Agent Gibbs' future in "NCIS" is still unknown at the moment. While it is hard to believe that the protagonist, who was there since the beginning of the police procedural drama, will be killed off, fans still have that feeling of anxiety about things simply changing in a snap ("Grey's Anatomy" comes to mind). . 

The statements of executive producer Gary Glasberg do not help on dousing those worries at all. Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Glasberg revealed that fans have more to be concerned about come "NCIS" season 13 apart from a dying Gibbs, which is nothing but ominous. 

"Regardless of the outcome, any time that Gibbs or one of our family members is in danger or injured, it significantly affects everyone," the EP said, dodging the subject in a way Gibbs should have done in his confrontation with Luke, who shot him in the leg and in the chest, during the finale.

In the interview, he tried his best to honor his team's pledge of keeping fans "unsettled and unsure" of the direction the series is going to take. That is why the final scene in the episode was made "frenetic and chaotic." 

"We'll have to see the long-term effects and the psychological effects, but they'll undoubtedly, as they always are, be there for each other. Then we'll see where it takes us as we move forward to the coming episode," he went on to say.

Meanwhile, just like distressed fans looking for answers, Mark Harmon, who plays Agent Gibbs, seems to have no idea about his character's fate in "NCIS" season 13. And should he take his final bow in the series, he thinks it just goes to show that permanence isn't promised. 

"I really believe this, but I think anybody in the show is replaceable. The truth births, characters leaving. It always has, and I always think there's always been a creative footprint on the show. I think it keeps actors healthy," he said during a chat in "The Late Late Show with James Corden." 

This fall, "NCIS" season 13 will eventually quench the viewers' thirst for answers. For now, they have to play the ever-grueling, likely spoiler-filled and curiosity-harboring waiting game.