Family First is the 24th episode of NCIS Season 13 and the 306th episode of the entire NCIS series.
This episode also marks the final regular appearance of Michael Weatherly as NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo Junior and the final appearance to date of Sarah Clarke as FBI Special Agent Tess Monroe.
Synopsis
In the aftermath of the attack on the David farmhouse that has resulted in the assumed death of former NCIS Special Agent Ziva David, greatly devastating the NCIS team, they continue working alongside their counterparts in the FBI and MI6 as they conduct an international manhunt for disgraced agent Trent Kort while Tony finds his life being turned upside down by an unexpected revelation.
Prologue
Act One
Act Two
Act Three
Act Four
Act Five
Major Events
- It's revealed that Ziva is presumed to have been killed in the mortar attack on the David farmstead. However, in the Season 16 episode She, Ziva is revealed to be still alive after Special Agent Eleanor Bishop finds a note in Ziva’s office which says that Ziva faked her death to protect Tony and Tali from Mira Sahar Azam who is putting Tony, Tali, and Ziva herself in grave danger. Throughout Season 17, Ziva is able to identify locate and eliminate Sahar (AKA Sarah, Phineas’s mother) thanks to the help of Gibbs, McGee, Vance, Ducky, Jimmy, Sloane, Bishop, Kasie, and Torres.
- Mossad Director Orli Elbaz later returns and reveals that after Ziva left NCIS, that she and Tony had a child together, a little girl named Tali.
- Fornell regains consciousness although it's revealed that he needs extensive therapy before he fully recovers from the injuries he sustained during the attack at Gibbs's house.
- The NCIS team along with FBI agent Tess Monroe later track down and subsequently kill disgraced CIA agent Trent Kort in a stand-off when Kort attempts to shoot MI6 officer Clayton Reeves.
- Tony later resigns from the NCIS team for good, giving up his position as Senior Field Agent of the team as he wants to devote his time to taking care of his daughter.
- With Tony's resignation, McGee is promoted to Senior Field Agent, becoming the second-in-command of the NCIS Major Case Response Team.
Trivia
- This is the second season finale episode, after the NCIS Season 11 finale episode Honor Thy Father (episode), not to end on a cliffhanger.
- At the time of release, this episode would become the highest rated NCIS episode on IMDb, with a rating of 9.2 stars, remaining like that for eight years. However, it was later surpassed by the NCIS Season 21 episode, The Stories We Leave Behind (episode), which received an IMDb rating of 9.7 stars.
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 Junior | Michael Weatherly | Senior Special Agent and second-in-command of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. Later resigns from both the team and NCIS for good in the last few minutes of the episode to take care of his daughter, Tali. |
Timothy McGee | Sean Murray | Special Agent of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
Abigail Sciuto | Pauley Perrette | Chief Forensic Specialist for the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
James Palmer | Brian Dietzen | Assistant Medical Examiner for the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
Eleanor Bishop | Emily Wickersham | NCIS Probationary Agent. |
Leon Vance | Rocky Carroll | Director of NCIS. |
Donald Mallard | David McCallum | Chief Medical Examiner for the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
Recurring Cast
Name | Portrayed by | Role |
---|---|---|
Anthony DiNozzo Senior | Robert Wagner | Tony's father. |
Tobias Fornell | Joe Spano | An FBI agent, currently wounded from an attack by Kort. |
Trent Kort | David Dayan Fisher | An agent with the CIA and the real killer who framed Jacob Scott. |
Emily Fornell | Juliette Angelo | Tobias Fornell's daughter. |
Jacob Scott | Vince Nappo | A disgraced British spy who was framed by Trent Kort. |
Tess Monroe | Sarah Clarke | An agent with the FBI. |
Clayton Reeves | Duane Henry | An officer with MI6. |
Orli Elbaz | Marina Sirtis | Director of Mossad. |
Grace Confalone | Laura San Giacomo | A therapist. |
Katrina Griffin | Mia Barron | A Doctor. |
Ziva David | Cote de Pablo | A former NCIS Special Agent and Mossad Liaison Officer to NCIS who was supposedly killed in the mortar attack. Appears in the episode via archive footage and flashbacks. Uncredited role. |
Correspondent | Salome Azizi | Israeli Correspondent with ZNN. |
Other Cast
Name | Portrayed by | Role |
---|---|---|
Harris Cobb | William Duffy | A head security officer. |
Kohl | Yorgos Karamihos | An Interpol officer. |
Tali David-DiNozzo | Emelia and Layla Golfieri | Tony and Ziva's daughter. |
Edgar Polk | Christopher Boyer | Doctor. |