Warning: SPOILERS for the NCIS: Origins two-part premiere “Enter Sandman” are ahead!
NCIS: Origins has finally premiered on the 2024 TV schedule, mean the time has finally come to explore Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ life in 1991, just a few months after his first wife and daughter were murdered. With the exception of Austin Stowell’s Gibbs and Kyle Schmid’s Mike Franks, the CBS prequel is comprised of entirely new faces (so far), including Mariel Molino’s Lala Dominguez, one of the NIS agents working closely with the former two men. Origins’ two-part premiere, titled “Enter Sandman,” saw Gibbs, Franks and Dominguez, along with Caleb Martin Foote’s Bernard “Randy” Randolph, investigating the death of a woman whose body was found completely burned and surrounded by skeletal totems hanging around the charred remains of her home.
Long story short, this woman was killed by her drug-addicted ex-lover who was jealous of a new relationship he was in, sniped her then burned the home to cover up her true cause of death. In the midst of this investigation, Gibbs start building a dynamic with his new squad, and thanks to narration from Mark Harmon’s older Gibbs (whom we actually got to see in these first episodes), we know that Dominguez is going to become someone especially important to him. But before we get into that, let’s go over the two classic Gibbs-isms that got their own origin stories.
The Origins Of Gibbs’ Love For Bourbon And His Gut Were Shown
If you watched NCIS in the Mark Harmon days (meaning from its inception to when he departed in early Season 19), you know that a love for bourbon and going with one’s “gut,” i.e. trusting one’s instincts, are some of his trademark characteristics. “Enter Sandman” showed how these came to be, with Lala Dominguez and Mike Franks being respectively responsible for each. On the bourbon front, while the squad was “percolating,” i.e. blowing off steam after work at a bar, early into the investigation, Dominguez sat down with Gibbs at his table. She brought two glasses of bourbon for them to help “take the edge off,” and while Gibbs had never had it before, we know that it will go on to be his favorite drink, especially enjoying it when building boats in his basement.
As for going with the gut, you have to remember that for the entirety of his adult life up to NCIS: Origins, Gibbs had been in the Marine Corps and gotten used to following a strict chain of command. Respecting authority was important to him, but it also made him hesitant to share ideas that were less conventional. Well, after sharing his personal suspicions on three later sniping killings that held them identity who the real target among the trio was, Mike Franks made it clear to Gibbs that if he gets a gut feeling, he needs to share it with the group.
Why Is Lala Dominguez So Important To Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ Past?
We already knew going into NCIS: Origins that Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Lala Dominguez would not be love interests, and it becomes apparent why as the events of “Enter Sandman” unfold. Not only is it shown at the end of the premiere that Dominguez already has a romantic partner in her life, but it also doesn’t take long for there to be friction between her and Gibbs during the investigation. Dominguez learned Gibbs failed his psychological evaluation and not only felt he wasn’t ready to become an NIS agent given what had happened to his wife and daughter, but was also concerned that Mike was propping Gibbs up despite the fact that she had so much more experience.
And yet, we know that Dominguez will end up being some important in Gibbs’ life, despite the fact that she was never mentioned on NCIS. That’s explained away at the end of the first part of “Enter Sandman,” as we hear Gibbs saying the below words as he’s writing in his journal about his first NIS investigation:
“This is a story I don’t tell. This is the story of her.”
That last sentence was heard as Lala Dominguez was shown looking at Gibbs at the sight of a fire-lit crime scene. So in the years to come, something will happen between her and Gibbs that will be so personal to him, he didn’t talk about her with anyone else and is only just now comfortable enough to write about it. What’s going to happen with her that will leave such a huge impact on him? And why is he telling this story now? Did Dominguez recently pass away? There are so many questions that need to be answered now, and hopefully NCIS: Origins will run long enough to answer all of them.
NCIS: Origins airs new episodes Mondays at 10 pm ET on CBS. If you can’t watch live, catch up on the show afterwards with your Paramount+ subscription, which will also give you access to all the other series in this procedural franchise.