Mark Harmon’s Expanded NCIS: Origins Role Needs To Avoid A Big Problem For The Gibbs Prequel

NCIS: Origins‘ premiere revealed that Mark Harmon has a bigger role than originally thought. The NCIS franchise spinoff will feature Austin Stowell as he plays a young Gibbs at the start of his career at NCIS, which was called NIS at the time. Originally, Harmon was meant to have a minimal role in the prequel and appear as just the narrator in NCIS: Origins. While this is still partially true, since Harmon does narrate in the show, he also physically appears under mysterious circumstances.

The NCIS: Origins cast features several young versions of pre-existing NCIS characters, including Mike Franks, played by Kyle Schmid, and Vera Strickland, played by Diany Rodriguez. However, Mark Harmon is the only actor from NCIS to reappear in the prequel. He and Stowell are also the only actors to play the same character. Harmon’s reappearance is great news since his exit in NCIS season 19 implied his official departure from the franchise. However, Mark’s bigger role in NCIS: Origins also sets up a problem that has to be carefully solved sooner rather than later.

Mark Harmon’s Role In NCIS: Origins Explained

Gibbs’ Location Helps Unravel His Reappearance

Mark Harmon’s expanded role in NCIS: Origins also holds a lot of mystery. Beyond Harmon’s role as the narrator, where he shares insights into young Gibbs’ grieving mind, his scenes are limited to shots of him sitting by a campfire. A closer look at these scenes reveals Gibbs is still in Alaska.NCIS season 19 revealed that Gibbs retired in Naktok Bay, Alaska, following his departure from the show, and as it turns out, he never left. Gibbs’ hat, which is from Titus Bait & Tackle, Bristol Bay, Alaska, and the scenic shots of Gibbs’ surroundings confirmed his location.

Gibbs is also seen writing in his journal, a habit that was never discussed in NCIS. Gibbs’ journaling scenes seem to imply that Gibbs is revisiting his painful memories of the early 1990s. Perhaps the relaxing atmosphere in Alaska has opened him up emotionally to the point where he feels comfortable revisiting the past. Gibbs might even be writing down what he says in the NCIS: Origins narration. The NCIS: Origins premiere left the mystery behind old Gibbs unanswered, but one thing is sure; Mark Harmon’s Gibbs is still an important character in the prequel.

Mark Harmon’s Return as Gibbs Is Important For NCIS: Origins

Harmon’s Gibbs Helps Set The Tone

Mark Harmon’s mysterious appearance is important to NCIS: Origins because it helps set the tone of the show. As Austin Stowell’s young Gibbs is seen grieving his first wife and daughter, struggling at his new job, and experiencing massive change all at once, it is nice to know that he is able to overcome it all by the time he becomes old Gibbs. The tone of NCIS: Origins is significantly darker than that of NCIS, but knowing that young Gibbs is able to cope and survive adds some ease to the show.

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Mark Harmon’s return as Gibbs also helps connect the spinoff to the flagship. As NCIS: Origins features an entirely new cast and tone, it can be easy to have the show feel disconnected from the franchise. The first season of NCIS: Origins will also focus on NIS, rather than NCIS, which furthers the show’s disconnect from the franchise. As a result, NCIS: Origins is unlike any show that the NCIS franchise has made before, so it needs some additional support to connect everything together. Mark Harmon’s minor role is just what the show needs.

Mark Harmon’s Return Needs To Avoid Overshadowing Austin Stowell’s Gibbs

NCIS: Origins Needs To Find The Right Balance for Both Versions Of Gibbs

Mark Harmon’s Gibbs is a legendary character. Harmon played the role for almost 20 years, and he is synonymous with Gibbs and NCIS. Harmon’ was part of the first NCIS team and his exit from NCIS left a noticeable absence in the cast, even with his replacement. Harmon’s appearance in NCIS: Origins is great because it continues Gibb’s NCIS story, but it also has the potential to overshadow Austin Stowell’s Gibbs. Even though Stowell is the newest lead and the newest Gibbs, it is a real risk that Mark Harmon’s return may eclipse Stowell’s portrayal of Gibbs.

NCIS: Origins needs to find the right balance between the two versions of Gibbs and figure out how to let both shine. As both actors are incredibly talented, the key will be for the show’s writers to figure out the right way forward. Harmon’s version is already so popular that it may be easy to focus more on his portrayal. However, it is important to remember that even though Stowell and Harmon are playing the same character, they are portraying different periods in Gibbs’ life. As a result, their versions will be different but equally significant to Gibbs’ story.

How Austin Stowell Can Make Gibbs His Own In NCIS: Origins

Stowell Can Use Gibbs’ Anger As Motivation

Austin Stowell portrays Gibbs as he goes through the worst time in his life. Young Gibbs is also likely facing things and emotions he has never experienced before, at least not at the level portrayed in NCIS: Origins. As a result, Stowell can make his version of Gibbs stand out by feeding into Gibbs’ anger, sadness, and grief and showing how vulnerable Gibbs was in the early 1990s. It is likely that Stowell will look at Harmon’s Gibbs for inspiration, as Stowell’s version is the prerequisite for Harmon’s version.

NCIS: Origins’ premiere, “Enter Sandman,” already showed Stowell’s version of Gibbs come to life and has included several characteristics that are present in Harmon’s version. Flashbacks to Gibb’s young family revealed Gibbs’ pain in private. The premiere also showed Gibbs’ discomfort in dealing with his emotions, something that is present in NCIS as well with Harmon’s Gibbs. If the premiere is anything like the rest of the spinoff, including NCIS: Origins season 2, then Stowell’s presentation of Gibbs is something to look forward to.

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It is clear that Stowell is already crafting a separate but equally valid portrayal of Gibbs in the NCIS spinoff. It will be exciting to see how his young Gibbs develops further as all the action, storylines, and character growth in NCIS: Origins lead up to the invigorating plots of NCIS. It will also be interesting to watch how young Gibbs learns to cope with his emotions in order to transform into the Gibbs that he later becomes in NCIS.

A young Gibbs embarks on his journey as a Naval Investigative Service agent in the early 1990s. Set against the backdrop of Camp Pendleton, the series explores Gibbs’ formative years, the cases that shaped him, and the mentors who guided his path, including Mike Franks.

Cast

Mark Harmon , Austin Stowell , Robert Taylor , Patrick Fischler , Kyle Schmid , Diany Rodriguez , Tyla Abercrumbie , Mariel Molino

Seasons

1