Why Diane From NCIS: Origins Is More Important Than You Think

Contains spoilers for "NCIS: Origins" Season 1, Episode 18 — "Cecilia"

"NCIS" protagonist Leroy Jethro Gibbs has never gotten over the violent death of his first wife, Shannon Gibbs. That grief and anger is the reason Gibbs does the darkest thing he'll ever do: Killing the man who murdered Shannon and their daughter, Kelly Gibbs. But, over the course of his long life, he's managed to rack up a string of other romantic relationships. In the Season 1 finale of the prequel series "NCIS: Origins," in which Gibbs is played by Austin Stowell, we see him meet a real estate agent by the name of Diane (Kathleen Kenny). Those in know likely jumped out of their seats at the mention of her name — Diane is Leroy's second wife.

"NCIS" fans have already seen an older version of Diane played by Melinda McGraw. She appeared in the flagship show six times between Season 9 and Season 16, with most of her episodes revolving around her troubled relationship with her third husband, Victor Sterling (Tom Gallop). Her Season 16 appearance was as a ghost — Diane was tragically murdered by Russian terrorist Sergei Mishnev in Season 12 in an act of revenge against Gibbs. He thought he had taken Mishnev out in the opening episode, but he didn't confirm the kill, which is widely seen as the biggest mistake that Gibbs made in "NCIS" in Season 12. When Diane appears before Gibbs in Season 16's "Daughters," she mainly reprimands him for failing to properly investigate the opioid-related death of her daughter, Emily.

Now that Diane has been introduced, fans may be thinking that they know what's going to happen in Season 2 of "NCIS: Origins," but the early days of her relationship with Gibbs will not be straightforward. After all, he's still trying to come to terms with life without his first wife and daughter. In theory, he's in no place to start opening up to someone, but Diane takes him by surprise. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Austin Stowell said that there's something about Diane that makes Gibbs want to lower his walls. "She's able to disarm him right away in this very vulnerable point in his life where he's packing up the house," he said. "The fact that he starts to show her around, and she says something about his eyes, and he takes the compliment. There's no scowl. He's caught off guard."

Of course, "NCIS" fans know that the love story between Gibbs and Diane will become even more complicated down the line, as Gibbs' good friend Tobias C. Fornell (played by Lucas Dixon in "Origins") becomes Diane's second husband. It's worth noting that Gibbs begs Tobias not to marry her after he goes through an expensive divorce with Diane, losing a lot of money and even his grandfather's watch. Tobias ignores Gibbs, marries Diane, and has Emily with her. Thankfully, it doesn't ruin things between them, and that's just one reason why Fornell's friendship with Gibbs is the bromance that "NCIS" fans love to see. Unfortunately, Tobias and Diane's marriage falls flat, too. One thing the show has taught us is that maintaining a healthy marriage in this line of work is no easy task.