SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 1.

Last season, NCIS: Origins was a breath of fresh air within the NCIS franchise. Some fans questioned why a Gibbs prequel was needed when CBS had already been ended multiple spinoffs. But Origins succeeded because it was much more than just Gibbs’ story, and the Season 2 premiere reinforces that idea.

NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 1, “The Funky Bunch” has to resolve a cliffhanger, just like the NCIS premiere. But that’s where the similarities end—because Origins‘ character-driven storytelling makes the cliffhanger only one part of its narrative. Audiences learn very quickly that Lala Dominguez survived her car accident, and what injuries she suffered. The narration from Mark Harmon also explains what happened to the NIS team during her absence. It’s a quick catch-up, and from there the episode has space to tell a new story. Within that story are then threads of Lala’s return and how it affects her colleagues.

There is a case of the week to solve as a matter of course, and it bears a few unintentional similarities to the FBI Season 8 premiere. Both stories involve insular communities of disgruntled people, and in both cases it’s one of the community members who committed the crime, and that person is called out or turned in by the leader of their group. In “The Funky Bunch,” a young Marine named Thomas Meyers is attacked over his expensive sneakers—and then tragically seals his fate by stumbling into an animal snare. It’s a plot that combines hazing and a robbery gone wrong to make something different. The scene in which Meyers’ commanding officer admits that he got a phone call to come get the other man, and instead told him to go back into the woods, is genuinely saddening.

But the real meat of the premiere isn’t getting the band back together; it’s how the band gets back together. The process is as important, if not moreso, than the result. A newly demoted Cliff Wheeler is forced to work as a field agent, and actor Patrick Fischler plays up Wheeler’s awkwardness at every opportunity. Chad Powers and King of the Hill alum Toby Huss returns as Barnett to make that subplot more interesting. Randy Randolf’s desk job isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and Mike Franks is naturally voicing his displeasure.

Yet it’s the Gibbs and Lala dynamic that’s at center stage. Professionally he’s trying to protect her too much, which she naturally hates—and personally, Mary Jo tells Lala that the only reason Gibbs is dating his future ex-wife Diane is because he’s afraid of losing Lala. That’s a big bombshell to drop for NCIS fans and it’s safe to say that won’t be the only time the subject gets addressed.

Some of the comic relief bits go just a step too far; audiences can debate if the use of “Good Vibrations” in an episode-ending montage is funny or corny, and both sides can be right. Yet “The Funky Bunch” is a strong way to illustrate the point Gibbs makes at the end: the team needs all of its parts to function. It shows how they all play off one another, including Wheeler and even Gary Callahan. The NCIS: Origins Season 2 premiere restores the status quo, but viewers also come away feeling like they know the characters a little bit better. This series has found its own niche and is definitely far more than just a prequel.

NCIS: Origins airs Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Photo Credit: Courtesy of CBS.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.