NCIS: Origins is finally back on the air tonight, hopefully along with answers to the first season's finale cliffhanger. The last episode of the inaugural season 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.
And though fans will have to wait at least until the series returns to CBS at 9pm EST on Tuesday night, Austin himself already gave a bit of a hint regarding just how much of Lala we'll see in season two.
© Getty"Lala will be back in some capacity," Austin confirmed to TVLine, adding: "She went through a terrible accident and anybody who would go through something like that, there are going to be adjustments and baby steps coming back into the workplace," seemingly confirming that Lala will in fact be back working at the NCIS Camp Pendleton office.
Still, though his comment about coming back to the workplace did come across as confirmation that Lala is in fact alive — Mariel had also previously shared photos back on set — Austin noted it was all hypothetical. Nonetheless, he maintained "it would be a tragedy" as well as a "disservice to the show" to lose Mariel as Lala, and emphasized: "I don't think that Lala and Gibbs' story is done, we need to see that through."
Back in July, co-showrunners David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal also spoke to TVLine about how and when Austin's version of Gibbs will start taking on a stronger leadership role. "We're inching our way there, definitely, in a way that we think is honest for the character," they said, adding: "I mean, just take the fact that in Season 1, we know Gibbs' gut was churning a little bit about Bugs and thinking, 'Maybe there's more to this story?'"
© CBS"But Gibbs didn't go down that path, he didn't gnaw at Franks and say, 'Hey, my gut…' — and he learned in the end he was right," David went on, and emphasized: "Those are all stepping stones toward becoming the Gibbs that we met in 2003," he emphasized, referring to the year Mark took on the character when NCIS first premiered.
© Getty ImagesAustin also recently spoke with Deadline about the role, admitting it's still nerve-wracking playing a younger version of Mark Harmon's character — but that he's okay with that. "I was scared for so many reasons," he said, explaining: "There were just so many first times. For me, it was the first time doing a network TV show, first time playing a character that had already been portrayed before me, first time to be number one on a call sheet."
© Getty"I'm someone who likes pressure; I like to be put in that situation. I want the ball in my hands at the bottom of the ninth. I feel like I do thrive in that situation," he added, however, he noted: "I don't think I'll ever quite get comfortable because, at the end of the day, Gibbs will always be Mark Harmon's character, and I'm playing the younger version of that."
