23
Based on Valderrama’s comments before the season finale, one would have thought a team member was dying. However, the death of Parker’s dad will directly affect the team’s operation, given that it affects their boss. His emotional standing and rising quest for justice-cum-revenge will put them in a tough position. “That’s the problem here is that not only is he their leader, a cop and cops can’t do or not supposed to do things,” Binder said. “So you’ll have a team trying to protect him, trying to talk him off a ledge, possibly getting between him and his target in a really uncomfortable turn of events,” he added. The showrunner previewed how this will play out, saying:
It’s going to create a ton of conflict as it has in the past when we’ve had other people on our staff on fire. . . . . It’s f**ked up, and I think we’re going to see some of that.”
NCIS returns for Season 23 this fall. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.