‘NCIS’ season 11 spoilers: Boss on Cote de Pablo’s exit, payoff for Ziva / Tony
As devastating as Cote de Pablo’s “NCIS” exit may be for some fans, there is at least some hope now that the character could have the resolution that many longtime fans of the show have been waiting for, even to the point of frustrating, for almost an entire decade: Before Ziva does take her final bow on the series, she will share a few “romantic” moments with a certain male character.
In his first public comments since the news of Cote’s exit first broke, showrunner Gary Glasberg tells TVLine that he was really feeling the same way that we were (shocked) when the news was first handed down. He was at one point confident that a deal would happen, but it was ultimately her choice to depart the series, and that was something that they had to respect at the end of the day.
With all of that being said, Glasberg suggested that the character’s exit will be handed in a two-part episode that will still tie into everything that we saw at the end of last season with Gibbs and the sniper:
“Basically, the Ziva story sort of intertwines with where we left Gibbs off at the end of the season, with the sniper rifle. That whole story arc unfolds through the first episode, and then Cote/Ziva plays very prominently in the second one. There’s a really significant Tony/Ziva payoff — everything I hope the Tiva fans have been waiting for … It gives us some insight into this decision that she’s going to make. It’s exciting. And it’s romantic.”
For those curious, we still don’t get the feeling that Glasberg plans to kill the character off, which means that she could return in the future. Just don’t hold your breath on it happening, and then get disappointed when it doesn’t.
There are plans in the works to cast a new character to take on her sort of role, and while Glasberg says that they can never really replace Cote, they are just hoping they can find someone else that fits organically into the world of the show that fans will like.
If you want to read some more news on what CBS’ boss Less Moonves has to say about the negotiations, and whether or not Cote was offered more money to stay on board, you can do so over here.
Photo: CBS