NCIS Season 23's premiere ended with the fate of Gary Cole's Alden Parker left unknown, but CBS confirmed whether the character is still alive amid exit suspicions. NCIS' Season 22 finale ended with a massive twist by showing the dead body of Agent Parker's father, Roman, after Carla Marino (a Kansas City mob boss) killed him to send a message to Parker and NCIS. Season 23 began with Parker's quest for revenge against Marino, but NCIS director Leon Vance benched him because he was too close to the case. As Vance pointed out, he didn't want to turn Marino's manhunt into a massacre.
Still, Parker found a way to continue with his pursuit, with the rest of the team joining him after they were benched by Vance as well. However, Parker's revenge tour ended badly after one crucial mistake in NCIS Season 23, Episode 1.
Is Gary Cole's Parker Leaving NCIS Season 23?
Agent Parker's personal vendetta made him reckless and dangerous because he was not thinking straight due to revenge and grief. Parker's revenge mission forced the team to stay by his side, leading them to track down a forger named Agent Ford (who has ties to Marino). After they retrieved him and eventually confirmed that Carla Marino used Parker's gun to kill his father, Parker snapped at his own team, but they managed to calm him down and convince him to lie low while they tried to find Quentin (a ship that Marino used to escape).
However, Parker blindsided his own team, and it turned out he was already on the ship where Marino was supposed to be. Driven by revenge, Parker used his expertise to sneak inside and track down Marino for a one-on-one confrontation. Unfortunately, Harriet Parker (Agent Parker's sister) took control of the mission, noting that the ship was carrying weapons and drugs, and Carla Marino herself (aka all threats to national security). Harriet's commanding admiral gave her the order to shoot the boat down.
The Season 23 premiere ended with Harriet giving the order to fire on the ship, leaving Parker's fate unknown. Despite that, the synopsis for NCIS Season 23, Episode 2 confirmed that Parker is still alive, with the description saying that his "pursuit of vengeance" will still be at the center of the show's two-part premiere:
"Parker’s pursuit of vengeance for his father’s murder could have deadly consequences; Parker’s sister faces an impossible choice."
The decision not to pull the trigger on Parker's death this early makes sense because Season 23 appears to be putting the focus on him. This is the right movie, especially after much of NCIS Season 22 focused on Agent McGee's journey that was also filled with exit scares.
Does Parker Die on NCIS?
Despite the confirmation that Parker is still alive in NCIS Season 23, Episode 2, the character is still not out of the woods yet because he has to deal with an incoming massive explosion (ordered by his sister by the way) and the looming threat of Carla Marino and her goons.
This begs the question of whether or not Parker will indeed die in the next episode, mainly because he is driven by revenge and may end up making mistakes on the field. Still, given that Harriet Parker still considers Alden as her brother, there is a strong chance that she might send the rest of the NCIS team to help him deal with the Marino threat.
It is reasonable to assume that Parker will not die in NCIS Season 23's next episode since killing him would derail his complex story arc in the new season that sent him in a dark path. Keeping him alive would allow him to grow throughout the season, laying the groundwork for him to be a better NCIS teammate.
