‘NCIS’: Ziva Mystery Takes Backseat During McGee-Centric Episode

NCIS barely touched on last week’s Ziva shocker during Tuesday’s new McGee-focused episode.

The new installment, titled “Once Upon a Tim,” took a close look at McGee’s (Sean Murray) past and final high school years as it was connected to a gruesome murder of a defense contractor.

The investigation led McGee back to his high school and to him remembering painful memories from his childhood, including how he never actually wanted to enlist in the Navy and his father’s insistence caused him to change his mind.

The episode did include a few Ziva moments, making it clear that the storyline of her possible return will stay relevant for episodes to come. As McGee worked on the cast, Bishop (Emily Wickersham) took a quick glance at a photo of her coworker and Tony Di Nozzo (Michael Weatherly) and made a reference about not being “big on secrets.”

Fans of the show commented on the slight moment, and continued to wish for Ziva (Cote de Pablo) and Tony’s eventual return to the series.

“Bishop: *looks at picture of Tim and Tony* I’m not that big on secrets right now. Ziva feels,” one fan wrote on Twitter.

“Ooh Bishop talking bout Ziva!!” another user wrote.

“Bring back Tony & Ziva,” another one tweeted.

NCIS basically confirmed that Ziva David might still be alive during the Feb. 12 episode, when the team investigated the cold case of a missing agent after the little girl she had been pregnant with when she first disappeared was found at a naval base.

Bishop was the first agent to find the Ziva connection when she discovered the agent had been investigating the case, even after it was signed over to the sheriff many years before.

It was later revealed that the case had led Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and Ziva to have an argument, after she turned the case over before Gibbs thought they should. Ziva’s seemingly posthumous help led the team to find the missing woman ten years after her kidnapping and taught Gibbs a lesson about letting emotions lead get in the middle of a case.

At the end of the episode Bishop returned to Ziva’s old home and finds that many items are gone. On the desk, she found note that asked her to keep Ziva’s secret “for her family’s safety.”

Will Ziva end up making a triumphant return to the show? NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.