Nancy Travis’ NCIS debut as Harriet Parker left one character’s life in mortal danger — with Harriet holding the power to save them.
Warning: Spoilers below from NCIS season 23, episode 1.
During the season 23 premiere, which aired on Tuesday, October 14, fans got a glimpse into Special Agent in Charge Alden Parker’s (Gary Cole) childhood with sister Harriet (Travis), as they both processed the murder of their father, Roman (Francis X. McCarthy), in their own way.
Alden was the troubled teen, who pushed his dad’s buttons, while his sister followed the rules and worried about how Alden’s run-ins with the law were affecting their dad.
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While Alden had a good relationship with his dad prior to his death — which viewers saw play out during the season 22 finale in May — his sister didn’t appear to think he changed.
After dodging Harriet’s calls and getting benched by Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll) amid his father’s murder investigation, Harriet arrived at NCIS headquarters in Washington, D.C. The three-star admiral was stern, buttoned up and not a fan of her brother when she picked up their father’s personal effects from Chief Medical Examiner Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen).
“He must’ve been so proud, both of his kids serving their country,” Jimmy told Harriet when she asked about where her dad’s mug with Naval stickers everywhere was in his personal items.
Harriet quipped, “My brother couldn’t have worn the uniform even if he wanted to,” referring to Alden’s juvenile record, which she made clear was worse than any of his NCIS team members knew.
“People do change,” Jimmy told Harriet, to which she responded, “Some do and others just stay stuck in the same loop.”
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Throughout the episode, Alden remained committed to catching Nexus cartel leader Carla Morino (Rebecca De Mornay), who shot his dad in his house after kidnapping Aldean during the season 2 finale. His tension with his sister, however, remained on his mind.
“She followed the rules, made all the sacrifices, and wore the uniform,” Alden told Special Agent Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) of Harriet.
After Knight pointed out, “And you wear a badge,” Alden explained it’s “not the same thing. Not to her.”
He added that losing their father “makes it easier to point the finger” at who was to blame for his murder — even if it was neither one’s fault.
At the end of the premiere, Alden found himself stowed away on a carrier ship, which Carla was using to get herself out of the country. While the team tried to figure out how to Alden off the ship and take down Carla without anything going awry, Harriet and her team took over the operation.
“NCIS personnel, follow the instructions from my team and then clear the room,” Harriet ordered as the Navy Special Operations took charge.
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During the final moments of the episode, Harriet was ordered to blow the ship out of the water to eliminate Carla and the weapons and personnel tied to active threat networks, which the Navy had been tracking for months.
“My orders are clear: disable or destroy before it clears U.S. waters. Carla Morino tried to detonate a dirty bomb on U.S. soil, command is not giving her a chance to try again,” Harriet said, before Alden’s team tried to talk her down from giving the order.
“Give me another option,” Harriet told Vance, as she stared at the command board. “Yankee 1 and 2, you are cleared hot. Fire!”
The episode ended with an ominous “To be continued” warning.
NCIS airs on CBS Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET followed by NCIS: Origins at 9 p.m. ET and NCIS: Sydney at 10 p.m. ET.