Cote de Pablo's character Ziva returns to "NCIS" in the flesh, sort of, during the show's Season 13 finale, which bids farewell to Michael Weatherly's Agent Tony DiNozzo.
The episode doesn't include a real-life cameo by de Pablo, but Ziva is remembered through flashbacks after a mortar explosion blew her to smithereens years before.
The story unveils the reason for DiNozzo's departure is a love child named Tali, conceived during the "very fond farewell" between DiNozzo and Ziva when she left the agency.
"We knew that we had to come up with something extraordinarily significant that would be the only thing that could get Tony DiNozzo to leave his NCIS family," executive producer Gary Glasberg told
TVGuide.com. "And the only version that really made sense to us was to not only have there be a child involved, but if there wasn't anyone else for that child, then it had to be Tony."
Weatherly, who will star in CBS's new show "Bull," said he was "incredibly pleased" with his exit from "NCIS."
"I think we gave [fans] a very satisfying emotional journey, and it was very emotional for me," he told
E! Online. "I feel very complete and I feel like the circle has been closed and I'm ready for a new adventure."
During the episode, NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee, played by Sean Murray, asks whether DiNozzo and Ziva were an item the whole time,
Deadline recounted.
“We had a…connection. And obviously a very fond farewell,” DiNozzo said.
The character planned to take his new-found daughter on a trip to Israel and then to Paris.
The episode drew "huge" ratings, drawing more viewers than ABC, Fox and NBC combined, according to
Variety. The 17.6 million viewers who tuned in to the episode marked a 1.6 million increase from the previous week. Last year's season finale drew 14.9 million viewers.
Twitter users shared emotional reactions to the finale.
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