Why Was Kate Killed On NCIS?

When a show has been on the air as long as "NCIS," there is a good chance the lineup is going to change over time, and that has certainly been the case when it comes to the cast of the long-running CBS series. As far as departures are concerned, it's no secret that some are more impactful than others, like the death of NCIS Special Agent Caitlin "Kate" Todd (Sasha Alexander) in the show's second season. Since so much time has passed since Kate's on-screen demise, some fans might wonder why she was killed so early. 

In Season 2, Episode 23 ("Twilight"), which served as the season finale, a double agent for Mossad known as Ari Haswari (Rudolph Martin) killed Kate instantly after shooting her with a long-range sniper rifle during a gunfight between NCIS agents and members of the terrorist cell they were after. Haswari would later reveal that he targeted Kate because he wanted to hit Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) where it hurt.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, members of the team struggled with the loss, and the death weighed heavily on the series long after she was gone, being referenced in several subsequent entries. Mossad Officer Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) would eventually fill the void Kate left behind and join the team until her apparent off-screen death in Season 13 — de Pablo would reprise her role as Ziva in multiple Season 17 episodes.

But the reason for Kate's death wasn't just part of the story. Sasha Alexander reportedly left "NCIS" due to the show's notoriously demanding schedule, and the actor has made it clear she has no regrets about leaving. But when it comes to the fans, they most certainly have an assortment of feelings when it comes to Kate getting killed off so quickly. 

While becoming one of the many "NCIS" actors to leave the series may have been a positive outcome for Sasha Alexander, it turned out to be a heart-wrenching affair for fans of her "NCIS" character Caitlin Todd. The death of the fan-favorite was not only a tough pill to swallow for some, but it also caught many viewers off guard, like one Reddit user who posted, "Kate's death has just broken me. It was so unexpected. My heart hurts." For others, the devastating demise is more than just one of the toughest losses to take from "NCIS." Some even went as far as making the argument for the tragic end of Kate's run being among the most notable throughout the legacy of popular personas dying on screen, such as u/uptheirons726, who wrote, "Kate's death was absolutely GUTTING. My heart just hit the floor. One of the hardest deaths to see in TV history."

There is no denying that Kate's death had a big impact on fans when it happened, and based on several accounts, it appears it still doesn't sit well with people many years later. u/CoolGuy12314 proved as much, writing, "I'm rewatching the entire series and Kate's death always gets to me." It's no secret several followers of the series were sad to see Alexander exit and shocked at how Kate was killed off, but not everyone feels the outcome was all that bad.

There is no denying that losing Caitlin Todd on "NCIS" was a big deal for a lot of fans, but not necessarily all of them felt the same way about Sasha Alexander's character. Certain fans felt the death was a refreshing twist that kept the show from going stale. u/yeahlolyeah offered a perfect example of such a reaction. "I'm gonna go against the flow and say that I liked the death," they wrote. "It went against the established cliches that such a death needs to be eased into, that they all die a hero's death."

But then there were those that just weren't big fans of what Kate brought to the table, and while many were heartbroken to see her leave, some were glad about the decision regarding Alexander's departure. One deleted Reddit user did not mince words, saying, "One of the things I'm glad about is retiring Sasha Alexander as Caitlin Todd post the second season. Hated her from the first time she met Gibbs and Tony, and Abby."

After examining the evidence, it seems clear that Alexander leaving the series caused a stir for a number of reasons. For some, the loss of Kate was a tragic ordeal with a lasting impact that took its toll on fans over the years, and for others, she was just another name on the list of every "NCIS" character who has been killed off the show.