NCIS: Origins Fans Think Lala’s Fate Is Already Sealed — The Clue They Spotted Before Season 2
Left hanging after that brutal Jeep crash to save a child, Lala’s fate in NCIS: Origins has fans in overdrive — and a pre-premiere hint has them convinced the answer is already out there. All eyes are on the Season 2 premiere to confirm it.
NCIS: Origins left us dangling off a cliff last season — literally. The finale ends with Lala crashing her Jeep while swerving to save a kid who darted into her path. She’s upside down in the seat, badly injured, bleeding, and then... cut to black. Now the cast is out promoting Season 2, and fans think they might have accidentally tipped their hand about her fate.
So, is Lala alive in Season 2?
Officially: not confirmed. Unofficially: the tea leaves are getting read to filth.
"Lala will be back in some capacity. She went through a terrible accident, and anybody who would go through something like that, there are going to be adjustments and baby steps coming back into the workplace." (via TVLine)
That came from Austin Stowell, who plays young Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Naturally, viewers took that as a pretty clear hint that Mariel Molino’s Lala survives.
Then the walk-back. Other cast members stepped in to say Stowell was speaking hypothetically, and Wilmer Valderrama added that nothing is confirmed yet. Which is exactly the kind of hedging you get when a show wants to keep a big reveal under wraps — and exactly the kind of hedging that makes fans read between the lines.
Why fans think the secret’s already out
- Stowell’s 'Lala will be back in some capacity' comment to TVLine sounds less hypothetical and more accidental spoiler.
- Castmates later tried to soften it, with Valderrama saying nothing is confirmed. Damage control vibes.
- Mariel Molino has shared on-set snapshots from Season 2 filming on Instagram (@marielmolino), which, paired with Stowell’s quote, looks a lot like proof of her return.
If she’s back... or not
From a storytelling standpoint, they’ve got two clean lanes:
If Lala lives, her recovery would realistically be a process — adjustments, baby steps, the whole team dealing with the fallout. If she doesn’t, the show can keep her in the mix through flashbacks to fill in those missing pieces and deepen what her character meant to the unit.
Bottom line: the show hasn’t confirmed anything on the record, but between the promo chatter and those Season 2 set pics, you can see why fans think the mystery might already be solved. We’ll know for sure when the premiere rolls the tape.