The NCIS season 21 finale packed a punch with an intense case and major personal storylines for several main characters. The episode opened with the team learning of three bodies found on the decommissioned USS Goddell ship, which was set to be sunk to create an artificial reef habitat.
As the agents began investigating, a bombshell was dropped – Director Vance offered Jessica Knight a major promotion to be the chief training officer at Camp Pendleton in California. This revelation strained things between Knight and her boyfriend Jimmy Palmer, who didn’t want to try a long-distance relationship after losing so many people in his life already.
The case itself was full of twists and red herrings. At first, the bookie of one victim, Tommy Mackin, seemed the likely suspect after laughing off his death. However, it was eventually revealed that Tommy and another victim, Susan Sidor, were having an affair. The real killer was Tommy’s wife Molly, acting out of jealousy over the affair. She had enlisted her uncle Lacey’s help to dump the bodies on the USS Goddell.
The third victim, Cedric, was simply an innocent bystander killed when Molly hit him with her car while trying to dispose of Tommy and Susan’s bodies. Lacey’s only involvement was going back to the ship later to retrieve his dropped watch, not realizing Knight and Parker were trapped inside.
Speaking of Knight and Parker, they found themselves in a perilous situation when someone locked them on the abandoned ship set for demolition, with no phone signal to call for help. Parker was seriously injured by a heavy object falling on his leg during a struggle.
In a race against time before the ship was sunk the next day, a badly bleeding Parker began hallucinating childhood memories of his sister Lily while slipping in and out of consciousness. Knight had to resort to tying them together with a rope and jumping into flooded waters to pull them both to safety just before the team arrived.
The episode’s final few moments were a emotional punch to the gut. With Parker hospitalized from his injuries, Knight was again asked by Vance about taking the job in California. This time, she definitively declared “Hell yeah, sir. Let’s do it” – choosing to leave DC and presumably end things with Palmer.
This romantic breakup between Knight and Palmer was made all the more heartbreaking by their emotional conversation earlier in the episode. When Palmer realized Knight had been offered the job, he selflessly told her to take it, saying he had lost too many loved ones already like his wife and Gibbs. He didn’t want to try long-distance, cutting his losses now for Knight’s sake.
It was a brutal moment, made worse by the rest of the team awkwardly overhearing the entire conversation in the elevator. You could feel Palmer’s pain and apprehension about losing someone else important to him. Dietzen played the scene remarkably.
For Knight, the decision seems to stem from a few factors – the appealing career opportunity, a chance to avoid the messiness of long-distance, and perhaps a need to remove herself from romantic entanglements after her complicated past that was explored earlier this season.
Overall, the NCIS finale definitely did not pull any punches. The case itself was an engaging mystery, but it was really the character moments that made it so compelling and gutting. Losing two main cast members in one fell swoop would be a massive shakeup that leaves the show’s future up in the air.
Parker’s life hung in the balance, and it was not clear if he would recover from his injuries. His hallucinations were a poignant look into his psyche and tragic backstory. If he does make it through, one has to wonder if his near-death experience will impact his commitment to the job.
As for Knight, her departure leaves an even bigger void. Not only was she the newest main character, having taken over for Jack Sloane, but also she was romantically entangled with another teammate in Palmer. How does her exit change team dynamics and relationships? Will we see her again occasionally in a recurring role?
Then there’s Palmer himself. Having to process this personal loss on top of the already heavy material around his daughter getting older could push him to reevaluate his own future and priorities. The finale kicks off what is sure to be a very different, uncertain era for NCIS.
The high-stakes situation with Parker and Knight trapped on the ship was also executed brilliantly as a ticking clock scenario to raise the tension. And the tearful, poignant moments between them as Parker was slipping away added an extra layer of emotion and depth. You were truly left wondering if one or both might not make it out in time.
So while the case itself was an engaging self-contained story, it was really these multiple layers of impactful character beats that made the NCIS season 21 finale so gripping and unforgettable. The writers took some major narrative swings that could completely redefine the show’s core dynamics and relationships going forward. It was a finale that undoubtedly gave viewers plenty to mull over and debate until season 22.
