Robert Knepper guest-starred on NCIS Season 13 Episode 2, coming on board TV’s highest-rated show as as Benson Long, an elusive drug-runner who has opened up shop near Quantico.
He has been DEA Agent Luis Mitchell’s main target for years.
Mitchell turns to Gibbs and company after one of his new recruits, Sergeant Cole Gleason, misses a meeting in regard to Long, with Gibbs agreeing because he “doesn’t forget his debts.”
It’s pretty clear he has some kind of connection to Mitchell.
Mitchell and Gibbs end up taking in Fisher Hyland, an associate of Long’s. He tells them about a gathering where drug dealers get rid of their product quickly. This seems like an ideal place to dump a body due to the influx of fingerprints in the area.
Gibbs benches Tony as they go to investigate, telling his subordinate to comb through DEA files at his desk.
This is how he discovers that Mitch is the son of the NIS agent who died protecting Gibbs and his daughter and this is why he tells Gibbs not to pursue the case, fearing that Gibbs would be willing to die in order to save Mitch.
But Gibbs isn’t hearing any of that.
Later on, another discovery, this one made by Bishop:
Long was the one running things in Pendleton back in the day; Benson was his boss. Tony confronts Gibbs with this information, accusing him and Mitch of seeking revenge for their families.
In the end, with Long cornered and Mitch’s gun drawn on him, Gibbs actually talks his friend out of shooting their nemesis, leading Tony and McGee to make the arrest.
We then go out to California, where – after joining Mitch in spreading his father’s ashes – Gibbs pays a visit to what was once his home, the one he shared with his family.
Has he checked out? Per an earlier conversation, does he want Tony to take over as boss? Will Gibbs ever be the same?
These are the questions we’ll be pondering as we head into NCIS Season 13 Episode 3 next week.
Until then, we encourage readers to visit our friends at TV Fanatic and watch NCIS online in order to stay fresh.