NCIS Season 12 Episode 16 Spoiler: 'Blast In The Past'; Is Gibbs Getting Framed For A Crime?

Mark Harmon
A photograph of Mark Harmon taken for TV Guide in 2005. |

It appears that the NCIS team are not only unearthing dead bodies this February but inadvertently digging in the past lives of the key members of the group as well.

With the upcoming episode on February 24, it becomes increasingly evident that the events that transpired years ago are starting to shake things up within the group, especially for NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, according to Cartermatt.com.

The upcoming episode, aptly titled Blast From The Past, will once again zero in on the previous missions assigned to Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon. A press release provided by CBS described the episode to involve a "covert identity created for one of Gibbs' undercover cases 20 years ago," which oddly "resurfaces after a murder victim is found living under the alias."

The same announcement revealed that the case was initially assigned to the Metro Police Department. However, the discovery of the link between Gibbs' previous pseudonym for a mission and the victim's identity caused the authorities to transfer the case to the NCIS.  

Gibbs' past was shoved under the spotlight in an earlier episode, titled Cabin Fever, which brought back the terrorist fiend Sergei Mishnev, played by Alex Veadov, into the scene. With his quest to make the lives of NCIS agents as miserable as possible, fans and followers of the show believe that his first step to achieve that was directed against FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell, played by Joe Spano. In this storyline, Fornell's wife was one of the casualties of a terrorist bombing presumably headed by Sergei himself.

The past also played a major role in another episode this month, which was titled Cadence. This plot featured Anthony DiNozzo's life in the military academy. Flashbacks of the said experience were peppered throughout the episode, which subsequently provide the viewers a deeper understanding of DiNozzo's personality.

The episode, Blast From The Past, was directed by Dennis Smith who also served as director for other small screen series such as The Practice, 7th Heaven, and Picket Fences. Meanwhile, David J. North, who regularly writes for crime TV shows like NCIS: Los Angeles, Rizzoli & Isles, and Scorpion, handled the script highlighting Gibbs' walk down the memory lane.

The guest stars for this episode include Alan Dale, who has recurring appearances in hit TV series such as Dominion, Hot in Cleveland, and Once Upon A Time as well as in the blockbuster film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Michael E. Knight, who was featured in popular shows like All My Children and One Life To Live, and Curt Cornelius from I'm Special And So Am I will be guests in the episode as well.