NCIS Season 22 ends with McGee spiraling and Parker’s descent to a darker path 

In the Season 22 finale of NCIS, titled Nexus, the team uncovers the true leader of the criminal cartel Nexus. Gabriel LaRoch, posing as a corrupt NCIS deputy director, is then revealed to have been working undercover for the Department of Justice to infiltrate Nexus. He is forced to resign and vanish to evade retaliation. The team is now determined to dismantle Nexus when Carla Morino emerges as a notorious mob boss and informant. With this help, the team cracks the Nexus plot only to later discover that Morino herself is a Nexus leader. This brings a dramatic twist in the NCIS finale.

On the other hand, Gibbs' departure in Season 19 has left a major void, with Alden Parker taking over leadership of the Major Case Response Team. The team has lost multiple familiar faces over time, resulting in rotating cast members and deteriorating storytelling quality with season 22 juggling too many storylines, per reports. The finale tried to wrap up multiple arcs too quickly, leaving emotional beats like Parker's father's death or McGee’s frustration undercooked.

Here is how NCIS season 22 ended with Timothy McGee spiralling, but he indeed deserved better treatment

NCIS Season 22 mishandled the character of Timothy McGee, who has long deserved better narrative and professional treatment. There was a sense of rivalry between him and Gabriel LaRoche, and he became the one who first doubted him for being a mole. When LaRoche revealed himself to be an undercover agent for the DOJ, NCIS undermined McGee's arc entirely.

McGee has been part of the show since the beginning and has become the most trusted agent of Gibbs' team, but he still remains a Senior Field Agent even after 20+ years of service. This is quite unbelievable and suggests negligence towards a character. By having McGee be wrong about LaRoche and appear obsessed or out of sync with the team, the writers subtly reinforce the idea that he's not leadership material. The finale was rated the lowest by fans of the show. This rating depicts how the finale failed to fulfil audience expectations and give the fans a satisfying ending.

Parker's story just got darker in the NCIS Season 22 finale

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Parker was expected to replace Gibbs, the iconic leader of the show. Throughout Season 22, Parker's mental state has been a focal point. In Episode 8, titled Out of Control, Parker experiences recurring hallucinations of a young girl named Lily, believed to be his deceased sister. The episode explored his psyche in length, highlighting a deep-seated trauma, affected his decision-making power. Further in the finale episode, his father is murdered by Carla Morino, which further leaves him shattered.

His father's death could make Parker seek vengeance for his father's murder. Now he has unfinished business with Morino and a more complex emotional grief to follow. Therefore, the new season could explore the same and introduce new twists around, while for McGee, a true turning point could be his role getting promoted and appreciated within the department.

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