"NCIS" ended its 12th season with a shocker as Gibbs (Mark Harmon) was shot by a young boy who was recruited by the terrorist group The Calling. While the NCIS leader recovers in the season 13 premiere episode, showrunner Gary Glasberg said that the shooting will not only have an impact on Gibbs but on the whole team as well.
Speaking to TVFanatic, Glasberg said that as Gibbs tries to recover physically from his wounds, the incident will have an impact on him — apart from the physical trauma, the seasoned agent will also be experiencing some psychological trauma.
"That's what we're going to see as the season progresses is you're going to see a change in Gibbs," said the showrunner. "You're going to see a physical change and an emotional change and Mark Harmon is really diving into that and making it unique."
Glasberg said that fans will get to see Gibbs and his doctor (Jon Cryer) connecting and relying on each other. Another person who the special agent will rely on is Vance, and the director, seeing what Gibbs is going through, will go back on the field to help Gibbs on a case. Glasberg said that the episode where Vance and Gibbs team up is scheduled for mid-October.
But one person who'll also be most affected by what happened to Gibbs is Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly). DiNozzo was shaken by what happened to his boss, and as Gibbs tries to deal with what happened to him, he'll be putting some pressure on Tony.
"Gibbs and Tony are really going to feel some tension between the two of them," said Glasberg, adding that Gibbs will want to know if Tony wants to be a leader and if he wants to become just like Gibbs.
The showrunner said that what people will take away from this season is "a slightly different Leroy Jethro Gibbs," and that the team will be handling this change in different ways.
"One by one, everyone is affected by those two gun shots at the end of last season and it's a matter how they internalized what happened," said Glasberg.
"NCIS" season 13 begins with the episode "Stop the Bleeding" which will air on Sept. 22 at 8/7c on CBS.
