Uh, Hold on a Sec: Why Did Gibbs Shoot McGee on ‘NCIS'?

From The Pioneer Woman

At long last, NCIS is finally back!

Fans have waited for the CBS procedural to return for months, and last week the cast kicked off season 18. They wasted no time getting to the action, and the episode started off with a bang—literally.

If you’ve been watching for years, you already know there’s drama between Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and his long-time friend Fornell (Joe Spano). Fornell’s daughter’s involvement with drugs has been a major point of contention for the team, who have mixed feelings about how Gibbs has approached the topic.

So imagine everyone’s surprise when “Sturgeon Season” began, and the audience was taken to March 2020. The first few seconds show McGee (Sean Murray) approaching an airplane with his gun in hand. Then, suddenly, he gets shot in the arm. Shortly after, he’s hit in the leg and unable to move. The camera pans to his assailant and it’s—*pause for dramatic effect*—Gibbs. GIBBS!? Cue the theme song, and the major cliffhanger.

So what was up with that!? Here are a few thoughts:

It has to do with the drug case.

Without a doubt, this has gotta circle back to Fornell, right? One Reddit user even commented that the symbol on the plane was the same one as the keychain Fornell found. Coincidence? We think not!

Okay, but where does Gibbs come in?

It’s possible that Gibbs is close to solving the whole thing on his own, and is thrown off when McGee shows up to the scene. He’s crossed lines for Fornell before, so there’s no reason to suggest he wouldn’t do it again in an attempt to put this whole thing to bed.

Maybe Gibbs is protecting McGee and Fornell.

Another thought is that there’s a second shooter on the tarmac, and Gibbs shot McGee to take him out of someone else’s purview. Or to buy whoever is inside the plane more time before the enemy can put the pieces together. Gibbs would protect his team at all costs, so this feels in step with his personality.

Or *maybe* McGee knew about it all along.

Another Reddit user guessed that the whole thing is a setup, and that McGee is knowingly being used as bait somehow. The plot thickens!

But one thing’s for sure: Gibbs definitely didn’t want McGee dead.

Gibbs is a sharp-shooter, and if he really meant to hurt McGee, he would have. So while it’s shocking to see him take down McGee, we have to trust that he did it for a very particular reason. At least...we hope so.

What’s your theory about Gibbs shooting McGee? Sound off in the comments!