NCIS Season 24: DiNozzo Drops The Perfect Nickname For McGee's Son

Contains spoilers for "NCIS" Season 24, Episode 1 — "Wayward Son"

The "NCIS" Season 24 premiere reveals what happened to several "NCIS: Tony & Ziva" characters, most prominently Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) himself. After Gabriel LaRoche (Seamus Dever) turns out to be a swing and a miss, Tony ends up stepping in the shoes of dearly departed NCIS Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll, who exited the show in "NCIS" Episode 500), and will no doubt excel in the role.

Of course, Tony wouldn't be Tony if he didn't back his competence up with copious amounts of cracking wise. This comes into play in the shape of one of his favorite running jokes at the expense of Timothy McGee (Sean Murray). As the cliffhanger events of the Season 23 finale ("Sons and Daughters") get resolved in "Wayward Son," we learn that it was Tony who was mildly injured by the bullet that ended the previous season. This prompts Tony to label the shooter — McGee's son Mateo Garcia (Patrick Keleher) — "McOffspring," the latest addition to the long line of affably snarky "Mc" nicknames Tony has slinged at McGee over time. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In "Sons and Daughters," young Mateo pretends to apply for an NCIS internship, but Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) becomes suspicious and confronts him. Mateo has a gun, and the ensuing standoff leads to the gunshot that ends "NCIS" Season 23.

The revelation that Tony nigh-randomly got shot after getting a tip and independently poking around at the very same time when the gun went off is a fun (and, let's face it, pretty characteristic) way to bring the character back in the mix, as is his reaction to the incident: Apart from his "McOffspring" barb, Tony actively downplays the injury.

The "NCIS" Season 24 opener does a great job at bringing Tony back. By revealing that he was the first-choice candidate for the director role, the show underlines that Tony has what it takes to do the job. However, with moments of levity like the "McOffspring" nickname, "NCIS" also reminds us that this is still very much the same Tony DiNozzo that fans know and love, regardless of his position. In the past, some "NCIS" fans have thought that Tony's character has aged poorly, but it seems that Season 24 is committed to striking a balance between his hijinks and professionalism.