Of all of the Jewish characters on TV these days, not many can be described as tough. In fact, not many can be described as non-kvetchy. With that in mind, we are sad to report that after eight seasons, last night’s episode of “NCIS” marked the seeming departure of Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), the show’s resident bad-ass Mossad agent.
In the spirit of full disclosure, Ziva’s farewell was our first-ever “NCIS” viewing experience, which seems sort of crazy considering it was the most-watched series last season — and that it features a bad-ass Mossad agent.
That said, it was an enjoyable experience. Last night Agent Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service went to the Holy Land!
That’s right, his search for a missing Ziva leads Tony to Tel Aviv, where he engages in jokey insider banter with Israeli operatives (“Have you made the big move from Shin Bet to Mossad or are you just here to say hi?”), hunts for clues in two supremely Israeli locales (a kibbutz and a café), and eventually finds what he’s looking for.
Turns out Ziva feels guilty about killing her brother and, apparently, a whole lot of other people, so she has chosen to set off on her own to do some soul searching. But not before she and Tony (finally!) kiss.
Is this really it, or will Ziva be back? Possibly.
“Ziva’s not dead,” executive producer Gary Glasberg told USA Today.
Okay, so maybe that’s not the most promising statement we’ve ever heard, but Tony does wistfully dangle Ziva’s Star of David pendant in the last scene, so who knows — maybe we will someday get another chance to watch a tough, complicated Jewish woman on TV.
And if that’s the case, we’ll make sure to tune in.
