I hope everyone knows by now that NCIS killed off Director Leon Vance in its 500th episode. I have to be honest and say this one hit hard. There had not been any scuttlebutt that Rocky Carroll, who portrayed Vance for 18 seasons, was leaving the series, so this was a surprise. I also have to be honest and say it broke my heart a little to learn that the man I had come to consider a father figure on the show was gone.
What was more painful for me was watching Vance, who was with an angel of death character, come to the conclusion that he was dead. He heard Jimmy repeatedly calling “Clear,” and he realized that his team was trying desperately trying to bring him back to life. He had initially thought that this was agents clearing the building, but he soon realized what it actually was. He was initially hopeful as he thought he had been wearing a vest, but soon realized that he hadn’t been and that the bullet had taken his life. By the time he came to this realization, the angel of death had revealed himself to be Ducky Mallard, and he coached Vance to walk toward the light. As he took his tentative steps to the light and to his wife who had died years earlier on the same show, we saw flashbacks of Vance with key characters, including Gibbs, and with his family.
Although this ending was a surprise, even for Rocky Carroll, it truly did serve as a love letter to Leon Vance and was very well done. The heartbreaking scene where Carroll realizes he is dead is shown below. I’ve also included a link to the Partners and Probies episode where Carroll is interviewed about finding out Vance is going to die.