Cote de Pablo might not be coming back for next week's NCIS season 13 finale, a.k.a. Michael Weatherly's last episode, but that doesn't mean the team isn't desperately trying to find Ziva.
E! News has an exclusive sneak peek at tonight's penultimate episode of the year, and as you can see if you press play above, Tony is frantically searching for the former NCIS team member.
The team is still on an international manhunt to track down an escaped British spy who has been targeting members of the intelligence community—including, it appears, Ziva David. It's obviously a very personal mission for Tony, who still cares deeply about her. (It's cool if we pause to relive that two-year-old kiss, right?)
He cares so much, in fact, that he almost gets into a fistfight when provoked about his feelings for her.
While de Pablo reportedly confirmed during a college Q&A that she wouldn't be returning for Weatherly's final episode, George Clooney/ER style, showrunner Gary Glasberg did tell E! News that her character would play a large role in Tony's departure.
"Tony's relationship with Ziva absolutely will have an impact on his reason to depart," Glasberg told us. "There's no part of Tony DiNozzo that Ziva David isn't a part of. She's a huge aspect of who his character is so it would be unfair and wrong to write this episode, to produce this episode and not have her character be a part of it."
Tonight's episode introduces Tess Monroe (Sarah Clarke), an FBI agent, and Clayton Reeves (Duane Henry), an MI6 agent, who are both collaborating on the international investigation to find the escaped spy. The two characters are slated to recur in these last two episodes of season 13, but could stick around full-time in season 14.
NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on CBS.