The Most Pause-Worthy Anthony Moment On NCIS

Driving military cop drama "NCIS" over the course of the nearly two decades and counting it's been on the air are the numerous criminal investigations that fall under the purview of the National Criminal Investigative Service. Perhaps more important, however, are its characters. Whereas criminal investigations come and go, its ensemble cast of characters remains relatively constant, giving viewers reason to tune in week after week.

Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) oftentimes divided viewer opinions during his time on the series, which lasted for 13 seasons between 2003 and 2016. At his worst, viewers have characterized DiNozzo as disrespectful to women. Especially in early seasons of the show, a number of viewers have described his workplace behavior as outright inappropriate, and an aspect of "NCIS" that aged particularly poorly. Nevertheless, DiNozzo has a fair share of fans too, some of whom continued to lament Weatherly's decision to leave "NCIS" years after the fact (via Reddit).

With fans' complex relationship to DiNozzo in mind, here's what may well be the most pause-worthy moment in the character's history on "NCIS."

Season 16, Episode 14 of "NCIS," titled "Once Upon a Tim," features Agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) in its lead role, providing viewers some insight into his personal life absent from a typical episode. By Season 16 of "NCIS," which aired in 2018 and 2019, Micahel Weatherly was already absent for a couple of years. At one point in the episode, as chronicled by a Reddit user in a thread titled "The Photo of DiNozzo and McGee in 16x14 'Once Upon A Tim,'" the camera reveals a black-and-white photo that McGee keeps in his home of he and DiNozzo sitting on a ledge outside of an office building, commemorating their friendship.

This is noteworthy because, not only were DiNozzo and McGee co-workers during the time DiNozzo was a part of the NCIS team, but their bond was a high point of the series for a number of fans. Their dynamic oftentimes saw them poking fun at one another, meaning that they oftentimes injected levity into otherwise serious storylines.

McGee's photo, then, is not only a throwback to DiNozzo's "NCIS" tenure, but a timely tribute to a friendship that was once at an important component of the series. Since this photo is only on-screen for a short moment, viewers will most likely have to hit the pause button to catch sigh of it themselves.