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South by Southwest is the seventeenth episode in NCIS Season 6 and also the 130th episode of the entire NCIS series.

Synopsis

When an NCIS Special Agent is killed, the team's investigation sends Gibbs and Tony to Arizona where with the help with a local Sheriff, they seek to find a woman that the Agent contacted before his death, only to learn that those responsible for killing the Agent are now targeting the woman as well.

Prologue

A self-cleaning truck roams a lone street of Washington D.C.

As it drives off into the night, Jack Patterson races through the street, carrying a Trans-Ex package and once he reaches a post-box, he slaps something on the package before scribbling something down as well.

Suddenly, the sound of screeching tires gets Patterson's attention and he looks up to see an SUV approaching.

Patterson then dumps the package into the postbox and tries to walk off, only for the SUV to start following.

Patterson runs down the street, his hand on his holster.

At the SUV, the window has rolled down and the driver then fires a single shot just as Patterson prepares to draw his SIG.

The shot causes Patterson to sink to his knees.

The driver fires again, the second shot sending Patterson to the ground and causing Patterson to drop his SIG.

The SUV then stops.

The driver gets out, places Patterson's right hand over Patterson's chest before the driver aims his gun at the back of Patterson's head and fires, the third and final shot presumably killing Patterson.

After a single turn, the SUV speeds off into the night.

It then cuts to the badge on Patterson's belt which on close-up reveals that Patterson is an agent with the Naval Criminal Investigation Service or "NCIS".

Act One

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Abby after telling Gibbs that the murder victim, NCIS Special Agent Jack Patterson was coming to see her.

Act Two

In the lab, with photos of Patterson on her monitor, Abby remembers Agent Jack Patterson and states that's not what she thought he looked like.

Gibbs then tells her that she said that she knew him.

Abby remarks that they had a very special phone relationship and that Patterson would email her forensic evidence with Abby emailing him back results and that he would call her or she'd call him.

Act Three

Act Four

Act Five

Trivia

  • The song playing when Gibbs and DiNozzo arrive in Arizona is "Tomorrow Still Comes" by Will Dailey.
  • During the episode, DiNozzo compares Uncle Clive and he to Al Pacino and Chris O'Donnell in Scent of a Woman. Chris O'Donnell joined the NCIS franchise, playing NCIS Special Agent G. Callen five episodes later with the two backdoor episodes eventually serving as a beginning for the first ever NCIS spin-off series, "NCIS: Los Angeles" with the show running for fourteen seasons from September 2009 to May 2023.

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 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. Despite being credited, Carroll does not appear in this episode.
Donald Mallard David McCallum Chief Medical Examiner associated with the NCIS Major Case Response Team.

Guest Cast

Name Portrayed by Role
Jack Patterson Matt Miller NCIS Special Agent and the main murder victim.
Clay Boyd Lance Henriksen County Sheriff who helps Gibbs and DiNozzo find Dina Risi.
Dina Risi Mira Furlan Artist and a friend of Jack Patterson.
Weidman Patrick St. Esprit Zell's commanding officer and a Commander in the United States Navy.
Richard Zell Robert Ri'chard Seaman in the United States Navy confined aboard the USS George Washington.
Roy (South by Southwest) Zach Lewis NCIS Mail Clerk.
Jerome Sax Tim Guinee An assassin responsible for Agent Patterson's murder who also impersonates Bart Lemming.
Uniformed Cop 1 Aaron Norvell Police Officer.
Uniformed Cop 2 John Roderick Davidson Police Officer.
Bart Lemming Barry Livingston The real Bart Lemming, resulting in the team discovering that the Bart Lemming they were talking to was an impostor.
Hillbilly Martin Taylor Uncredited role.
Extra Bridgette Trevino Uncredited role.
  vedNCIS Season 6
Last Man Standing (episode)Agent Afloat (episode)Capitol Offense (episode)Heartland (episode)Nine Lives (episode)Murder 2.0 (episode)Collateral Damage (episode)Cloak (episode)Dagger (episode)Road Kill (episode)Silent Night (episode)Caged (episode)Broken Bird (episode)Love and War (episode)Deliverance (episode)Bounce (episode)South by Southwest (episode)Knockout (episode)Hide and Seek (episode)Dead Reckoning (episode)Toxic (episode)Legend (Part 1) (episode)Legend (Part 2) (episode)Semper Fidelis (episode)Aliyah (episode)
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