Throughout nearly two full seasons so far, NCIS: Origins viewers have learned a lot about Leroy Jethro Gibbs, his personal life, and how he was molded into the legendary special agent and leader played by Mark Harmon seen in the mothership series. From explaining his rules to exploring his short-lived marriage to Diane (Kathleen Kenny), nearly every aspect of the Gibbs mythos has been touched on in some way. However, one thing the Austin Stowell-led prequel show has yet to reveal is the exact origin of his signature head slap, as typically employed on Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) whenever he gets off track. It’s been known for years that Gibbs’ former NIS boss, Michael Franks (Kyle Schmid), was the first to employ it, but this week, fans will finally get to see it in action.

Ahead of its premiere tomorrow, May 5, Collider can exclusively share a sneak peek at the Origins Season 2 finale, titled “Hollywood Ending.” The episode finds the Camp Pendleton office in danger of closing its doors for good, leaving the fate of Franks’ rag-tag team uncertain. Shutting down the station would scatter everyone, including Gibbs, to the wind to other NIS offices across the country. As seen in the promo, though, there may be a plan to keep the band together amid the government agency’s naming overhaul to officially become the NCIS. While they await their fate, they still have a job to do, but that’s easier said than done for everyone.

Our footage opens on Gibbs, Randy (Caleb Foote), and Lala (Mariel Molino) gathered around a map they’ve pinned to their evidence board, locating other potential NIS offices they could be transferred to. When Franks walks in, the last thing he wants is for his team to be thinking about Naples, Italy, or Guantánamo Bay when they have two dead sons of a Marine mom to investigate. To drive home how much he needs them all locked in, he gives Gibbs a very familiar slap on the back of the head and chews out Randy before getting down to business. The case at hand saw the two boys shot and killed for trespassing after they were dared to steal wine from a warehouse.

However, they don’t exactly know who owns the warehouse and is selling the stolen product, considering the name listed is a front. Before they’re done, Randy almost earns himself a slap when asking his boss if he could assure a transfer to Naples, but Franks doesn’t want it to become a thing. Alas, it would, indeed, become a very memorable thing, though not entirely by his hand.

The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you’re complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.

You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world’s indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you’re willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family’s weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what’s yours, you don’t escalate — you finish it. You’re not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone’s world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn’t make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.

You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You’re a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they’ll do to get it. You’re not naive enough to think this world is fair. You’re smart enough to be the one deciding who it’s fair to.

You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you’re not above reminding people that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they’d be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they’re more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don’t need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.

You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you’re the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky’s world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You’ve made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.

CBS didn’t leave much room to wonder about NCIS: Origins’ fate this year, picking up the prequel, the flagship NCIS, and NCIS: Sydney for new seasons back in January. It was far from a surprise, as the entire franchise has been a beloved and popular mainstay for the network. This fall, Origins will also be joined by a new branch of the team, NCIS: New York, marking the return of LL COOL J’s Sam Hanna to television. However, the next chapter in Gibbs’ story won’t look quite the same next season. Not only is co-creator and co-showrunner Gina Lucita Monreal not returning for Season 3, but Origins is one of four programs that CBS is reducing the episode count of for the coming broadcast season, alongside Fire Country, Matlock, and *NCIS: *Sydney. The shortened run will only last ten episodes, but it’ll feature much of the same case-of-the-week storytelling and exploration of Gibbs’ past.

The NCIS: Origins Season 2 finale airs on May 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Check out our exclusive sneak peek in the player above.

](/tag/action/)

CBS

Niels Arden Oplev, John Terlesky, Diana Valentine, Edward Ornelas, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Lionel Coleman, Loren Yaconelli, Pete Chatmon, Pamela Romanowsky, Ruben Garcia, Jessica Lowrey

Austin Stowell

Special Agent Mike Franks