Silent Night is the eleventh episode of NCIS Season 6 and the 124th episode of the entire NCIS series.
Synopsis
Working on a double homicide over Christmas, the team investigate a Navy Petty Officer, Ned Quinn, who was thought to have died in a fire seventeen years ago and they discover a shocking secret about what really happened at the crime scene.
Prologue
With Jiggle Bells playing in the background, a car with the sign "Lily's Flowers and Exotic Plants" arrives at a house that's been decorated for Christmas.
The driver, Greg, wearing a earpiece and holding a clipboard gets out of the car, stating to the person that he can't and that he's still working.
He then remarks that this is his big week with Greg remarking that he made more tips today than all last month.
As he opens the boot, Greg tells the person that he's got four more deliveries and as he grabs a bouquet, he tells the person that he'll hook up with them around 7 before Greg closes the boot again.
Greg laughs, remarking, "Yeah, whatever" before he ends the call.
He then heads up the steps and rings the doorbell but there's no response.
Greg instead settles for knocking rather loudly on the door.
He then peeks inside the window and sees the owners, Avery Taylor and Avery's wife, Mrs. Taylor, both lying on the floor, dead.
A close-up shows that Avery has a bad head wound while Mrs. Taylor just lies there, lifeless.
Suddenly, someone appears, startling Greg.
It then cuts to a glimpse of the stranger's face who looks back at Greg.
Act One
Ducky after learning that he was the one who performed the autopsy on Navy Petty Officer Ned Quinn.
Act Two
In the bullpen, McGee is talking about Ned Quinn and how Quinn graduated with honors with the University of Virginia and that Quinn was accepted to its medical school but didn't go, choosing to enlist in the Navy where he became a corpsman instead and was attached to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines.
"The Walking Dead", Gibbs states.
Act Three
Act Four
Act Five
Watching Ned and his family bond, a satisfied Gibbs dials a number.
His father answers and Gibbs says, "Merry Christmas, Dad".
"Merry Christmas, Son" replies Jackson.
Trivia
- This was the most watched episode of the first 6 seasons with 19.86 million viewers and it was also NCIS's largest audience until it was surpassed by the Season 7 premiere episode, Truth or Consequences (episode), and the second episode in Season 7, Reunion (episode).
Cast
Series Regulars
| Name | Portrayed by | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Leroy Jethro Gibbs | Mark Harmon | NCIS 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. |
| Ziva David | Cote de Pablo | Mossad/NCIS Liaison Officer and 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 | Forensic Specialist associated with the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
| Leon Vance | Rocky Carroll | Director of NCIS. |
| Donald Mallard | David McCallum | Chief Medical Examiner associated with the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
Recurring Cast
| Name | Portrayed by | Occupation |
|---|---|---|
| James Palmer | Brian Dietzen | Assistant Medical Examiner, NCIS. |
| Jackson Gibbs | Ralph Waite | Father of NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and owner of Stillwater General Store. An uncredited voice-over in the concluding scenes of this episode. |
Guest Cast
| Name | Portrayed by | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Ned Quinn | Peter Coyote | Petty Officer in the United States Navy. |
| Connie Quinn Wheeler | Kay Lenz | Ex-wife of Ned Quinn. |
| Melissa Wheeler Fox | Carla Gallo | Ned Quinn's daughter. |
| Justin Kemp | Ryan Bittle | Detective with the Metro Police and son in-law of a rival of the victims, whose wife had an affair with DiNozzo. |
| Harvey Ames | Eric Stonestreet | Security Guard who works for the security service that patrols the Taylor's subdivison and is the one responsible for killing the Taylors. |
| Greg | Wesley Jonathan | Delivery boy who sees Ned Quinn at the crime scene along with the bodies of the dead couple. |
| Hector | Billy Stevenson | A man who appears in the episode. |
| Pryor | Charles Carroll | Psychiatrist and Quinn's former therapist who was treating him for PTSD. |