‘NCIS’ Castmate Michael Weatherly Hints at Heartbreaking Ending for Abby

Michael Weatherly posted a video on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon, warning NCIS fans to be prepared for a tear-jerker of an episode.

Weatherly played Anthony “Tony” DiNozzo on NCIS. He starred alongside Pauley Perrette for 13 seasons before leaving the show for another role. On Tuesday’s episode, Perrette too will say goodbye to the show, and it doesn’t look like she’ll get a happy ending.

Weatherly’s Instagram video showed him standing on the sidewalk, speaking with gravitas about the forthcoming episode.

“Pauley Perrette… Series finale… I’ll be watching with a box of Kleenex,” he said simply.

On Twitter, Weatherly promised to respond to Live Tweets and post more video messages throughout the evening as the episode aired.

Long-time fans are concerned that Abby’s exit from the series will be grim, as last week’s cliffhanger had her in mortal peril. In the final minutes of the episode, Abby and Clayton Reeves (Duane Henry) leave dinner and begin their walk home. On the way, they step down a shadowy alley, where they’re met by a mugger.

Clayton calmly hands over his wallet when the armed thief asks for it, but Abby tries to dig deeper, asking if she can help him in some other way instead. This enrages the criminal.

“You think you’re better than me? You want to help me?!” he asks, his features twisting.

“Yes, I want to help you!” Abby cries fearfully. In the final moments, Clayton pushes Abby toward a wall just as the gunman pulls the trigger, and the screen cuts to black.

While it’s left up to interpretation what will happen net, the preview for next week’s episode leaves little doubt that Abby was injured in some way. She is shown on a gurney being wheeled into the hospital, apparently unconscious. She doesn’t speak at any point in the short clip, though other characters stand over her in the hospital bed.

Perrette announced her departure from the show in October of 2017 through a post on Twitter.

“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.”