NCIS season 19 debate: Who is the mystery man in key art?

With us just a few days away from the NCIS season 19 premiere airing on CBS, why not dive into a new mystery? Suffice it to say, this one is interesting.

There’s a chance that you’ve been able to see the key art above for the new season already. On the surface, this one is rather fun! It’s a chance to see Gibbs and the rest of the team at the diner, a familiar setting for longtime fans of the show.

Watch our NCIS season 18 finale review! Below, we got into a lot of stuff when it comes to the series, including the exit of Emily Wickersham and the big Gibbs cliffhanger. Check it out and be sure to SUBSCRIBE to Matt & Jess for some other updates moving into the season.

Yet, this key art may be a little bit strange the longer you look at it. Why? A lot of that is due to a mystery man you can see in the top-right. It looks as though they are exiting the diner.

Who is this person? It’s easy to make the argument that they’re just some random patron leaving the establishment. Yet, why feature them at all? Given that there is a waitress present in the top-left of the poster, you can argue that this supplements the theory further; however, the waitress kind of has to be there in order for the key art to make sense. This man does not. Someone intentionally got a man to be in the back of this poster for some reason, and we’re not altogether sure the poster is out to maximize realism here. It feels purposeful.

Is it possible that this debate is much ado about nothing? Sure, but wouldn’t it be fascinating if that mystery-man is representative of some greater Big Bad watching the team? It’d be symbolic in a way that we don’t often get from CBS posters. It would show that the writers are thinking far ahead this season, but casual fans wouldn’t think twice about their presence here. Consider this some fun stuff to chew on as we get closer to Monday’s episode.

Related – Be sure to get some other updates on NCIS right now

What do you most want to see on NCIS season 19?

Who do you think this mystery man is from the key art? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Once you do just that, stick around — there are some other updates ahead and we don’t want you missing any of them. (Photo: CBS.)

This article was written by Jess Carter. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.