NCIS Season 22 Is Repeating One Of The Most Riveting Stories Of Gibbs’ Best Team From 16 Years Ago

The recent NCIS season 22 trailer revealed that the show is repeating an exciting NCIS storyline that first took place years ago when the cast still featured most of Gibbs’ original team from season 1. NCIS season 22 is set to feature returning characters McGee, Parker, Torres, and Palmer. While the NCIS cast today looks a lot different from Gibbs’ team back in 2008, the problems they face now aren’t completely dissimilar to the ones they went through all those years ago.

Due to the many years they’ve spent solving crimes, it’s no surprise that familiar problems have cropped up. Based on what’s known about season 22, it looks like one in particular will be a throwback to one of their most stressful challenges. Over a decade ago, the team was threatened by someone from within, and it looks like that might be happening again.

NCIS Season 22 Tackles A Mole In The Agency

The NCIS Season 22 Trailer Revealed An Exciting Plot Development

The latest NCIS season 22 trailer revealed that one of the several storylines in the upcoming season will be about uncovering a mole in the NCIS team. The trailer showed Special Agents McGee and Parker being escorted by FBI agents in handcuffs. Knight is also returning to NCIS after she left to join the REACT team in the NCIS season 21 finale. Her return could be connected to trying to discover the mole that has been leaking classified NCIS information and damaging her past team.

The storyline surrounding the mole comes as a particular shock after the exit of Katrina Law’s Jessica Knight last season. Although she is returning in season 22, she will not appear in every episode. If the mole is a major NCIS character, it would be shocking and painful to have another major cast member leave the team so close to a previous departure. While it is possible that McGee and Parker were wrongly accused, or even used as bait to catch the real mole, NCIS season 21 has confirmed that no character is ever safe.

Gibbs’ Best Team Was Dissolved In NCIS Season 5 Because Of The Same Issue

Director Lee Vance Made A Decision To Save The Team

NCIS season 22 is not the first NCIS season to feature a mole storyline. NCIS first revealed the possibility of there being a mole in season 5. The betrayal was one of the most exciting storylines to feature Gibbs’ original team in the history of the series. In the season 5 finale, Director Leon Vance broke up Gibbs’ team as a result of safety concerns for the team and because of the possibility of there being a mole in the team. In season 6, Vance revealed that he did so to discover the mole and protect his team.

The decision to break up the team came as a shock to Gibbs, who disagreed with Vance’s decision. However, the decision turned out to be for the best because season 6 revealed the mole was Special Agent Michelle Lee, who was forced to leak US military information to protect her kidnapped sister. The exciting development came to a close when Gibbs killed Lee and her boss, Ted Bankston, in season 6, episode 9, “Dagger.”

How NCIS Season 22’s Mole Storyline Differs From Gibbs’ Arc 16 Years Ago

The Differences Surround The NCIS Team In Each Season

While the mole storyline in NCIS season 22 is likely inspired by NCIS seasons 5 and 6, there are quite a few differences between the two. The overarching mole narrative in season 22 seems to be centered on the FBI’s involvement with NCIS, as per the NCIS season 22 trailer. The mole narrative in season 6 was more internal, with Vance and Gibbs leading their own investigation into Lee’s actions. The possibility of there being a mole was also teased in season 5 before the storyline imploded in season 6, whereas season 22 addresses the story immediately.

In season 6, the NCIS team was also split up by Vance in a dramatic turn of events so that the mole would be easier to uncover. Season 22 switches things up by revealing the possibility of a mole with the team still intact. The stakes are higher as multiple organizations are involved, and the team members only have their word to say they are not the guilty party. Whoever is suspected of being the mole will likely have a difficult time proving their innocence, as the team setting allows the guilty party to blend in more easily.