Gibbs meets 'NCIS' wife in 'Origins' finale: Did he kiss his greatest love goodbye?
Gibbs meets 'NCIS' wife in 'Origins' finale: Did he kiss his greatest love goodbye?
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Lala and Gibbs reckon with murder probe on 'NCIS: Origins'
Gibbs' long-ago revenge murder is unearthed in CBS' new 'NCIS: Origins' prequel
Spoiler alert: This story includes plot details from the April 28 "NCIS: Origins" season finale.
The "NCIS: Origins" love story between young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) and Cecilia "Lala" Dominguez (Mariel Molino) might be tragically over, even before the first kiss.
The "NCIS" prequel series has flirted with the budding romance between Dominguez and circa-1991 NIS agent Gibbs, who is still reeling over his wife and daughter's murder.
In the April 28 Season 1 finale (now streaming on Paramount+), Gibbs' sniper killing of the drug lord Pedro Hernandez, to avenge his family's death, reemerges with catastrophic consequences for Dominguez and Gibbs. There are twists, "NCIS" canon fodder, a tantalizing near-kiss, heartbreak and even more questions to be answered in Season 2 next fall.
"We leave this as a cliffhanger for everyone," says executive producer Gina Lucita Monreal, who joins fellow exec producer David J. North in breaking down the Season 1 finale.
'NCIS: Origins' Gibbs Austin Stowell got Mark Harmon reality check: 'Are you ready for this?'
Dominguez and Gibbs stop their first 'Origins' kiss
Mark Harmon narrates the series as retired Gibbs, in the role the "NCIS" star played for nearly two decades. Harmon, also an executive producer, set the tone with his fireside monologue in the "Origins" premiere: "This is a story I don't tell. This is the story of her."
That pronoun signifies Dominguez, as the finale (titled "Cecilia," Lala's full first name) makes abundantly clear.
The season-long will-they-won't-they chemistry between Dominguez and Gibbs explodes after the out-of-the-blue investigation into Hernandez's death brought by Dominguez's good friend, military police investigator Lara Macy (Claire Berger).
Rather than pull Dominguez and mentor Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid) into a planned coverup, Gibbs ends the investigation by taking the fall. He digs up the buried rifle he used to shoot Hernandez and hands it over to Macy.
Relieved by resolution, Gibbs finds Dominguez in the swimming pool she often trespasses in at night, sheds most of his clothes and dives in. The duo has the steamiest water clinch that doesn't end in a kiss in TV history. The lip lock stops short, centimeters away.
"We talked a lot about whether we should let that kiss happen or not. We wanted to get them to the point where they both wanted it to happen. We brought them to the edge," Monreal says. "But Gibbs couldn't let that happen, because that kiss would have been tainted with the enormous news he had to tell her. He knew that would change everything."
When Gibbs tells Dominguez that he has turned over his rifle to Macy to take the fall, it definitely ends the love vibe. She leaves the pool disgusted, saying, "I'm done." No first kiss.
Dominguez fills in 'NCIS' mystery: Why Macy dropped Gibbs' case
But she's not done. Unbeknownst to Gibbs, Dominguez falsely implicates herself in Hernandez's killing to convince her friend, Macy, to drop the case. "She put it all on the line for Gibbs," North says.
Dominguez's move fills in "NCIS" series lore. Macy appears in Season 6 of "NCIS" (played by Louise Lombard), working with the Office of Special Projects, and reveals that she had dropped the Hernandez case against Gibbs. But Gibbs never knew why, which viewers discover in "Origins": Dominguez bailed him out.
Gibbs meets his future wife, Diane
Packing up his family photos in his house, future love steps in. Gibbs meets his red-headed real estate agent, Diane (Kathleen Kenny). On "NCIS," Gibbs' second wife (there were four, with three divorces and one death) was red-haired Diane Sterling (Melinda McGraw).
"Gina and I knew, from our first conversation, we wanted to tell the love story of Gibbs and this character Lala," North says. "We sat there on the phone, and were like, 'He's got to get married three other times.' So here we are, sticking to canon."
Does Lala die on 'NCIS: Origins'?
