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Since Eleanor Bishop left the team during NCIS Season 19, there were plenty of questions about what she would end up doing. Of course, we knew that she was joining some far more secret mission, but the team had no idea what was really going on.
When Agent Knight got an NCIS: Elite mission that involved tracking Bishop down, it was soon clear that we’d get to see Bishop return. That meant some closure for all of the characters, although there were some questions along the way.
The biggest one now is whether Bishop could make her way back to the team in the future. Could another member of the team end up joining her?
Bishop Made Her Intentions Clear on NCIS Season 23 Episode 10
Bishop tried hard to keep her former team out of the crossfire with her new team during the new episode of NCIS*. She knew that she needed some of their help in figuring out who the mole was, but she didn’t want to put McGee, Nick, or Knight in danger.
She didn’t really have a choice in the matter, as the whole team ended up gathering together to help her get answers and clear her own name. The DOD had no choice but to stop the hunt for Bishop, with her now officially back in the fold.
However, she made it clear to Nick that her place wasn’t with the NCIS team anymore. Her place was out in the wild, and that means there’s little hope for Nick and Bishop moving forward. At least Nick got closure this time — along with the rest of the team getting to say their goodbyes.
Bishop Could Still Need Help in the Future on NCIS
This doesn’t rule out the possibility of Bishop returning in the future. After all, now the team knows what she is doing and who she is working with. There’s room for her to turn to the team if she ends up with another dangerous mission.
The chances of her doing that are slim, though. She only returned when she realized that there was a mole, and that her livelihood and freedom were in danger. It’s not that she really wanted to get her former team involved, but they were the only people she could trust, knowing that they would believe her once they got past the hurt.
On the other hand, the team could end up needing Bishop’s help in the future. We’ve seen NCIS work with other departments in the past, so what’s to stop them from realizing that their mission connects to something that Bishop is working on or that they need her skillset?
While right now Bishop is back in the wind, don’t rule out her returning at some point in the future. The story just needs to be there.
NCIS airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS and streams the following day on Paramount+*.
