Where Is Lala in the Present? ‘NCIS: Origins’ Star Mariel Molino Shares Her Theories About Gibbs Relationship

While there’s quite a bit that we know about some of the characters of the NCIS prequel Origins, thanks to the mothership, there are a few characters whose fates remain a mystery. Among them is the central figure of the question we’ve had since the beginning of the series: What is “the story of her”?

That’s the framework for the prequel about Gibbs’ (Austin Stowell, with Mark Harmon, who starred in the role on NCIS narrating and in Alaska) life in his early days at NIS, now NCIS as of the Season 2 finale. That ominous phrase even came up near the end of that episode, with Gibbs’ voiceover, “I was going to walk out the door like the story of her never happened,” before he went to Lala (Mariel Molino) and the two finally kissed. While NCIS: Origins executive producer David J. North wouldn’t confirm if “the story of her” refers to this relationship we never knew about for Gibbs or something else, his fellow EP, Gina Lucita Monreal (who is not returning for Season 3), did tell TV Insider that that line wasn’t in the script or the show until the last day of editing.

“I was like, ‘There’s something missing there.’ And I was talking with the editors and I almost cut that whole part. And then one of the assistant editors said, ‘Well, I like it because it reminds you of the story of her,’” Monreal revealed. “And I was like, ‘Oh, we need to put that in there.’”

Now that Gibbs and Lala have gotten together, a relationship we don’t know anything about other than it won’t last, given she’s not one of his ex-wives that we heard about on NCIS, it does feel like it’s not one that will end amicably. Molino had some ideas when we spoke with her about the Season 2 finale.

“There’s only a couple outcomes that I see that could be realistic. I think there’s a possibility that there was some sort of betrayal on either Gibbs’ end or Lala’s,” she admitted. “I also think there’s potential for a very tragic ending, and that could be the reason that Gibbs has never talked about Lala. I think something definitely has to happen that is pretty pivotal in both their lives for this story about her, right? I mean, it can’t just be that they fell out of touch.”

She’s also among those who would love to see Lala show up in Alaska in the present-day timeline with Gibbs as a surprise. “That would be a very beautiful, romantic ending to the saga of Gibbs,” she said.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem likely that will be the case. It does seem like one of her suggestions is more likely — and that whatever happens with at least have a role to play in Gibbs’ rule 12: Never date a coworker. (That didn’t go well for Gibbs with the late Director Jenny Shepard, played by Lauren Holly, either.) Honestly, we’d be shocked if Gibbs and Lala’s relationship doesn’t blow up in their — and the team’s — faces. After all, that would be good drama.

But we do go back and forth on whether NCIS: Origins will kill off Lala, especially since her fate was the Season 1 finale cliffhanger. At the same time, that could very well be why the show will: It wouldn’t be entirely expected for the series to really kill her off after leaving fans wondering if it had only for her to be alive.

But what’s your theory? Where do you think Lala is in the present? Is she alive? What do you think happened between her and Gibbs? Let us know in the comments section below.