Tragedy plays a hand as Dominguez speeds over to Gibbs' house to tell him about her success with Macy. With Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia" playing on the stereo, she flips her Jeep trying to avoid a young girl who runs into the street. The final moments show a motionless Dominguez, blood coming from her nose, restrained by her seat belt in the overturned car.
Harmon's somber voiceover says Dominguez was "coming to tell me she had saved me. I would only find out later what she did for me. But that's not what made me love her. I loved her all along. I still do.'
Whether Dominguez survives is the biggest finale cliffhanger.
"We'll have to wait until Season 2 to find the fate of Lala," says North. "We've gone into her story and why it's the story of Lala. That story will continue to be told. But she's already saved Gibbs. The Gibbs we come to know on 'NCIS' wouldn't have ever existed without Lala."
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Chart is updating with Sunday figures indicated with bold titles and including Saturday and Sunday number. & Stitch (Dis) 4,410 theaters, Fri $17M (-70%) 3-day $60M-$64M (-56% to -59%), Total $277M-$281M/Wk 2 2. Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning (Par) 3,861 (+4) Fri $7.5M (-70%), 3-day $26.7M (-58%), Total $122M/Wk 2 3. Karate Kid: Legends (Sony) 3,809 theaters, Fri $7.5M, 3-day $21M-$23M/Wk 1 4. Final Destination: Bloodlines (NL) 3,134 (-389) Fri $3.1M (-43%), 3-day $11M (-43%), Total $111.9M/Wk 3 5. (A24) 2,449 theaters, Fri $3.1M Sat $2.2M Sun $1.67M 3-day $7.08M/Wk 1 6.) Sinners (WB) 2,138 (-494) theaters Fri $1.55M (-35%) 3-day $5.1M (-40%), Total $267M/Wk 7 7.) Thunderbolts (Dis) 2,520 (-660) theaters Fri $1.3M (-48%) 3-day $4.7M (-51%), Total $181.7M/Wk 5 8.) Friendship (A24) 1,293 (+238) theaters, Fri $780K (-56%), 3-day $2.5M (-44%), Total $12.3M/Wk 4 9.) (Angel) 1995 (-210) theaters, Fri $642K Sat $876,5K Sun $620K 3-day $2.14M (-60%), Total $10.75M/Wk 2 10.) J-Hope Tour: Hope on Stage (TRAF) 631 theaters Sat $789K Sun $150K, 2-day $939K/Wk 1 Busting into the top 10 is Trafalgar Releasing's live broadcast of the grand finale of j-hope's first solo world tour from Osaka Japan's Kyocera Dome. The concert was transmitted live to 2,700+ cinemas across 83 countries on Saturday. Select encores are taking place today around the globe (64% encoring in North America, 46% worldwide). Global projection (sans Japan) for the weekend stands at $4.1M. 11.) (AMZ) 820 (-1182) theaters, Fri $214K (-56%) Sat $331K Sun $231K 3-day $776K (-62%), Total $65M/Wk 6 Notables: The Phoenician Scheme (Foc) 6 theaters, Fri $270K Sat $160K Sun $140K 3-day $570K, PTA $95K, Wk 1As we said yesterday, it's the biggest per screen of the year to date. Updated on individual theaters through Saturday: NYC's Angelika $121K, AMC's Lincoln Square is $96K, LA's AMC Century City is $58K, LA's AMC the Grove $55K, AMC Burbank $53.4K and NYC's Alamo Brooklyn stands just under $44k. Movie is 77% certified fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. No audience score yet. Asteroid City, Focus Features' previous Cannes Film Festival premiere and theatrical release with Wes Anderson, had a RT critic score of 76% certified fresh and audience score of 66%. SATURDAY AM: It's a solid weekend following the Memorial Day holiday with all titles driving around $144M worth of business, +117% from the post-holiday doldrums a year ago. Let's rejoice and take it. No, it's not the biggest for the post 4-day holiday during post pandemic times — that belongs to 2023 when Sony's all-pleasing fanboy animated movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse led all titles to a $205M+ marketplace. However, out of 22 weekends in 2025, only ten of 'em have grossed north of $100M-plus. Let's be pleased. I'm sure those novelty popcorn buckets at the circuits are still flying off counters. 