The primary character of NCIS, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, has gone through amazing transformations throughout the course of the series’ 19 seasons, but these have been the most stunning.
The popular NCIS series is broadcasting its 18th season on CBS , 18 years full of action and police investigation with the main character Leroy Jethro Gibbs ( Mark Harmon) or simply “Gibbs”. But, during all this time the character has had big changes and these are some of them.
Unreachable
One of the rules Gibbs abided by at the beginning of the series was never to be unreachable. He even referred to it as her “Personal Rule #3.” She always had her phone with him. However, as the series progressed, he broke this rule more and more.
The character has left his phone on or turned it off many times, especially when going incognito, even though he would be in danger. And on the anniversary of his marriage, he deliberately unplugged his home phone and put his cell phone into paint thinner to avoid talking to his ex-wife.
Suspects
During the first season, Gibbs was pretty brutal with the suspects. He never trusted the people he arrested. He also made sure to monitor his activities at all times. This changed in later seasons.
Case in point, in the season 8 episode “Ships in the Night”, he allowed two suspects to be alone in a room together, even though they turned out to be innocent. He also did the same thing in the season 2 episode “Caught On Tape”. This was right after he found out that his wife and his best friend were having an affair.
Trust in lawyers
Gibs always made it clear from the beginning of the series that he did not trust lawyers. He even wrote this down as “Personal Rule Number 13” of his. But he seems to have changed this.
In the season 7 episode titled “Mother’s Day”, she contacted a lawyer named Alison Hart to represent her former mother-in-law, Joann Fielding ( Gena Rowlands ), after she was named as a suspect in the murder of a Navy officer.
Work and relationships
In the season one episode titled “Enigma”, Gibbs stated that he never dates co-workers. However, he ended up dating NCIS Special Agent Jenny Shepard ( Lauren Holly ). The two remained lovers during assignments in Italy and London.
Sadly, the two parted ways as Jenny wanted to further her career by taking a job as Madrid team boss. Perhaps part of the reason Jenny decided to call things off as well was that Gibbs showed no desire to commit long-term. Either way, it’s still amazing that he broke his coworker’s rule.