NCIS: Origins Season 2 premiere - David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal on Lala’s fate and what it means for Gibbs

NCIS: Origins Season 2 premiere episode finally answered one of the more burning questions from last season’s cliffhanger: what happened to Lala? At the end of Season 1, we saw Cecilia "Lala" Dominguez (played by Mariel Molino) meet with a dangerous accident that put a dark shadow on her future in the show. Episode 1 of the latest season titled 'The Funky Bunch' revealed that Lala survived the accident, however, her will they-won’t they connection with Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played by Austin Stowell) seems to have hit a snag.

NCIS: Origins showrunners David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal shared that the second season of the hit CBS hit procedural drama series will see Gibbs dealing with the aftermath of Lala’s accident and his newfound relationship with Diane (played by Kathleen Kenny). Monreal told Deadline,

“He’s afraid of losing her. I mean, he lost the love of his life in Shannon. Now he has these unique and strong feelings for Lala. She almost died and he backed away. All of that is going to be explored this season. We’re not just going to leave it there.”

NCIS: Origins is a prequel to the NCIS series, set in 1991. The show revolves around the early career of Naval Investigative Service agent Gibbs. The cast of the series includes Kyle Schmid, Mark Harmon, Tyla Abercrumbie, Diany Rodriguez, and Caleb Foote among others. NCIS: Origins Season 2 premiered on CBS on October 14, 2025.

Lala and Gibbs’s future in NCIS: Origins Season 2

NCIS: Origins Season 1 ended on a shocking nail-biter with Lala’s fate hanging in the air. Lala had earlier convinced investigator Lara Macy (played by Claire Berger) to drop the case against Gibbs for the murder of Pedro Hernandez, the cartel leader.

On her way to meet Gibbs, she sees a young girl on the road and while trying to avoid hitting her, Lala ends up steering her jeep away but instead topples over. She is seen bleeding and unconscious, hanging upside down. Meanwhile, Gibbs also gets acquainted with Diane Sterling, the real estate agent who was to sell his house.

The fans can nevertheless take a breather, as NCIS: Origins Season 2 premiere revealed that Lala survived the car accident. Though she was hurt badly, which included a brain injury, she returns to work after a few months and is on the job.

David. J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal shared that they had been planning Lala’s dramatic incident for a long time and were surprised to learn that the majority of the audience believed she was dead. While speaking about Lala’s fate in NCIS: Origins Season 2 to Deadline, North shared,

“What we didn’t know was that 95% of the viewers would really think she’s dead. That was what surprised us when we got back here and were breaking season two. I would go down and wander onto our sets on the Paramount lot. They do tours through the sets. We weren’t shooting, and there was a group coming through and I told them who I was, and I said, “do you guys watch the show?” And this guy from Australia said, yeah. And he said, “I think Lala’s dead, and I think you made a huge mistake.” I mean, that’s what the response has been.”

In Season 1, Gibbs and Lala had shared an intimate moment in the pool hinting at a possible romantic connection between them. However, after her accident, things seem to have taken a new turn for Gibbs with Diane. As NCIS fans know, Gibbs and Diane do get married and later divorced. In the NCIS: Origins Season 2 premiere episode, Gibbs and Diane seem to have started dating. So, it looks like the relationship will further develop with Lala’s presence still looming over him. North shared,

“We plan to stick to canon, so obviously at some point, we know Gibbs will be getting married on Origins. We sort of play with time a little bit. If you pay close attention, you can see there’s not a week in between each case. We’ve slowed time down, so you’ll just have to stay tuned to see what happens.”

Watch NCIS: Origins Season 2 on CBS. The episodes will also be available to stream on Paramount+.

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