NCIS: Hawai'i returned from its hiatus on Monday night and while fans were pleased to see the long-running drama back on their screens, they couldn't help but notice the absence of Yasmine Al-Bustami's Lucy Tara.
The actress has been missing from the show in recent episodes, prompting fans to take to Twitter to question her absence.
One person wrote: "Lucy's desk looks lonely #NCISHawaii," while another added: "I don't get this show and why they basically give no explanation for Lucy (a main character) not being in several episodes. other than when she was on the boat, I see no reason why she's gone that makes any sense??"
© CBSA third person tweeted: "Why isn't Lucy there helping?"
Late last year, it was announced that Yasmine would be absent for a few episodes of season two. Her character, Lucy, left Hawai'i after accepting a job as a Special Agent Afloat in episode seven before returning to the island eight episodes later in the 15th instalment of the season.
At the time, it was revealed that Yasmine had temporarily departed the drama to fulfill other work obligations, including filming for the historical drama series, The Chosen.
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We can assume that Lucy is missing from current episodes because they were filmed when Yasmine was away from the show.
Chatting to TV Line about her absence earlier this year, she said: "I was able to get back to the mainland, which was really nice for me, just to spend some time with my friends and my family and do some travels, and to fulfill some work obligations."
© CBSWhen asked if she was filming episodes of The Chosen during her time off, she said: "I'm happy that I was able to get some time to work with those guys also, because I love those guys. Any time that it works out, I jump on it, for sure."
While we don't know exactly when Lucy will reappear, we're certain that she'll be back for the season finale, which consists of two parts. The first finale episode will air on 15 May, while the second will be broadcast on 22 May.
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