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The franchise was born at a time in 1984 before studios relied on overseas. With Jackie Chan in the 2010 reboot, the foreign box office on that movie edged out domestic, $182.5M to $176.5M and that's without China, however, Japan made a great $17.4M. Men over 25 for Karate Kid were 37% and women under 25 the lowest turnout at 11%. Best grades for the crossover comes from women over 25 with 95%. Diversity demos were 36% Caucasian, 31% Hispanic and Latino, 16% Asian American and 12% Black. Great exits though for Karate Kid: Legends with an A- CinemaScore, the same grade as the 1986 sequel, Karate Kid II. The 2010 Chan version landed an A. Of course, the biggest reason on Screen Engine/Comscore's PostTrak why people bought tickets to Legends is because it's part of a franchise they love (46%). Also interesting to note that of all the moviegoers going to see Karate Kid: Legends, 68% of them said they have Netflix as their leading streaming service. That's where Sony's output deal is in the pay-one, and it's also where Cobra Kai lives. A24's Bring Her Back after a $3.1M Friday is looking at $7M-$8M in 5th place. For horror films, especially an A24 one, which typically divides audiences, the movie, wow, landed a B+ CinemaScore. Also, four stars and 80% positive and a 57% definite recommend. High praise. Hopefully that all works in the film's favor throughout this weekend and leg-wise. Thirty one percent of those who bought tickets said they went because it's a Philippou twins movie, and 48% said it's because it's a horror movie. Men over 25 mostly turned out at 42%, as well as women over 25 at 28%, with an even amount of men and women under 25 at 15% apiece. Diversity demos were 50% Caucasian, 23% Latino and Hispanic, 14% Black and 9% Asian American. 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Karate Kid: Legends (Sony) 3,809 theaters, Fri $7.5M, 3-day $21M-$23M/Wk 1 4. Final Destination: Bloodlines (NL) 3,134 (-389) Fri $3.1M (-43%), 3-day $11M (-43%), Total $111.9M/Wk 3 5. Bring Her Back (A24) 2,449 theaters, Fri $3.1M, 3-day $7M-$8M/Wk 1 6.) Sinners (WB) 2,138 (-494) theaters Fri $1.55M (-35%) 3-day $5.1M (-40%), Total $267M/Wk 7 7.) Thunderbolts (Dis) 2,520 (-660) theaters Fri $1.3M (-48%) 3-day $4.7M (-51%), Total $181.7M/Wk 5 8.) Friendship (A24) 1,293 (+238) theaters, Fri $780K (-56%), 3-day $2.5M (-44%), Total $12.3M/Wk 4 9.) Last Rodeo (Angel) 1995 (-210), Fri $640K (-69%), 3-day $2.25M (-59%), Total $10.8M/Wk 2 10.) The Accountant 2 (AMZ) 820 (-1182) theaters, Fri $214K (-56%) 3-day $778K (-62%), Total $65M/Wk 6 Notables: The Phoenician Scheme (Foc) 6 theaters, Fri $270K, 3-day $570K, PTA $95K, Wk 1 FRIDAY AFTERNOON: Disney's Lilo & Stitch is coming in right where we were seeing it — at $60M in weekend 2, -59%, at 4,410 locations. That hold is similar to that of the second weekend of Little Mermaid, which was also a Memorial Day theatrical release. Today looks like $17M for Lilo's second Friday, -70%. Running total for the Dean Fleischer Camp directed movie by Sunday is $277M. However, Sony's is looking lighter than forecasts with a $20M opening after a $7M-$8M Friday that includes previews in 3,809 theaters. That would put the Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan team-up in third place behind Paramount's second weekend of Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning, with a $7.7M second Friday and $27.3M second weekend, -57% at 3,861. That's better than Dead Reckoning's second weekend decline of -65% sans Imax screens. Running total for the Christopher McQuarrie directed, Tom Cruise title by Sunday looks like $122.6M. The anticipation is that Saturday will work in both Lilo and Karate Kid: Legends' favor. Fourth is New Line's Final Destination: Bloodlines with $2.8M today at 3,134 and a third weekend of $10M, -48%, for a running total by Sunday of $110.9M. Fifth is A24's Bring Her Back with $3M today (including previews), and $6M-$7M for the weekend at 2,409 sites. Even if Karate Kid: Legends comes in less than expected, we are in far better shape than a year ago when the post