The Character Deaths That NCIS Fans Didn't Feel Bad About
"NCIS" fans were sent reeling a few years ago by the departure of the team's leader and the show's longtime headliner, Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon). Harmon and Gibbs anchored the show since its early days as a "JAG" spin-off all the way through the first few episodes of Season 19. But at the same time, when "NCIS" fans look back on the swan songs of other key characters over the show's two-decade-plus history, there are characters who — in contrast to Gibbs and others — were not necessarily missed by fans after they left.
Indeed, with more than 500 episodes worth of crimes that just so happen to fall within the jurisdiction of the United States Navy, "NCIS" has seen many characters come and go — some of whom (unlike Harmon) were unlikely to return because they were killed off. A popular thread on Reddit has been asking, "Was there ever a time when a character died and you just couldn't feel bad for them?" The answers came pouring in, almost as fast as Gibbs took off for Alaska, with fans finding no shortage of deceased "NCIS" characters they're okay with letting rest in peace.
Fans had no trouble coming up with many NCIS characters they were not sorry to see go
The thread began when Redditor u/realclowntime posted their choice: Special Agent Michelle Lee (Liza Lapira), a mole working against the NCIS team who was fatally shot by Gibbs in Season 6. "I appreciate the last desperate grasp-at-straws that the writers pulled trying to make her into a sympathetic hero at the last second," the user wrote, "but I didn't feel bad for her at all." The most upvoted response came from u/youngclarky, who wrote simply, "Kort," a reference to arch-villain Trent Kort (David Dayan Fisher), another turncoat who started out as a trusted CIA operative before being revealed as a murderer who was ultimately killed at the end of Season 13.
Beyond the double agents, plenty of characters were cited by fans. "Didn't feel a thing when they said Breena died," wrote u/LeonardGhostal, while u/drmoocow posted a whole list of characters they were happy died, and even one they wish had been killed off: "Jenny Sheppard. Clayton Reeves. Emily Fornell. Hell, for that matter, Diane Fornell. And I wouldn't have been sad for DiNozzo Senior, either, but that one won't happen."
Some fans even added characters they admitted were popular. "Diane Sterling," wrote u/DreamyNyx. "I know everyone loves her on here and thinks she's just hilarious but I don't. I find her annoying." One casualty that doesn't seem likely anytime soon? "NCIS" itself — although when and if that ever happens, the show will be missed.