Katrina Law and NCIS EP Talk About That Finale Twist — and What It Means for Law’s Status in Season 22

TVLINE | So the point of his that she’s conceding is a combo of him saying it’s “for the best” that she takes the job, and how she’s always had this “plan” to follow.
But also, one of the things we tried to build into the backstory leading up to this episode is this outburst from Jimmy and this tension with Knight didn’t just come on in this episode, it didn’t come up with this job happening. This has been building since her father showed up and said, “I thought your future was this?” And Jimmy is thinking, “Well, it’s only a matter of time before you leave anyway, so I’m going to push you out the door, so I don’t have to sit here waiting for it to happen.” And I think Jess has taken a moment to go, “You know what? I think we both have some things to work out on our own. You have some issues to sort out.” Jessica is thinking, “I did take my foot off the gas pedal when I lost my REACT team, so maybe it’s time to reapply the gas.” As much as she loves Jimmy, she knows she can never fulfill that part of the relationship if she herself isn’t a whole person.

TVLINE | The direction of that closing scene threw me and probably others, because we saw Jess clock Parker… then Nick and Tim and Kasie… and then she gave a last look at Jimmy. You had to be thinking she’ll decide to keep the team intact. But she does the opposite.
Life-and-death decisions really make you take a good, hard look at your life and what you want, and I think that’s kind of the conversation that she and Parker were having when they were trapped in the ship. Parker was going, “You can’t have these regrets, you can’t live out of fear.” His basic thing was, “Go forward, be yourself. Maybe it works out, maybe it doesn’t, but you can’t sit if all of your instincts are saying to go forward.”

TVLINE | Did you know this “Hell yeah” answer was coming before you sat down with the script, or did you discover it as you turned the last page?
I kind of knew it was coming. The biggest part of the “Hell yeah” decision for me, when I sat down with Jose Hernandez the director and also Scott Williams the writer, was, “At what point does Knight decide that she is going to take this job ?” And I think it goes all the way up to the very end, when she sits next to Parker right before she leaves his hospital room. That’s the moment she makes the decision, when she sees this man with him she just went to hell and back. That had a real impact on her.

TVLINE | So what’s your official answer when I ask, “Will you be back for Season 22?”
Hmmm…. Better tune in for that season opener! [Laughs, heartily]

TVLINE | That was some fantastic work between you and Gary Cole in those ship scenes. What was it like sharing such an intense two-hander with him?
Working in such an intimate setting with Gary Cole, you see why he has the longevity in this career that he has, and why he is the lead of a show, and why he’s a fan favorite. He is amazing. He knocked that ball so hard out of the park that I literally went, “I have to step up my game because I’m about to get left behind.”

That said, it was also one of the easiest acting scenes that I’ve ever had to do because he was so present and so in the moment, that I just had to look at him to react. He’s brilliant, he’s grounded, and so supportive…. It was a dream. It was a dream.