Jessica Knight pushing through with her departure in NCIS season 22 would be the best thing for Jimmy Palmer, considering everything that has happened to him. Despite a significantly shorter season, NCIS season 21 was jampacked. On top of its weekly cases, things were particularly rough for the majority of Alden Parker’s team. Nick Torres almost went to prison for a murder that he didn’t commit, Ducky Mallard, died, and Director Leon Vance was shot in the NCIS 1000th episode, among others. So at the end of the year, the procedural wrapped up with a pretty straightforward case.
In the NCIS season 21 finale, “Reef Madness,” Parker and his team responded to the discovery of several bodies aboard a ship that is about to be an artificial reef. Admittedly, it wasn’t compelling, almost not worthy to be a finale narrative. That said, it was what went down outside the official mystery that made the offering special. Aside from the NCIS season 21 finale introducing Parker’s mystery that revolves around the identity of Lily, Knight was faced with a big decision when she was offered her dream job that would take her out of the Major Case Response Team.
Palmer Gets A Proper Goodbye From Knight If She Leaves NCIS
Assuming that Knight really is leaving MCRT to take up Vance’s offer for her dream job at Camp Pendleton, it is the kindest thing to happen for Palmer in light of his recent experiences with NCIS departures. After years of being married to Breena, he lost her during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. To make the storyline so much more realistic, Palmer wasn’t even allowed to properly say goodbye to his wife, considering the circumstances. Losing Breena was followed by the abrupt departure of Ellie Bishop, who didn’t have a final conversation with him.
As he faces another MCRT exit, Knight being able to formally say goodbye to Palmer is the best thing to come out of this incredibly heartbreaking situation.
Not long after that, Leroy Jethro Gibbs decided to retire in Alaska, and while he was able to have a moment with his existing team at that point, Palmer didn’t have time with his former boss. A couple of seasons later in NCIS season 21, the same happened when Ducky died. As he faces another MCRT exit, Knight being able to formally say goodbye to Palmer is the best thing to come out of this incredibly heartbreaking situation.
While it won’t be easy, at least Palmer can get a clean break from this relationship, unlike the aforementioned NCIS exits.
This is also the very same reason why he freaked out upon learning of the news that Knight might leave in the NCIS finale. Palmer has been way too many cruel farewells that he knew that he wouldn’t be able to handle the heartbreak if she left and their relationship ended up fizzling out while on a long-distance set-up. He can’t risk the possibility of not having the chance to sit down and have a face-to-face conversation about it.
Will Knight Really Leave NCIS In Season 22?
Knight has already accepted Vance’s job offer, but it doesn’t guarantee that she is actually leaving MCRT. For context, NCIS has had several similar instances throughout its run. At one point, Vance even broke up Gibbs’ best NCIS team to get them back together the following summer break and a few episodes later, all for a plot. The same also happened when Cote de Pablo’s Ziva David supposedly walked away from Gibbs’ team but eventually got reinstated and even became a proper agent instead of an on-loan Mossad agent the next year following a particularly harrowing rescue mission.
In any case, Katrina Law hasn’t given any indication that she is leaving. The majority of departures in NCIS stemmed from the actors’ decision to leave for personal and professional reasons. Law has maintained that she would love to continue playing Knight, so there isn’t any urgent reason to write her out anytime soon, especially since she is still fairly new to the series. There’s a wealth of stories left to tell about her, including her burgeoning romance with Palmer. So, until NCIS season 22 sheds light on her real status, this may not be a true cause for concern.
Knight’s departure may even be a stepping stone for something bigger concerning her and Palmer’s relationship.
This doesn’t mean that she will not even attempt to do the job for a while. It’s possible that when NCIS season 22 begins, she won’t even be part of MCRT, with Parker on the hunt for her replacement. However, this may eventually be overturned with Knight’s eventual return to DC, regardless of the reason. The bait and switch may be frustrating, but it’s all part of the show’s dramatic storytelling. Knight’s departure may even be a stepping stone for something bigger concerning her and Palmer’s relationship.
Who Might Replace Knight In Parker’s MCRT Come NCIS Season 22?
In the event that Knight really is written out of NCIS, Parker will have to kickstart the process of replacing her. The MCRT isn’t new to this process, having done this quite a few times before. Knight joining the team stemmed from Eleanor Bishop’s controversial exit from the show. Before that, Emily Wickersham was brought in to fill the spot that de Pablo’s Ziva left, who also replaced Sasha Alexander’s Caitlin Todd. The great thing is, that NCIS doesn’t have to look very far to find someone who could take over Knight’s team.
In light of NCIS: Hawai’i’s unexpected cancelation, Director Vance can bring in Jane Tennant to DC for the role. Granted that she is overqualified for the job and would have to take a demotion, but it’s an efficient way to replace Knight while also appeasing fans of her spinoff who aren’t thrilled with CBS pulling the plug on the show. Finally, recruiting Tennant would NCIS to address the frustrating NCIS: Hawai’i cliffhanger. The mystery could be more than enough motivation for Tennant to replace Knight, even though it means that he would go down in rank.
NCIS Needs Knight And Palmer’s Romance
Regardless of what happens to Law’s future in the show, however, NCIS should keep Knight and Palmer together. In its more than two decades on the air, the police procedural has had its fair share of romances. That said, most of them ended up in heartbreak or unsatisfying conclusions. Tony DiNozzo and Ziva are together, but they never had a proper romance play out in the series. Meanwhile, Torress and Bishop’s arc didn’t really go anywhere. With Knight and Palmer, NCIS has a true love line that can play out for years to come.
