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Pyramid is the twenty-fourth and final episode in NCIS Season 8 and the 186th episode of the entire NCIS series.

This episode also marks the final appearances of SECNAV Phillip Davenport, NCIS Special Agent Gayne Levin and Lieutenant Jonas Cobb as well as the debut appearance of SECNAV Clayton Jarvis.

Synopsis

As Jonas Cobb, the "Port to Port" killer continues his increasingly vicious campaign of revenge against those responsible for Operation Frankenstein, the NCIS team struggle to stop Cobb once and for all but things spin out of control when Cobb takes two personnel associated with NCIS hostage, forcing the team into a deadly game of cat and mouse against Cobb as they fight to save their kidnapped colleagues before it's too late.

Prologue

The episode opens with a recap of what happened over the previous episode: NCIS Director Leon Vance telling NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs about the Port-to-Port Killer while NCIS Special Agent Erica Jane Barrett tells Gibbs and Anthony DiNozzo that it's her killer, her case.

A bartender gives Tony and NCIS Probationary Agent Ziva David a drink consisting of some liquid in a glass, only for Tony and Ziva to discover it contains a human eyeball.

NCIS Medical Examiner Assistant James Palmer later uses the eyeball and discovers that it can access MTAC.

Meanwhile, Gibbs and DiNozzo meet with CIA agent Trent Kort, the owner of the missing eyeball who tells them that the Port-to-Port Killer has a name: Lieutenant Jonas Cobb.

Later, Cobb emerges and attacks former NIS/NCIS Special Agent Michael Franks before stabbing Franks fatally in the chest with a scalpel before Cobb flees the scene.

Gibbs later cradles Franks' lifeless body and mutters, "Oh, Mike", obviously in disbelief over what's happened.

Vance soon informs EJ and her team of Agents Simon Cade and Gayne Levin to be on high alert and that Cobb is armed and also anticipates their arrival.

Cade and Levin are both shot and hit the ground while Cobb emerges and starts struggling with Barrett.

The recap ends with Cobb and Barrett still struggling with each other while Cobb eventually manages to hold the gun he took from Franks against Barrett's face with Barrett being left horrified at the revelation that Cobb is winning against her.

A few hours later, Gibbs and DiNozzo now wearing NCIS bulletproof vests and wielding flashlights as well as their respective SIG-Sauers arrive at the warehouse and begin searching for Barrett and her team.

As they press on, DiNozzo spots a small orange toy robot on the ground.

Despite that, the two continue searching.

DiNozzo quickly scans the hole that Cobb emerged from but finds nothing.

The two men then arrive at two separate rooms.

DiNozzo takes the one on the left which has the wall laced with photographs of EJ and his team. He also sees Levin lying on the ground, unmoving.

Gibbs takes the one on the right and heads.

In the room, Cade aims his weapon albeit weakly at Gibbs.

Moving quickly, Gibbs holsters his SIG and joins Cade.

In the other room, DiNozzo examines Levin's body where it's clear that Levin is dead, his eyes wide open while there's a pool around his head, suggesting that his neck wound was fatal and that he presumably bled out within seconds of being shot.

Almost immediately, Cade gasps.

"I got it, Cade", Gibbs urges softly. "Lie still".

With that, Gibbs presses some bubble wrap against Cade's shoulder to stop the bleeding.

Meanwhile, DiNozzo is checking on Levin.

In the other room, Cade weakly asks about Levin.

Gibbs looks over and sees DiNozzo looking up with DiNozzo then shaking his head, silently mouthing "No" which officially confirms that Levin is dead.

His flashlight and SIG at the ready, DiNozzo then heads over to join Gibbs and Cade.

As DiNozzo arrives in, he asks about E.J.

Cade weakly rasps that Cobb took her.

DiNozzo attempts to go off but Gibbs calls him back, ordering DiNozzo to stay with Cade.

As DiNozzo takes over, Gibbs tells DiNozzo to keep pressure on it.

"I got it", DiNozzo remarks.

As Gibbs leaves, DiNozzo tells Cade to hang in there and that he's gonna be all right.

Cade lies there, half-conscious.

Gibbs then heads out of the building, his SIG drawn as he searches for any sign of danger.

It then shows an overhead shot of Gibbs standing in front of the building.

Gibbs searches the car park but again, finds nothing.

As a chopper is heard in the background, Gibbs spots an NCIS Dodge Stratus, prompting him to head over, his gun and flashlight both raised.

There's a series of numbers scrawled on the driver's side of the door.

Gibbs searches the front and back seats but finds nothing.

