Hiatus (NCIS)

Tony, McGee, and Ziva wait in a car as Gibbs contacts an undercover government agent on a Turkish ship. The agent tells Gibbs about an upcoming attack on a Marine Assault Ship. Outside, the team witness an explosion from the ship which kills the agent and severely injures Gibbs, leaving him in a coma. In his comatose state, Gibbs has flashbacks of the murder of his wife, Shannon (Darby Stanchfield), and eight-year-old daughter, Kelly (Mary Matilyn Mouser), and being wounded during Operation Desert Storm.[7]

Tony becomes the temporary head of the investigation team as the group attempts to track down Pinpin Pula, a missing crew member of the ship, suspected to be a member of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group. The team confirms the identity of the dead agent to be NCIS Special Agent Abog Galib (Burt Bulos), with whom Gibbs was supposed to be meeting.[7]

Meanwhile, other characters are disturbed by Ziva's seeming nonchalance regarding Gibbs' serious injuries, leading Ducky to accidentally insult her by implying that she does not care. Later, Abby slaps her in a fit of anger, and Ziva responds by slapping her in turn. McGee notifies Tony, who forces a reconciliation.[7]

Capt. Todd Gelfand, a doctor at Bethesda Naval Hospital where Gibbs is hospitalized, recognized him from Desert Storm having treated him back then. Jenny and Ducky learn about Shannon and Kelly from Capt Gelfand and are left in shock at the revelation.

At the hospital, Gibbs awakens from his coma but has no memory of his friend and colleague, Ducky Mallard.[7]

Director Jenny Shepard informs the team that Gibbs has regained consciousness but cannot remember anything after 1991. He believes that he has just woken up from his wounding in Desert Storm. Tony worries that Shepard might try to take over the investigation and confronts her about it, prompting her to say that he was always going to lead the team, but she was actually testing him to see if he has as much guts as Gibbs.[8]

Several characters attempt unsuccessfully to help an amnesiac Gibbs regain his memory as only he knows the details to an impending terrorist attack. Shepard contacts Gibbs' NCIS mentor and former partner, Mike Franks (Muse Watson), for assistance. He is partly successful, as Gibbs remembers working with Franks and learning from him, recalling up to the point that Franks retired after his warnings about an upcoming terrorist attack were ignored, resulting in the Khobar Towers bombing. Franks fills him on what has been happening in the world since 1991, and the shock of learning of the September 11 terrorist attacks causes him to become physically sick.[8]

Abby and McGee's digital reconstruction of the explosion shows that Gibbs could not have survived the explosion if he had been standing at the time, as he would have been peppered with shrapnel. This leads them to believe that Gibbs knew that he was set up and had taken cover. They also realize that someone else had posed as Special Agent Abog Galib, who was already dead before the explosion. Ziva's interrogation of the ship's captain reveals that the man Gibbs met with was in fact Pinpin Pula. Pula is now on a supply ship, posing as Galib, and is the radio operator. He is able to intercept any incoming BOLOs, so the warnings don't get through.[8]

Ziva visits Gibbs on his last night in the hospital in desperation to help him remember, grabbing his hand and using it to show him his trademark "head slap".^{[note A]} This, together with her emotionally reminding him that she had killed her own brother to save his life, shocks Gibbs into regaining his memory. They both promptly return to their headquarters much to the surprise of the team.[8]

In a live video conference, Washington bureaucrats ignore Gibbs' recommendations about using a covert insertion to board the vessel Pinpin Pula is on instead of attempting to openly search it because of a fear of negative publicity. As a Navy frigate attempts to board the freighter to find Pinpin Pula, the terrorist detonates his bomb and destroys the freighter, killing the Navy SEALs that were about to board and the crew of the freighter alongside himself, while the NCIS team watches on a large surveillance screen. Infuriated, Gibbs has a moment of clarity and tells Jenny that he finally understands why Mike Franks resigned. Gibbs resigns from NCIS and hands his badge to Tony, telling him that he is now in charge of the team and is ready for the responsibility. The episode (and season) closes with Gibbs arriving at Franks' house in Mexico.[8]

By the third season, NCIS had become "a solid Top 20 hit",[13] and "Hiatus (Part I)" was watched live by 15.17 million viewers in the United States following its broadcast on May 9, 2006.[1] A few days later, it was reported, "While ABC, UPN and NBC have unsuccessfully pitted their own offerings against Fox's 'American Idol,' with show after show cycling through the timeslot, the CBS drama has fared well against the singing contest. It pulls in an average 3.1 adults 18-49 rating, making it No. 2 in its time slot behind 'Idol.'"[14]

On May 16, Part II was seen live by 16.49 million viewers.[2] According to The Futon Critic, "NCIS was second in households (10.5/16), viewers (16.49m), adults 25-54 (5.3/13) and adults 18-49 (3.8/10). NCIS beat NBC and ABC combined in households (vs. 5.7/09, +84%), viewers (vs. 8.37m, +97%), adults 25-54 (vs. 3.4/08, +56%) and adults 18-49 (vs. 2.9/08, +31%)."[2] A rating point represents one percent of the total number of television sets in American households, and a share means the percentage of television sets in use tuned to the program.

Bellisario had divulged that a character would be "leaving" in the finale before the episode aired. Ed Robertson of Media Life Magazine speculated that either Tony (Michael Weatherly) or Abby (Pauley Perrette) would depart with the conclusion of Part II, saying, "We assume CBS would never be stupid enough to kill off series star Mark Harmon, who plays hard-nosed Leroy Gibbs, who is already suffering memory loss after a recent explosion."[14] Jae-Ha Kim of Amazon.com later described the events of the finale as "explosive" in her review of the third season.[15]

Michelle Calbert from BuddyTV included the "Hiatus" two-part in her list of "The 10 Best Gibbs Episodes" and wrote, "We're including both episodes as one because they are basically just one two-hour episode. Gibbs is seriously injured in an explosion and the trauma triggers memories we never knew he had. That season we had seen glimpses and hints to what we found out in those two episodes, but it was still shocking to discover that Gibbs had once had a wife and child tragically killed by a drug dealer. Not only that, but that Gibbs had killed said drug dealer as revenge. We learned so much about Gibbs in this episode that I don't think any of us ever looked at him the same way again."[16] Likewise, Julian Spivey from Examiner.com included "Hiatus" in his compile of the "10 greatest episodes of 'NCIS'" in January 2012, saying, "'Hiatus' was the season finale of season three, in which Gibbs has been in a coma after being involved in an explosion. It's a very impressive performance from Harmon, especially as he's forced to remember the deaths of his wife and daughter and has to remember horrible moments in his life, like 9/11. The season culminates with Gibbs realizing that a terrorist is going to blow up a U.S. Naval vessel, but a higher up doesn’t believe him. As the ship blows up, Gibbs quits NCIS and leaves for the beaches of Mexico. 'Hiatus' also marked the debut of NCIS favorite recurring character Mike Franks as Gibbs former boss and closest friend."[17]