NCIS Turned a Major Death Into an Afterthought With Tony and Ziva’s Arc
NCIS: Tony & Ziva detonates its most brutal twist yet as Interpol General Secretary and Tony ally Henry Rayner-Hunt is executed by Jonah in episode 5 To Be Determined, moments after he helps Tony and Ziva save their daughter. The gut-punch death unfolds before their eyes—and sends the stakes sky-high.
Halfway through NCIS: Tony & Ziva, the show throws a grenade: they kill Henry Rayner-Hunt. It is sudden, brutal, and clearly meant to say 'no one is safe.' The problem is, the emotional punch lands after the fact, not when it counts.
The episode 5 gut punch
In episode 5, 'To Be Determined,' Henry — the Interpol General Secretary and a longtime friend of Tony — helps Tony and Ziva escape and rescue their daughter. Moments later, Jonah executes him while Tony and Ziva can do nothing but watch. It is merciless and it is designed to spike the tension.
Why the shock didn't sting like it should
The series backfills Henry's importance in later episodes instead of front-loading it. By the time the show explains how woven into their lives he really was, the moment has already passed.
- We learn Henry was Tali's honorary uncle.
- He was almost Tony's best man.
- He was the person who actually got Tony to open up about his fears and feelings ahead of the wedding — something even Ziva hadn't been able to crack.
Those are heavy, human details — the kind that would have made his death a true gut punch if we'd had them before the execution. Instead, the scene plays like a big red lever the writers pulled to raise the stakes.
What the team behind the show says
James D'Arcy, who plays Henry, told TVLine the character's death is not just shock value — it changes the math for everyone, fast:
"The fact that they've killed off a character that was pretty integral at this point in the show will raise the stakes fairly dramatically."
He also pointed out that the fallout leaves plenty of open questions: Who dies next? Is Jonah actually the main villain, or taking orders from someone higher up? The show leans into that uncertainty, and you can already see it hitting Tony hard as he grieves and looks back on memories with Henry in the episodes that follow.
Creator John McNamara told TVLine it was a tough call, but a necessary one for a thriller. He loves the character — and D'Arcy — but he wanted real consequences, even for good people. He also says the loss will keep echoing through Tony and Ziva's story. Episode 8 underlines just how close Henry and Tony were, making it painfully clear why the death matters — even if the series tells us a beat too late.
Where this leaves Tony & Ziva
On-screen, Henry's death raises the ceiling on danger and narrows the safety net. Off-screen, it's a very writerly move: clear out a beloved ally to sharpen the stakes. Whether it pays off long-term depends on how the show uses Tony's grief and whatever the deal is with Jonah. For now, it has put everyone on notice.
NCIS: Tony & Ziva is streaming on Paramount+.