This Might Be Why NCIS Fans Rejected Gibbs And Jenny
CBS's long-running — and wildly successful — navy procedural "NCIS" has given fans some great romances to root for over the years, even if they didn't always end in happy ever after. There's the love that blossomed between Agents Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), of course, but other NCIS team members had relationships that fans almost universally supported, like Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham) and Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) as well as Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) and Delilah Fielding (Margo Harshman).
However, there's no denying that some potential pairings didn't pan out with viewers, and one such would-be couple was Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and Director Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly). While the couple definitely had some sweet moments — particularly when we see flashbacks of their prior romance in Paris — fans ultimately weren't gung-ho about the two of them ending up together. Here's why many "NCIS" viewers rejected Gibbs and Jenny as a couple.
NCIS fans weren't happy with the inconsistencies of Jenny's character
A Reddit post made by fan u/awal0n titled "NCIS: Why did fans reject the romance of Agent Gibbs and Jenny Shepard?" sheds some light on why fans didn't support Jenny and Gibbs as a couple. It seems fans felt she lacked consistency when it came to her work priorities and feelings for Gibbs.
Redditor u/maraudelle explained how a dislike of Jenny's "inconsistencies" was a major reason behind why the pairing was rejected by so many fans, writing, "It was like the writers didn't know what to do with her or they kept changing their minds." They noted her flip-flopping between whether or not she's even interested in Gibbs — and her "behaviour throughout Season 4." They also observed how some fans were still mourning the loss of Caitlin "Kate" Todd (Sasha Alexander) and the idea she would eventually end up with Gibbs.
A second user, u/Aandiarie_QueenofFa touched on what some fans felt was a less-than-friendly demeanor, writing, "I get she had to be by the book for the most part as a director, but how she talked down to some of the agents probably made people not like her character as much." They also speculated that her desire for revenge could have clouded her judgment, writing, "At [one] point she seemed to care a bit more about her revenge than some of her agents. ... She did put Tony and the others in unnecessary danger. She rolled the dice with their lives."
Jenny's role also made it hard to rekindle her romance with Gibbs
While we know that Gibbs and Jenny share a romantic past through flashbacks of their time together in Paris, it's never fully explained, and we don't know what exactly happened between them. However, by the time we see the pair reunited in Washington, D.C., their dynamic has clearly changed.
Jenny is the NCIS director — making her Gibbs' boss — and this led some fans to question whether getting back together would have been a good idea for them, professionally. As Redditor u/Dreamlacer wrote, "Jenny and Gibbs had history, but when she became the boss, it would've been highly inappropriate for them to get together. She already held their past history over Gibbs' head by constantly bringing up Paris. Can you imagine if they had rekindled a romance after she became Director of NCIS?"
Even fans who were rooting for Gibbs and Jenny noted the problems they had as a potential couple. As Twitter user debss wrote, "She really did love him but she put her career first." For others, it was more of a gut feeling; as one Redditor put it, they simply "hated Jenny in every way." In the end, it was never meant to be, as Jenny was tragically killed off (RIP) at the end of Season 5 in a gunfight (via Parade), and 13 seasons later, Gibbs is still single.