In the first episode of season seven, Ziva is rescued by Gibbs, Tony and McGee and upon her return to Washington, she eventually becomes an NCIS agent after resigning from Mossad for good. Much of the season's story arc then focuses on the Mexican Drug War and Colonel Merton Bell (Robert Patrick), a suspected murderer who hired the lawyer M. Allison Hart to represent him. Hart quickly becomes a thorn in Gibbs' side by regularly showing up and protecting possible suspects while they are being investigated, claiming that they were her clients.
The season draws to a close as Gibbs is later kidnapped by someone working for Paloma Reynosa, the daughter of the late Pedro Hernandez, a drug dealer Gibbs himself shot dead twenty years previously as Hernandez had been responsible for killing Gibbs' first wife Shannon and daughter Kelly. While Gibbs is held prisoner, Paloma informs him that he would work for her or she would have everyone he ever knew and cared about die if he did not go through with her demands.
It also ends in a cliffhanger with Paloma herself traveling to Stillwater and confronting Jackson Gibbs in his shop, leaving his fate unknown.
The series aired alongside season one of NCIS: Los Angeles, and the NCIS episode "Endgame" continued on the events that had taken place in the NCIS: Los Angeles episode "Killshot".
Cast
Main
Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) of the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) assigned to Washington's Navy Yard
The team struggles to move on and find a replacement for Ziva while also searching for answers related to her disappearance. The team believes Ziva to be dead, having been lost at sea on a cargo ship. Tony refused to believe she is dead. After Tony finds evidence, a plan is formed to gather intel and rescue Ziva. Tony and McGee are captured, leaving Gibbs to answer questions about his missing team members.
The team investigates a bachelor party where all three guests are murdered and left in very mysterious circumstances. They zero in on a suspect, a police officer that had been bullied by the three victims during high school. The way that all three victims were found corresponds with the way they had tormented the cop, right down to shaving his head. They also discover that the three victims had used their Navy connections to set up the illegal sale of a decommissioned aircraft, and that the bachelor party was actually a front for the deal to go down during. Meanwhile, Ziva makes her peace with the rest of the team, and deals with her feelings towards Tony, as she apologizes for ever doubting him.
When political blogger Matt Burns is found dead after being pushed off a bridge while following up on a tip, NCIS takes a special interest in his murder investigation. On his blog, Burns had accused NCIS of covering up the murder of a young Naval officer, Rod Arnett, whom Burns suspected of insider trading. Things become even more complicated when they exhume Arnett's body only to find that his body had been stolen. Meanwhile, Ziva resigns from Mossad as she wishes to become a full NCIS Special Agent, but in order for this to happen, Gibbs needs to sign a consent form. The episode ends without revealing whether Gibbs signs the form.
When the bones of a dead Staff Sergeant turned mercenary are found halfway around the world, Ziva is forced to recount the events leading up to her captivity as the accuracy of her report comes into question. Matters are further complicated when Mossad Officer Malachi Ben-Gidon's arrival at NCIS threatens to brand Ziva as the killer.
On Halloween night, the team investigates what appears to be the suicide of Lance Corporal James Korby who is found dead in his car. They soon discover that Korby was actually murdered as his organs were frozen with liquid nitrogen and, when he attempted to breathe, the nitrogen entered his lungs, suffocating him. They later find Korby has scar-tissue from a previous poisoning and Gibbs suspects that his squad-mates, fed up with Korby's jokes, attempted to kill him. Meanwhile, Ziva attempts to come to terms with her new role as an NCIS Probationary Special Agent while Tony begins referring to her as Probie, something she begs him not to do for her sanity but Tony continues anyway.
When Gibbs' boat mysteriously shows up in the San Diego harbor with two dead men in it, Vance, Gibbs and Ducky travel to San Diego knowing this investigation needs to be handled with extreme sensitivity. It turns out Gibbs dropped his boat off to Franks in Mexico but Franks is nowhere to be found. Franks shows up at Gibbs' house with his daughter in law, Leyla (Franks' deceased son's wife), and granddaughter in tow.
When a doctor is found murdered, Director Vance shows up at the crime scene, claiming he's seen the type of murder before. The director confirms that the killer was a North Korean assassin, named Lee Wuan Kai (first seen in the NCIS: Los Angeles episode "Killshot"). The team finds that Kai has left her DNA on the victim's body for them. Meanwhile, McGee's new love interest who isn’t what she seems.
Shortly after an attack on an internet service provider, the power to all of Washington DC is down. When the body of a Navy Armed Forces Entertainment worker is found at the site of the attack, NCIS is called in. However, without power, the team cannot use their modern electronics and must solve the case the old fashioned way. During the case, the team then reflects on how much richer life is without electronics.
After the body of a Marine is discovered in a corn field, the team investigates at a military intelligence base that uses genius children to crack military codes. The team discovers that one of the children is making collages that contain codes with important military secrets that are being sold. Meanwhile, Ducky attempts to convince Gibbs and the team to spend Thanksgiving at his house, in spite of previously made plans.
The team works to solve the murder of a Reverend's son and they soon figure out he may be involved in a hate crime. Gibbs figures out that it was the victim's brother who was the culprit, since he couldn't accept his brother's conversion to Islam. Meanwhile, Gibbs' father returns for Christmas and Gibbs tries to figure out why he has a sudden change in behavior right before the holidays. Also, an old friend of Abby asks McGee for a favour – her nephew (who is living with her) wants to see his mother for Christmas, who is currently on a Marine ship in the Indian Ocean, but only McGee can make it happen.
The episode starts with two forest rangers finding a body at the site of a forest fire. The team investigates and finds out that the pilot was flying a jet-pack and crashed. Ducky discovers that the victim had been poisoned and was already dead long before he put the jetpack on, leading to the team to suspect a third party. During the case, the defense attorney tries to keep Gibbs from talking to her clients. Later, Gibbs discovers that the sly attorney was sent by an old enemy. (This episode ties in with Episode 7x06)
A Saudi prince training with the Navy flight school escapes an assassination attempt when his chauffeur and car were bombed while parked on base. The team discovers that the prince is a less than popular figure with his flight instructors and is estranged from his older brother, an official at the Saudi Embassy, who believes his brother's "Western ways" was the cause of the attack. Meanwhile, Tony's father appears, and reveals he’s a business associate of the prince's father, leading to questions about whether Tony can remain impartial to the case.
Whilst transporting a government witness back from Paris, Tony and Ziva learn from Gibbs and McGee that there is a hitman on their flight intending to kill the witness. Gibbs and McGee work the case of a special ops commander, found dead by this housekeeper, who was supposed to be the hitman.
A Marine is found dead in a car which exploded after being chased by police and traces of radioactive substances are found on the wreckage. The team finds themselves in a race against time when a terrorist group threatens to detonate more dirty bomb in the D.C. area. As the team tries to track down the bombs, their investigation is hampered when Hart returns to represent one of their suspects.
Finding his friend murdered in an alley, Damon Werth approaches Gibbs for help. Gibbs learns from Fornell that their suspects are part of a syndicate illegally trafficking expensive car parts which the FBI has been investigating for some time. Werth and Ziva go undercover while the rest of the team hit the road to track down the ringleader of the operation.
Secrets arise when Gibbs' former mother-in-law Joanne Fielding (Gena Rowlands) surfaces as a witness in a murder investigation. The victim, a Navy captain, was involved with the same drug cartel that killed Gibbs' first wife and child. His mother-in-law eventually admits that she killed the captain in revenge for her daughter and granddaughter's death, and Gibbs' tells her he murdered their real killer as well. Despite the confession, Gibbs cannot bring himself to arrest his own mother-in-law. He convinces Allison Hart to defend her.
Gibbs and the team investigate the shooting of a Marine and uncovers more to his life than anyone would have ever imagined. The Marine had been declared MIA after a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan, somehow obtained millions of dollars, and married another woman under a false identity. Things get suspicious when the team realize that the other Marines in the mission gave the exact same testimony word for word. Meanwhile, Ducky reveals that his mother died in 2010.
NCIS and the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) join forces when a Navy diver seeking sunken treasure is murdered. Both teams suspect a wealthy doctor who was funding the treasure hunting expedition is the culprit, but the evidence just doesn't add up. Meanwhile, the similarities between Gibbs and CGIS Special Agent in Charge Abigail Borin amuse the team.
