Following a new 2024 NCIS episode, the show's cast may look different as Katrina Law's Agent Knight re-evaluates her future.
First joining NCIS at the end of Season 18, Law's Special Agent Jessica Knight came to the team after working in the Navy Yard's REACT unit. Her team was disbanded when her fellow agents were killed.
She served as the replacement on Agent Gibbs' team when Emily Wickersham's Ellie Bishop left the series, eventually forming a romantic relationship with Brian Dietzen's Dr. Jimmy Palmer as well.
Is Jessica Knight Leaving NCIS?
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for Season 21, Episode 10 of NCIS.
2024's Season 21 finale of NCIS appeared to set up Katrina Law's exit from the series as NCIS Special Agent Jessica Knight after more than 50 episodes of work.
Fans were aware that Rocky Carroll's Director Leon Vance would present Agent Knight with a special opportunity to be the REACT team’s chief training officer. However, it was based in Southern California, as Knight told Vance she would think the offer over before holding off on telling Dr. Palmer.
This led to a heated argument between the couple, but with Knight then locked on a decommissioned Navy ship, his chance to apologize for the outburst was delayed.
After solving the case and reuniting with her team and Palmer, Knight told Vance she would accept the job offer, which would send her across the country. This seems to indicate that her time on NCIS is over, for now.
Speaking with The Wrap, NCIS co-showrunner Steven D. Binder addressed Knight's new job, admitting that he hopes "it means good things for Jessica’s future" while teasing more surprises for the audience:
"Well, we hope it means good things for Jessica’s future for sure. As for Katrina’s future, you know, we like to keep the audience guessing, and surprise them. So I think what that means is surprises you’ll have to guess at?"
When asked if Law's Agent Knight is leaving the show, Binder only hinted that "the audience will be pleased" with what's coming:
"I will say that we strive to please, and the audience will be pleased."
Binder also discussed the episode with TVLine, saying, "You just never know" on her exit while looking back at how past NCIS characters have left the series:
“Well, we set something up there...and I will point you to our track record where you just never know. We’ve had people look like they were going away and then it turned out they weren’t, and then we had people who just disappeared, like Gibbs."
Wanting viewers to be happy, Binder believes "the audience will be satisfied" with where Agent Knight's journey takes her:
"So I will say this: We do aim to please, and we think the audience will be satisfied with where they see this go."
He looked back to Knight's recent history on the show with her family, as her father was a former NCIS Agent in Charge. Knight's father came back into the fold in Episode 5, asking his daughter about her future as tension built for the NCIS veteran:
"But also, one of the things we tried to build into the backstory leading up to this episode is this outburst from Jimmy and this tension with Knight didn’t just come on in this episode, it didn’t come up with this job happening. This has been building since her father showed up and said, 'I thought your future was this?'"
This comes on top of the struggles in her relationship with Palmer as she takes a moment to reassess where she is in her life, realizing that she needs to be "a whole person" before her relationships with others feel full:
"And Jimmy is thinking, 'Well, it’s only a matter of time before you leave anyway, so I’m going to push you out the door, so I don’t have to sit here waiting for it to happen.' And I think Jess has taken a moment to go, 'You know what? I think we both have some things to work out on our own. You have some issues to sort out.' Jessica is thinking, 'I did take my foot off the gas pedal when I lost my REACT team, so maybe it’s time to reapply the gas.' As much as she loves Jimmy, she knows she can never fulfill that part of the relationship if she herself isn’t a whole person."
What Will Happen in Future NCIS Seasons?
As has been the case on NCIS for years, no character's exit seems permanent. Even characters who were thought to be dead (such as Cote de Pablo's Ziva David) have found their way back into the fold through various plot twists and surprises.
NCIS is also known for its various spin-off series, which have been set in Los Angeles, Hawaii, and New Orleans.
This could mean CBS and Paramount have plans to further Agent Knight's story in her own spin-off series at some point, although no news or rumors have indicated so.
For now, Season 21 of NCIS seems to be putting Katrina Law's character on a new path that will take her away from the Navy Yard and toward a bigger leadership position.
But with the series now renewed for its 22nd season, which should pick up later in 2024, all options are still on the table.
Season 21 of NCIS is now streaming on Paramount+.
Read more about the greater NCIS universe below:
