Pauley Perrette Says ‘NCIS’ Farewell Script Was Kept Secret From Cast

NCIS star Pauley Perrette officially said goodbye to her character Abby Sciuto, and now the star is revealing more details about the emotional “Goodbye Abby” episode.

After 16 years and over 350 episodes, actress Pauley Perrette said goodbye to the eccentric genius whose trademark goth look won over hearts across the world, and even the hearts of the real NCIS. Perrette, who had been a staple on the CBS series since its 2003 premiere, is now revealing new details about the emotional farewell.

According to a tweet from Perrette posted just 30 minutes before the episode, titled “Two Steps Back,” aired, fans were not the only ones left in the dark when it came to Abby’s fate, as even the cast was not given the full script. Rather, they were only given the excerpts of their scenes, leading to the emotional performances in Tuesday night’s episode.

After the cliffhanger ending from last week’s episode, “One Step Forward,” many fans assumed the gunshot and cut to black during the apparent mugging with Clay Reeves (Duane Henry) meant Abby would be dead come Tuesday night. However, the show through fans for a loop when it was revealed that Reeves was the one in the body bag, after joining the team just last season, and that Abby had survived and was rather exiting the NCIS team in pursuit of charitable endeavors.

Perrette earlier praised the writing for the episode, which was written by Jennifer Corbett, a TV writer who formerly served in the military.

Corbett had previously stated that the episode itself was an exceptionally difficult one to write, given that it concludes Perrette’s 15-season run on the series and follows months of fan speculation about how Abby’s storyline would end.

Abby’s exit came after months of speculation about how the show would send her off and why she was leaving. While we now know why Abby left the NCIS team, many are still wondering why Perrette made the decision to leave the show. She blasted rumors last fall that she was leaving to pursue a skin care brand or due to disagreements with CBS, and in recent interviews has alluded to the idea that she simply wants more privacy.

“It’s being a commodity,” Perrette told CBS News. “I think I’ve earned some time to myself (to) stay home, go to church.”

Perrette joined the series during its debut season, portraying the eccentric goth genius who helps the Naval Criminal Investigative Service crack cases involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Perrette, as Abby, has also made appearances on NCIS spinoffs, NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans.