- Title: NCIS: Origins – Blue Bayou
- wiki: link
More than the cold shoulder that Gibbs (Austin Stowell) from Dominguez (Mariel Molino) after returning from Mexico over events which aren’t discussed, “Blue Bayou” stands out for filling in more of Gibbs’ backstory following his murder of Pedro Hernandez and what exactly the former Marine was doing with himself before Franks (Kyle Schmid) hired him. In what’s been a theme of the show introducing characters who helped save his life after the death of his family, we see the unlikely friendship that not only helps Gibbs get through the months following his Mexican mission of revenge but ultimately puts him on a path to NIS forever changing the course of his life.
London Garcia, seen earlier in a previous episode of the series, returns as Gibb’s ball-busting landlady Ruth who ends up befriending the former Marine (after kicking him out). Ruth’s illness also provides more context to Gibbs’ failing his psych evaluation and new sadness with the death of a friend he shares with Dominguez bringing them closer together despite the recent betrayal. With both the focus firmly on Gibbs in the past and present, “Blue Bayou” knows enough not to try and force a case of the week leaving plenty of room for much of Gibbs’ story to be explored. The episode is also notable for bringing Gibbs’ woodcarving into the series for the first time as a method to help him deal with his grief and providing more context to Gibbs’ ball brawls which were also discussed earlier in the series.
