‘NCIS’: First Episode After Ziva’s Exit Airs, and Fans Are Sobbing

Fans of NCIS were shocked to learn that Ziva (Cote de Pablo) was alive and well at the end of Season 16. The fan-favorite character’s arc continued through much of Season 17, but her last episode on the series aired on Jan. 7. Now, on Jan. 14, the first episode since the character left, fans have taken to social media to express just how much they miss Ziva.

“I love this show. It’s the suspense we all love,” one fan wrote about the show, before turning their attention to Ziva. “Just don’t kill off any of the cast and bring back Ziva just for the helluva it. Or, give her – her own show?”

“Bring Ziva back!!” another Twitter user boldly proclaimed.

As you can tell, several fans kept their Ziva-related messages short and sweet, with many of them simply urging NCIS to bring back the character once again.

“We need more Ziva!!” one fan wrote directly to the NCIS Twitter account.

Back in September, de Pablo told Entertainment Tonight that she was happy to be back on the series after exiting about five years prior. She also said that she would love to do a scene with Michael Weatherly, who has also since left the series. (Weatherly departed the show in 2016, he can now be seen on CBS’ Bull.)

“When Michael and I talk, and we talk very often, we laugh and we say, ‘Oh my god, do you think these characters will ever see each other again?’ And the answer is always, yes, we’re just wondering where and when,” she said. “But these are questions you have to ask the writers. You have to ask Michael. It’s not just a Cote question, because most of these decisions are not made by me. We’re waiting for the proper platform and a nice storyline, and I’m crossing my fingers it happens. We’re both open to it and we’ll see what happens. It’s a matter of schedules and many factors; many things have to be factored in for that equation to actually become real.”

More recently, ET spoke with de Pablo on the set of NCIS to talk about her long-awaited return.

“I hoped that at some point something like this could happen and it’s just so the stars aligned and here I am with this guy,” de Pablo told ET‘s Kevin Frasier before giving her NCIS co-star, Mark Harmon, a hug. “I said give me a really good reason to come back.”