As he heads to the bumper, he finds some kind of bubble or plastic wrap near the lights of the car.

Gibbs attempts to open it but it won't.

Almost instantly, Gibbs then clicks his knife open and manages to get the boot open.

He then finds someone inside, wearing the windbreaker that says "NCIS: Federal Agent" in capital letters.

Gibbs takes a deep breath and then turns the figure over.

It's EJ.

It then cuts to EJ who then starts screaming, her cries muffled by the bubble wrap that is covering her head.

Act One

Act Two

Act Three

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Gibbs aiming his SIG at Navy Lieutenant Jonas Cobb AKA "The Port-to-Port Killer".

Act Four

Act Five

Major Events

  • It's revealed that Levin died and Cade was seriously wounded after the two were shot by Cobb while EJ has survived but has been left traumatized by the event.
  • It's also revealed that E.J. is the niece of SECNAV Phillip Davenport.
  • Rule 16 is revealed to be: "If someone thinks they have the upper hand, break it".
  • It's revealed that Abby has had motion-sense lights installed in her lab, lights that can be turned on or off whenever she claps her hands.
  • It's also shown that Vance has had his office modified to have a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility or SCIF so that even the most secretive of cases or information can be discussed without any outside interference.
  • The team later bid farewell to Mike Franks who is buried with full military honors.
  • Following the stand-off between Gibbs, Vance and Jonas Cobb that ends with Gibbs and Vance shooting Cobb dead, Davenport resigns from the position of SECNAV for good.
  • Davenport's replacement, Clayton Jarvis, an old friend of Vance's, is introduced for the first time.

Trivia

  • Kerr Smith who plays Jonas Cobb is credited as a Special Guest Star although in the episode, he's credited as "Special Guest Starring" which is a possible mistake.
  • The song playing during Mike's funeral is "Caught by the Light" by the Boxer Rebellion.
  • Most of the NCIS team are in attendance at Franks's funeral while Ziva and Palmer are absent, Ziva due to the fact that she's with Ray at the Navy Yard during the funeral and Palmer is presumably off recovering from when he, Barrett and Kort were hold hostage by Cobb.
  • This is the last NCIS finale episode to be directed by either Thomas J. Wright or Dennis Smith who had previously directed the NCIS finale episodes over the last eight years. British director Tony Wharmby would go onto to direct the next NCIS Season finale episode, a pattern which continued up until the NCIS Season 17 premiere episode, Out of the Darkness (episode).

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.
Donald Mallard David McCallum Chief Medical Examiner of the NCIS Major Case Response Team.

Recurring Cast

Name Portrayed by Role
James Palmer Brian Dietzen Assistant Medical Examiner.
Michael Franks Muse Watson Former Supervisory Agent of NIS/NCIS, he was killed in the previous episode.
Trent Kort David Dayan Fisher Special Agent with the CIA.
Leyla Shakarji Tehmina Sunny Daughter in-law of Mike Franks and Liam O'Neill's widow.
Phillip Davenport Jude Ciccolella Secretary of the Navy who resigns after the events surrounding Jonas Cobb, the Port-to-Port Killer.
Pamela Cook Vera Miao Vance's Secretary.
Erica Jane Barrett Sarah Jane Morris (actress) Special Agent in Charge of a team formerly based in Rota, Spain.
Simon Cade Matt Willig NCIS Special Agent attached to Barrett's MCRT previously stationed in Rota.
Gayne Levin Alimi Ballard NCIS Special Agent attached to Barrett's MCRT previously stationed in Rota. Shot and killed by Jonas Cobb.
Ray Cruz Enrique Murciano Ziva's boyfriend who is also an agent with the CIA.
Jonas Cobb Kerr Smith Lieutenant in the United States Navy and also the Port-to-Port Killer.

Other Cast

Name Portrayed by Role
Clayton Jarvis Matt Craven The new Secretary of the Navy or SECNAV who replaces Philip Davenport.
  v - e - dNCIS Season 8
Spider and the Fly (episode)Worst Nightmare (episode)Short Fuse (episode)Royals and Loyals (episode)Dead Air (episode)Cracked (episode)Broken Arrow (episode)Enemies Foreign (episode)Enemies Domestic (episode)False Witness (episode)Ships in the Night (episode)Recruited (episode)Freedom (episode)A Man Walks into a Bar (episode)Defiance (episode)Kill Screen (episode)One Last Score (episode)Out of the Frying Pan (episode)Tell-All (episode)Two-Faced (episode)Dead Reflection (episode)Baltimore (episode)Swan Song (episode)Pyramid (episode)
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