Memorial Day weekend only did $66M per Box Office Mojo (there weren't any major studio releases and Garfield Movie led with a second weekend take of $14M). The top five movies this weekend (at the high end) are already grossing north of $124M. PREVIOUS FRIDAY AM: Sony's Karate Kid: Legends grossed $2.3M from previews that began at 2 p.m. Thursday. The PG-13 movie is a vortex of old school and new school: Ralph Macchio's Daniel-san, Jackie Chan's Mr. Han and, shhhhh, the Cobra Kai gang (I mean, is it really a secret?). Forecast for the movie is $25M-$30M in a marketplace where Disney's Lilo & Stitch is overpowering with a potential $60M second frame. also is hoping to hold with those Imax screens, around $32M or less. Critics like this Karate Kid a little less than the 2010 Chan one, 55% Rotten vs. 67% fresh. Karate Kid: Legends received 4 stars on PostTrak and a 68% definite recommend from definite audiences, 4 1/2 stars from parents and a 63 definite recommend, and kids under 12 with 4½ stars and a 79% must-see right away. Boys ages 10-12 at 64% made up the majority of the under-12 set; that demo is an essential portion of the Cobra Kai cult. Overall, men showed up at 60% last night. Karate Kid: Legends' Thursday night is just ahead of the $1.9M that Sony/Alcon's The Garfield Movie reboot made last May before a Friday of $8.4M and 3-day of $24M. Karate Kid: Legends was made for $45M net before P&A that's $5M more than the 2010 version cost (unadjusted for inflation). The Karate Kid franchise is 41 years old and counts $620M at the global box office from five previous movies; the bulk of that figure is from the Chan/Jaden Smith version 15 years ago, which made $359M worldwide. A24's Danny and Michael Philippou horror movie Bring Her Back made $850K in previews at 2,409 theaters that began at 4 p.m. Thursday. That figure is just under A24's fall sleeper Heretic, which made $1.2M in previews starting at 7 p.m. before turning into a $4.3M Friday and $10.8M opening. The Philippou twins' previous A24 movie, 2022's Talk to Me, opened to $10.4M. A good definite-recommend from the fanboy crowd last night for Bring Her Back at 58%, with women over 25 giving the movie its best positive score at 83%. The Thursday crowd was male-heavy at 57% to female's 43%. Women overall enjoyed it more than the guys, 83% to 77%. Go Sally Hawkins. The pre-weekend outlook is $5M-$7M. On Rotten Tomatoes, Bring Her Back has been stamped with 88% certified fresh. No audience score yet. Lilo & Stitch ends its first week with $217M at 4,410 theaters, after $9.2M yesterday, -9% from Wednesday. The pic's first week is 15% behind that the $255M for Inside Out 2, which ended its run at $652.9M, and it's 9% behind Moana 2's first seven days of $239.3M (final $460.4M). No, we're not saying the movie is doing badly, we're just trying to give you an idea of where Lilo & Stitch lives. While no one is forecasting this for Lilo & Stitch, sometimes these fan-fave Disney movies can go into overdrive, i.e. Inside Out 2 owns the best second weekend ever for a PG movie of $101.2M. And nobody saw that coming… Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning ends its first week with an estimated $95.3M at 3,857, which is 7% ahead of the first week of 2018's Mission: Impossible – Fallout ($220.1M final domestic) and 4.7% ahead of the first seven days of 2022's Dead Reckoning (final domestic B.O. was $172.6M). The rest of the top 5 for the week: 3. Final Destination Bloodlines (WB/NL) 3,523 theaters, Thu $1.85M (-13% from Wed), Week $30.7M (-56%), Total $100.9M/Wk 2It was the highest grossing of the franchise out of the gate. Nothing in its way. 4. Thunderbolts* (Dis) 3,180 theaters, Thu $765K (-10%), Wk $14.8M (-36%), Total $177M/Wk 4 5. Sinners (WB) 2,632 theaters, Thu $880k (-15%), Wk $14.06M (-37%), Total $261.8M/Wk 6 Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds 'Poker Face' Season 2 Guest Stars: From Katie Holmes To Simon Hellberg 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
