Viewers of NCIS: Origins were left with quite the devastating cliffhanger earlier this week when the first season came to an end.
Monday night's episode concluded with a heartbreaking final shot, which saw Special Agent Lala Dominguez's (played by Mariel Molino) seemingly lifeless body following a fiery car crash. She had been on her way to tell Leroy Jehtro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) the good news about her conversation with Lara Macy (Claire Berger), who agreed to drop the investigation into Pedro Hernandez's murder, letting Gibbs off the hook.
The older version of Gibbs, narrated by Mark Harmon, who originated the role, is then heard saying: "[She] was coming to tell me she had saved me. I would only find out later what she did for me. But that's not what made me love her. I loved her all along. I still do."
© GettyAnd while it certainly left fans believing this was the end of the road for Lala, showrunners David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal maintain the next season will still feature many of fans' beloved characters.
Speaking with TV Insider about Lala's storyline, David first said: "Going into this project, Gina and I knew we wanted to take big swings," adding: "Amy Reisenbach at the network has just been so supportive, everyone at the network and David Stapf at the studio."
He went on: "Mariel, the whole cast knew what we were doing, that we were going to take big swings and they just show up every day and are willing to do the work at an exceptional level," however he then teased: "And all that said, tune into Season 2 to see Lala's fate."
© GettyStill, they were less coy about the future of another character, that of Bernard "Randy" Randolph, who is played by Caleb Foote, and whose character's future in the field was also put into question.
Asked whether anyone is "definitely" leaving between seasons, David said: "I will say that Gina and I are always kicking these ideas around. We're always revising, and there's never been once in the first season that we've looked at each other and said, 'You know what? There's too much Randy in that episode.'"
© GettyHe then maintained: "There's going to be plenty of Randy, I promise you," and gushed: "And all of these actors, we just pinch ourselves. They're so phenomenal."
"The characters have really come to life. Sometimes when Gina writes especially, I'll get these scripts and they just pop off the page. We're excited to see everyone and come back and find out the fate of Lala as well."
© GettyA spin-off of NCIS — which is still running, though which Mark (who played Leroy for 19 seasons) left in 2021 — Origins follows a young Leroy in the early 1990s, just starting his career at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office.
The series, which airs on CBS, also features Kyle Schmid, Diany Rodríguez, Patrick Fischler and Bobby Moynihan, among others, and in addition to being narrated by Mark, he also serves as executive producer.
