{"id":1931,"date":"2025-10-21T20:55:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T20:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/giantnews.us\/?p=1931"},"modified":"2025-10-21T20:55:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T20:55:40","slug":"ncis-season-23-review-parkers-heartbreak-brings-the-show-back-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/giantnews.us\/?p=1931","title":{"rendered":"NCIS Season 23 Review: Parker\u2019s Heartbreak Brings The Show Back To Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NCIS Season 23 Review: Parker\u2019s Heartbreak Brings The Show Back To Life<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
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After a lengthy hiatus,\u00a0NCIS<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0season 23 comes back with the fallout from the murder of Alden Parker\u2019s dad, and despite the tragedy, it\u2019s an indication that the show still has good stories to tell. It\u2019s no secret that the last couple of years have been a struggle for the procedural. Ratings are dropping, with Justin Hartley\u2019s\u00a0Tracker<\/em>\u00a0dethroning it as the most-watched offering on network TV. This opened up conversations about whether it\u2019s time for NCIS to end.<\/p>\n

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That being said, CBS greenlighting a few spinoffs in\u00a0NCIS: Sydney<\/em>,\u00a0NCIS: Origins<\/em>, and most recently,\u00a0NCIS: Tony & Ziva<\/em>\u00a0on Paramount+ is proof of its confidence in the IP. The network even launched what\u2019s dubbed as \u201cSuper Tuesday\u201d \u2014 a three-hour primetime block for the flagship, its prequel, and its international installment.<\/p>\n

NCIS\u00a0<\/em>season 22\u00a0was a bit unstable in a way that there were a lot things going on, but ultimately, its main story ended up being Parker\u2019s relationship with mob boss, Carla Marino. The pair\u2019s rivalry reached into brand new heights when Parker Sr. was murdered. Now, the procedural opens with arguably 1 of the most intense premieres in a while.<\/p>\n

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NCIS Season 23, Episode 1 Brings Back Stakes Into The Show<\/h2>\n
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\"Parker<\/picture><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Picking up not long after the\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0season 22 finale, \u201cProdigal Son Part 1\u201d sees the team learning about what happened to Parker Sr. Understandably, everyone is worried about the MCRT leader, who doesn\u2019t waste time setting his plan to catch Carla in motion. After years of leading the team in a friendlier demeanor than Gibbs did, it\u2019s easy to forget that Parker has a serious and scary side.<\/p>\n

Before\u00a0Gibbs\u2019 retirement in\u00a0NCIS\u00a0<\/em>season 19, Parker was tasked by the FBI to hunt him down. Since then, however, he has dropped his more brutal side, especially as he developed bonds with the rest of the people over at Navy Yard. The murder of his father, however, brings back this darker side of the character, which is both scary and exciting, especially in light of criticisms that\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0has become too silly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In connection to Parker\u2019s more serious narrative,\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0season 23 also effectively increases its stakes. Major deaths have become very rare in its recent years, which is a major shift for a show that killed prominent players like Kate Todd, Jenny Shephard, Mike Franks, and even Eli David and Jackie Vance in its first decade. Admittedly, Parker Sr. isn\u2019t as big of a character, but as Knight said, the loss is still profound because it\u2019s personal.<\/p>\n

NCIS Season 23 Premiere Suggests The Final Evolution Of The Show After Gibbs\u2019 Departure<\/h2>\n
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\"A<\/picture>Credit: CBS<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

With over two decades under its belt,\u00a0NCIS<\/em>\u00a0has had to reinvent itself multiple times in the past. That being said, losing Gibbs and the rest of the original characters forced it to do a total make-over. The changes, however, have been made in increments. For starters, MCRT is now run very differently from when Gibbs was at the helm.<\/p>\n

The facelift all starts at the top with Parker. Replacing Harmon as the team lead was always going to be very difficult, but Gary Cole has done a great job of that. Now, with his character\u2019s tragedy,\u00a0Parker can fully solidify himself as the MCRT\u2019s face<\/strong>, the same way that Gibbs\u2019 2-part \u201cHiatus\u201d storyline did for him.<\/p>\n

NCIS\u00a0<\/em>season 23\u2019s premiere is also a 2-part special, so the case continues in episode 2 of its run. The show hasn\u2019t done this massive of an opener since \u201cKill Ari,\u201d which is one of the best narratives in the show ever. Hopefully, the conclusion to this Carla Marino plot is as good as its set-up. Beyond that,\u00a0NCIS<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0needs to look at this opener as a good barometer for the tone that they want in their episodes moving forward<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NCIS Season 23 Review: Parker\u2019s Heartbreak Brings The Show Back To Life After a lengthy hiatus,\u00a0NCIS\u00a0season 23 comes back with the fallout from the murder of Alden Parker\u2019s dad, and despite the tragedy, it\u2019s...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNCIS Season 23 Review: Parker\u2019s Heartbreak Brings The Show Back To Life - GIANTNEWS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/giantnews.us\/?p=1931\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NCIS Season 23 Review: Parker\u2019s Heartbreak Brings The Show Back To Life - 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