NCIS Honors A Fallen Team Member With A Solemn Tribute

Last week, "NCIS" said goodbye to a beloved member of the team... and this week, that pain still hadn't gone away.

At first, Tuesday's episode of the hit CBS procedural seemed like any other: a case of the week with Navy sailors falling ill after getting tattoos during Fleet Week. But there were hints here and there of the massive loss the NCIS team had just suffered, with Rocky Carroll's Director Leon Vance getting killed in the line of duty. (For one, Kasie didn't want to update her computer because her most recent software upgrade was the last thing Vance approved for her.) And when a young Navy sailor mourned the death of his friend, something inside clicked for Parker.

After they solved the case, Parker called the team into Vance's office and surprised them with a bottle of whiskey Vance had been saving for a special occasion, along with seven glasses. The six of them each took one, with McGee placing the extra glass in front of Vance's chair. Parker acknowledged how busy they'd been lately: "It just seems like the world would like nothing more than just to move on, you know? To forget. But the only way I know how to get through this is by remembering him. And there's no one I'd rather remember him with than you guys."  

With that, they raised their glasses in a toast... "to Leon."    

Rocky Carroll was one of the longest-tenured cast members in "NCIS" history, joining the show in Season 5 as Leon Vance, who rose to become NCIS Director after the murder of Jenny Shepard. In last month's milestone 500th episode, Vance fought to keep his team together after the government shut NCIS down... and paid the ultimate price when he was shot dead by a corrupt agent.

It wasn't Carroll's choice to leave the show, but "the part of me that's the team player was instantly like, 'That's a hell of a storyline. I think that's going to be really great,'" the actor told TVLine after Vance's farewell episode aired.

"I don't know what the end of 'NCIS' will ultimately be, but at least I feel like my character really kind of came full circle," he added. The showrunner Steven D. Binder told Carroll that "his objective was, 'I want this to be a tribute and a love letter to your character.' And I think that's what we accomplished."

And "NCIS" fans can take some comfort in knowing Carroll will be back, at least behind the camera: He's already directed 28 episodes of the show, and he's set to return to direct more, including the April 14 installment, titled "S.O.S."

How did you like the tribute to Vance, "NCIS" fans? Let us know in a comment below.