Double Identity is the seventeenth episode in NCIS Season 7 and the 155th episode of the entire NCIS series.
Synopsis
A man stumbles out of a park, having been shot and the team discover that he's a Marine who went missing in action during a mission in Afghanistan six years previously. During the investigation, the team soon learn that the Marine now has two completely separate lives and that he's also married to two different women but the case becomes a murder investigation after the man dies while Tony interviews him, prompting the team to search for the one responsible for shooting the former Marine and as that happens, Ducky's strange behavior has the team, Abby and Ziva especially concerned.
Prologue
An overhead shot of Washington D.C. shows that a big storm is about to erupt.
As John Mellencamp—Someday, The Rains Will Fall, an SUV drives through a puddle before stopping in front of a small river while also revealing the car belongs to a forest ranger assigned to the Rock Creek National.
In the SUV and just as the song continues playing on the radio, Park Ranger Will Elliot switches off the engine and takes out a doughnut which he prepares to eat.
As Will takes a sip of his coffee, the announcer remarks that this is Fresh FM 94.7 in Washington and that speaking of rain, the weatherman tells them that rains are going to continue to fall for the rest of the week.
Will then switches off the radio.
His cell phone which has the tone of a duck quacking then begins ringing.
"What, dear?", Will wonders, answering it.
"Did you apologize to Mom?", his wife asks.
Will remarks no and that he didn't apologize to her mother.
His wife remarks that her mother's going to leave.
"Good", Will states. "Let her go home".
Suddenly, a gunshot shatters the peace, startling Will.
As his wife wonders what that was, Will tells her that he can't talk.
He then hangs up and dumps his phone onto the seat just as a second gunshot is heard.
Seconds later, a third gunshot shatters the window of the SUV, causing Will to grunt in pain and surprise. He then gets out of the SUV, remarking "What the Hell?".
Having ducked for cover, Will now holds his gun.
He then looks around as a fourth gunshot is heard.
Looking up, Will glances around but there's no one around or in sight at least.
Suddenly, he sees someone emerging from the bushes, prompting Will to spring up, his gun drawn as he yells at the person to hold it right there.
However, the figure who is a man dressed in jogging clothes keeps on walking towards Will before stopping.
Will just looks at the man, stunned.
The man then removes his hand from his side, revealing the presence of blood.
Seconds later, the man collapses to the ground, presumably having suffered a great deal of blood loss.
It then cuts to the man who lies on the ground, unconscious.
Act One
Act Two
As John Mayne lies unconscious in his hospital bed, Dr. Adam Tallridge tells the nurse to page him if there's any change before leaving the room.
As soon as Tallridge has left the room, Gibbs approaches Tallridge and wonders when they can talk with Mayne.
Tallridge admits that he doesn't know because one bullet grazed Mayne's forehead and another went deep into Mayne's lower left abdomen before stating that Mayne's lost a lot of blood. He also reveals that one of the bullets is embedded close to Mayne's spine which means that it would be far too dangerous to operate at this time.
Act Three
Act Four
Ziva after taking photographs of Marine Major Gordon Holcomb who was seen embracing Leah Mayne, the wife/widower of murdered Marine First Lieutenant John Mayne AKA "Christian Wells".
Act Five
Major Events
- It's revealed that Ducky's mother has passed away.
- Despite Gibbs making a deal with the Metro detective in The Inside Man (episode), it's shown that the record of McGee breaking into the Metro Police compound still hasn't been expunged.
- McGee is seen using a mobile fingerprint scanner for the first time.
Cast
Series Regulars
| Name | Portrayed by | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Leroy Jethro Gibbs | Mark Harmon | Special Agent in charge of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
| Anthony DiNozzo | Michael Weatherly | Senior Agent and second-in-command of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
| Ziva David | Cote de Pablo | NCIS Probationary Agent and also a member of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
| Timothy McGee | Sean Murray (actor) | Junior Special Agent of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
| Abigail Sciuto | Pauley Perrette | Chief Forensic Specialist of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
| Leon Vance | Rocky Carroll | Director of NCIS. Despite being credited, Carroll does not appear in this episode. |
| Donald Mallard | David McCallum | Chief Medical Examiner of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
Guest Cast
| Name | Portrayed by | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Pete Iger | Joe Guzaldo | A Private Investigator. |
| John Mayne | Ryan McCann | Also known as Christian Wells and a former First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. |
| Leah Mayne | Susan Misner | Wife of John Mayne/Christian Wells. |
| Rachel Wells | Christine Lakin | Married John Mayne while he was under his new identity of "Christian Wells". |
| Adam Tallridge | Alex Hyde-White | Doctor. |
| Gordon Holcomb | Michael Rose | Major in the United States Marine Corps. |
| Matthew Gontz | John Edward Lee | Former Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps who was on the mission John Mayne went MIA in. |
| Ruth Corruthers | Virginia Watson | Nurse who helped treat John Mayne. |
| Edward Killian | Wolfgang Bodison | National Park Inspector. |
| Will Elliott | Robert Maxhimer | National Park Officer. |
| Sanchez | Lauren Sánchez | NCIS Special Agent. |
| ICU Doctor | Sarah Lewis |