Gibbs uses Holly Snow (previously seen in the episode: "Jet Lag") to investigate a murder in the world of call girls, causing tensions within the team. After finding the body of a murdered Navy reporter, the team finds out that he was interviewing a prostitute who used to work for Holly Snow and that there have been a string of similar murders. Meanwhile, Tony and McGee have a serious argument. When Tony works together with Det. Philip McCadden, McGee becomes jealous with their friendship.
When the NCIS team finds a dead Navy petty officer and FBI informant, they call in Agent Fornell to assist with the investigation. Fornell reveals that a string of similar security leaks have been occurring, and they trace the source to a private security company. They also discover that their NCIS polygraph specialist, Susan Grady, works part time at the same company. After retrieving her, the security company's office is destroyed in an explosion and Susan reveals that she stole some polygraph data for personal use. Abby manages to deduce that the killers inadvertently killed themselves in the explosion, revealing another party is involved.
DiNozzo finds himself captivated by a woman he's never met while investigating the death of her brother. The woman is the world-renowned reporter Dana Hutton, who has disappeared shortly after her brother's death. At first, the team believes that the murder may be connected with the siblings' work on investigating private military contractors, but begin to suspect that the KGB may be involved when they discovered Dana's brother was killed by a ricin pellet.
After finding a dead Marine with his feet cut off, as well as a truck full of dismembered feet, the team begins to believe that a serial killer is loose. The team deduces that the Marine was the killer, acting as a hit man to kill rival drug dealers and kept their feet as proof. Meanwhile, Abby is invited to provide a forensic science lecture in Mexico by Alejandro Rivera, and McGee goes along as an escort. While there, Abby is tasked to solve an old case involving the murder of a drug dealer 20 years ago, and Abby eventually finds out the drug dealer was the one murdered by Gibbs.
The team is shocked when they discover that a charred corpse found on the beach is that of Special Agent Lara Macy, a fellow NCIS agent and a close friend of Gibbs. They find that the last case Macy worked on before her death was a case regarding the rape of a Navy sailor. While they manage to find the rapist, the case is completely unrelated to the murder. Meanwhile, Abby confronts Gibbs about the murder he committed in Mexico, asking him what to do, and Gibbs simply tells her to do her job and file the full report. Gibbs soon becomes convinced that Colonel Bell is responsible and leaves for Mexico. When he finally arrives, he finds Mike Franks' house has been burned to the ground, with the bodies of several of Bell's men on-site. Gibbs had previously suspected that Bell's men were headed there and sent Franks a warning: Rule 44 ("hide the women and children"). Gibbs is then captured by one of Bell's henchmen, disgraced Army Ranger Jason Paul Dean (Dylan Bruno) who is also the one responsible for killing Lara Macy. While there, Dean then reveals that the body that Gibbs thought was Franks is in fact Colonel Bell. Gibbs is then knocked unconscious before he can ask Dean who he's really working for.
Gibbs' captor and Jason Paul Dean's employer is revealed to be Paloma Reynosa, the leader of the Reynosa drug Cartel. Her reason for having Gibbs brought to Mexico is clear: she wants revenge against him for robbing her of her father and threatens to kill everyone Gibbs has ever met, starting with Mike Franks and ending with his father if he does not start working on her behalf. When Alejandro arrives, Gibbs figures out that the two are siblings and also the children of the drug dealer, Pedro Hernandez, whom Gibbs gunned down nearly twenty years previously in revenge for Hernandez ordering the deaths of Gibbs' first wife, Shannon and young daughter, Kelly. Alejandro reopened the case of his father's murder in an attempt to keep Gibbs out of his sister's reach whilst still delivering justice, but things are complicated by the loss of Abby's report from "Patriot Down" – which has been intercepted by Allison Hart to prevent it from reaching Mexico. Meanwhile, Ziva has passed her citizenship test and is expecting Tony and Gibbs to attend her citizenship ceremony. Tony is forced to break his promise to her when the situation escalates, and he is tasked with shadowing Rivera, meeting Mike Franks during the assignment. The episode ends with Paloma traveling to Pennsylvania and entering the store owned by Jackson Gibbs, ending the episode in a cliffhanger and leaving his fate unknown.
