‘NCIS’ Fall Finale Brings Back Fan-Favorite Character in Surprise Cliffhanger

NCIS’ fall finale ended on a cliffhanger that no one saw coming.

In the final seconds of Tuesday’s episode, “Heaven and Nature,” Knight got the NCIS: Elite assignment she’d been waiting for, only it came with a shocking twist.

Spoilers for the fall finale of NCIS beyond this point!

Vance told Knight that she and Elite would be tracking down a wanted fugitive, and while Knight was as excited as ever, Vance said this one “hits a little close to home.” That’s when she gets a picture of none other than Eleanor Bishop. Knight looks back at the team, specifically Nick, knowing the kind of history they have. Vance tells her that until she gets more details, this has to stay between the two of them.

As if that wasn’t enough, the final shot of the finale is of Emily Wickersham’s Ellie watching the team from afar. This marks Wickersham’s first appearance on NCIS since departing in Season 18. The last time fans saw Ellie, she had resigned from NCIS after confessing to leaking NSA secrets, ultimately going on a long-term CIA undercover mission. Now that Ellie’s a wanted fugitive, it can be assumed that a lot has happened in these last several years, but fans will have to wait until Feb. 24 to see what happens.

Fans first met Ellie in Season 11, when she was an NSA analyst. She impressed Gibbs, Tony, and McGee so much that they asked her to join the team in place of Ziva. After Tony left, she grew close to Nick, so it can be expected that if the two have a reunion when the show returns, it’s going to be an emotional one, no matter the circumstances.

That being said, the official logline for the fall finale teased that Jess’ first Elite mission would involve her “tracking down a former member of the team,” but there was no telling who it would be and for what reason. Fans have been hoping that Wickersham would be returning to NCIS for a while now. In 2023, she went back to blonde, giving fans hope, but it never happened. Now that it actually is happening, fans should get excited, even if it’s not exactly in the way they had hoped.

Since NCIS won’t be returning until Feb. 24, it can be assumed that information about the winter premiere won’t be revealed for a while. But the wait will be worth it if it means seeing Ellie Bishop once again, fugitive or not. In the meantime, fans can stream their favorite Ellie moments on NCIS on Paramount+ now.