‘NCIS: Los Angeles’: Is Renee Felice Smith’s Nell Leaving?

NCIS: Los Angeles fans are bracing themselves to possibly say a reluctant goodbye to a longtime star Renée Felice Smith. On a recent episode of the series, Smith’s character, Nell, alluded to potentially moving on to greener pastures. During the Season 11 episode “Fortune Favors the Brave, Nell said it might be time for her to leave the NCIS family. But is she actually going to leave the show for good?

“I don’t think I want to be an agent anymore,” Nell told Kensi (Daniela Ruah) in the episode as reported by TV Insider. “It’s not really sudden, at least not for me. It’s a lot of things really, but mainly, I don’t think I’m the same person I was when I started working here.” When Kensi tried to argue that it was similar for all of them, Nell stood her crowd and shared her qualms about being an agent. Nell added, “I feel like it’s not right for me anymore. I used to be fearless, you know? I wasn’t afraid of anything, except for maybe Hetty, but some days now, I just I don’t even want to get out of bed.”

Kensi then suggested that Nell take some time off from field work. But, Nell was steadfast that she didn’t simply want to take time off — she wants to resign from the NCIS. She then had to share the news with her boss, Hetty (Linda Hunt), who also wasn’t entirely accepting of her decision to resign. Nell told her boss that “you probably already know this too, but I’ve been through so much lately and I feel like I just can’t give this job the proper focus that it requires and frankly deserves.”

Instead of simply accepting Nell’s resignation, Hetty suggested, as Kensi did before, that she take some time off. She told her that she could use the time to decide what she truly wants to do. “You are an important part of this team,” Hetty said, adding, “with several weeks of unused vacation days. … If I don’t hear from you once they’ve elapsed, you can consider yourself resigned.”

As for what decision Nell will ultimately make, it looks like viewers will have to stay tuned to find out. There are only a couple more episodes left in the current season of NCIS: Los Angeles, with the finale set to air on April 26. It’s unclear whether Nell will make a decision about her future in the upcoming episodes. But, you can rest assured that it will be a topic on everyone’s minds regardless of what she ultimately decides.