‘NCIS’ Season 22’s Potential Return Means a Lot More Than You Think

Throughout the 22 seasons of NCIS, the series has always excelled when it brings in the main characters’ family members as guest stars. With fan favorites like Ralph Waite‘s Jackson Gibbs and Robert Wagner‘s Anthony DiNozzo Sr., these roles have contributed to the development of the core team. They also provide insight into whom these characters were before joining NCIS, and presents a side of them they don’t often show at work. A recent example of this on NCIS is the introduction of Jessica Knight’s (Katrina Law) sister, Robin Knight (Lilan Bowden). Making her debut in the NCIS Season 20 Thanksgiving episode, Robin is shown to be a free spirit with a new fiancé (her fifth one, to be exact) — much different than Jessica’s serious by-the-book approach to life.

In a report from TVLine, Law teases that Robin will be returning in a future NCIS Season 22 episode. She notes that Jessica “may have to be protective of people from [her] sister.” The last time Robin was seen, her recent fiancé turned out to be dating her just to get close to Jessica and kill her. Robin went from selling $30 soap bars to being a spiritual EMT, so this tease from Law is a very intriguing hook to Robin’s upcoming appearance.

Robin Knight Will Help Jessica Knight Grow as a Character in ‘NCIS’

Since Jessica left the REACT team at the start of NCIS Season 22, she’s been in a strange state between turning down her dream job and her breakup with Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen). Robin coming back might just be the push she needs to readjust and reflect on what her new goals are. In NCIS Season 20, Episode 8, the sisters were at odds and passive-aggressive with one another. While Jessica was the one to give Robin a wake-up call in that episode, it might be Robin’s turn to do the same for her sister.

Since Law said Jessica is going to have to protect people from Robin, one can’t help but wonder if Robin was trained to be a fighter as well. The Season 22 episode with Robin will be their first one together since NCIS introduced their father, Feng Zhao (Russell Wong). Seeing that Feng is a well-regarded NCIS agentadds a clue to what the Knight sisters’ upbringing was like. Jessica was the one who followed his career path, but with Robin’s carefree attitude, it’s clear she didn’t want anything to do with being part of law enforcement. Or did Feng’s tough parenting style set high expectations for his daughters that Robin couldn’t handle? Jessica’s history outside of her jobs has yet to be uncovered, so this new episode with Robin is the opportunity to unpack any unresolved issues between the sisters.

Jessica Knight Is Long Overdue for a Major Character Arc

When the Knight sisters reunite, they might be able to relate to each other much more. Robin lacked stability as she jumped between different jobs and relationships. When Jimmy and Jessica have a mutual breakup in NCIS Season 22, Episode 4, they both agree they need to individually focus on themselves. Jessica says Jimmy needs someone to provide him with stability, while he says Jessica needs someone spontaneous. Jessica could start to understand Robin’s carefree attitude better after hearing what Jimmy had to say.

Most of Jessica’s monumental episodes in NCIS are tied to other characters, such as Jimmy, Robin, and Feng. While it’s been proven that family members appearing in the series is a great way to further develop a character, Jessica hasn’t gotten much time to independently grow. Whether it’s before or after the episode Robin appears in, it’ll be interesting to see how Jessica works toward discovering who she is and what she wants.

NCIS Season 22 airs Monday nights on CBS in the U.S., with new episodes available the next day on Paramount+.

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