Why Is Pauley Perrette Leaving ‘NCIS’

Pauley Perrette announced that she would be leaving NCIS back in October and as her final episode draws closer, many fans are wondering why she’s saying goodbye.

The NCIS star posted two-part farewell from the show began on March 1 with the episode titled “One Step Forward.”

She posted on Twitter, reminding her fans that this was their penultimate chance to see Abby on screen, prompting many to wonder why she’s leaving and what’s next for the actress.

She announced that season 15 would be her last in a tweet posted on Oct. 4, 2017.

“So, it is true that I am leaving NCIS after this season. There has been all kinds of false stories as to why (NO I DON’T HAVE A SKIN CARE LINE AND NO MY NETWORK AND SHOW ARE NOT MAD AT ME!),” she wrote frankly. “It was a decision made last year. I hope everyone will love and enjoy EVERYTHING ABBY not only for the rest of this season but for everything she has given all of us for 16 years. All the love, all the laughter, all the inspiration… I love her as much as you do.”

Perrette did not offer much more detail as to why she was making this massive transition in her life. though she did tell TV Guide that it was a soul-searching decision.

“I believe in God and the universe so firmly, and it just suddenly became blindingly apparent that now was the time,” she said. “After a lot of thought, I decided to announce it myself on Twitter because I didn’t want it to be turned into anything ‘shocking.’ Abby leaving is more than a cheap TV ploy.”

Fans had a hard enough time adjusting to the idea that Abby was on her way out, but Tuesday night’s cliffhanger was even more devastating, when it showed Abby on the business end of a handgun. She did her best to deescalate a mugger at the end of her penultimate episode, and right at the end, a gunshot echoed as the screen went black.

While the end of her penultimate episode looked bleak, many fans are still holding out hope for Abby. They want to see her striding confidently on to the next chapter in her life, not snatched away thanks to a random crime.

“After a period of time screaming ‘NO!!!!’ at the television and sobbing, I realized I might be a bit emotionally involved with Abby Sciuto, #NCIS needs to give her a goodbye, not what the preview is implying,” one fan wrote.

Abby’s final episode airs at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, May 8 on CBS, though her fate is still unclear.