Spoiler Alert for NCIS season 22, episode 13, "Bad Blood."NCIS season 22 just offered a surprising look at its canceled spinoffs, and seeing it was as sad as it was happy. NCIS season 22, episode 13, "Bad Blood," opens with a mystery surrounding a murdered Navy lieutenant and damaged blood bags. The mystery leads the NCIS characters on a quest to discover the identity of the only blood bag that was stolen in the chaos. Meanwhile, NCIS' Tim McGee is on a quest of his own to become the first-place winner in his children's school fundraiser and sell the most coffee boxes.
The NCIS season 22 episode was filled with the usual banter and expertise that NCIS is known for, but it also added a twist through McGee's fundraiser by reintroducing the NCIS spinoffs to the flagship. While McGee's storyline in "Bad Blood" was secondary to the reintroduction and redemption of the NCIS villain, Fletcher Voss, it tied in beautifully to the theme of work-life balance in the episode. It also reintroduced some sense of hope and loss regarding NCIS' canceled spinoffs.
McGee's Coffee Endeavor Results In MCRT Connecting With Its Satellite Offices
McGee's Mission Proves The NCIS Offices Stay In Touch
While trying to win first place in his children's school fundraiser, McGee reaches out to the MCRT, even offering samples to try and encourage a few sales. The most enthusiastic member is Kasie, who downs multiple cups of Jitter Joe, one of the flavors McGee is selling. With Kasie full of caffeine and motivation, she uses her extra energy to reach out to the NCIS satellite offices to offer McGee's boxes of coffee to them. Unfortunately, no spinoff character appears in the episode, but Kasie is seen talking with NCIS: Sydney's Mackey on the phone.
Kasie's interactions with the NCIS spinoff characters behind the scenes prove that the NCIS offices keep in touch. Vance has direct ties to the other teams as the NCIS director, but Kasie's interactions show that the teams keep in contact casually too. The desire of the other NCIS offices to help McGee also speaks towards a bond between the teams. As much as the surprising reference to NCIS' spinoffs should have been a happy moment, it unfortunately just served as a reminder of the shows' early cancelations.
What NCIS Season 22, Episode 13 Reveals About What's Happening In New Orleans, LA, & Hawai'i
The NCIS Offices Are Still Working Behind The Scenes
The good news behind the NCIS season 22 reference to the canceled spinoffs is that the New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Hawai'i offices have not been forgotten. While there may not be a show about them anymore, they continue to work behind the scenes in the NCIS universe. This also means that the NCIS franchise cancelations are not permanent endings to the spinoffs' stories because it leaves room for characters to reappear in the flagship either through small references like in "Bad Blood" or as cameos.
Office | Customers | Coffee Box Orders | ||
Jitter Joe | Mocha Mania | Fire Brew | ||
NCIS: Sydney | Michelle Mackey | 7 | 7 | 6 |
NCIS: Hawai'i | Jane Tennant | 3 | 5 | 2 |
Ernie Malik | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
NCIS: Los Angeles | Kensi Blye | 3 | 2 | 1 |
G. Callen | 1 | 5 | 2 | |
NCIS: New Orleans | Dwayne Pride | 3 | 2 | 1 |
The number of coffee boxes each team ordered also points to the amount of work they have. NCIS: New Orleans' Dwayne Pride and NCIS: Los Angeles' Kensi Blye and G. Callen ordered the least amount of coffee boxes, which might symbolize their reduced workload in the NCIS franchise. However, the good news comes for NCIS: Sydney and NCIS: Hawai'i as the members of their offices ordered the most. This could mean that NCIS: Hawai'i is the most likely canceled spinoff to continue its stories since they're the ones handling more cases.
Can Any Characters In Canceled Spinoffs Return In NCIS?
Crossovers and Cameos Are Still Possible
Since the characters from the canceled spinoffs still actively exist in the NCIS universe, there are still several possibilities for them to appear in NCIS. The most likely character to return is Jane Tennant from NCIS: Hawai'i based on her personal connection to NCIS' Nick Torres. Jane and Nick had a romantic connection during the NCIS and NCIS: Hawai'i crossover. While they had genuine chemistry, they decided not to pursue each other anymore, but the possibility was always there. But now that Nick is dating Robin Knight, Jane returning is even less likely unless Nick and Robin break up.
Other characters from the NCIS spinoffs could also return on special mission trips if the NCIS MCRT needs help for a case with ties to New Orleans, Los Angeles, or Hawai'i. Romance is not the only way to have a character return, as each team is a highly specialized unit that would happily lend their expertise if needed. McGee's coffee endeavor has already proved that the teams have each other's backs, so a cameo or crossover event would be more than welcomed by the other NCIS units.
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