Was It Really  Necessary to Kill Ziva David?

A Post Analysis Review

I've been binge watching NCIS these past few days. More specifically, I've been watching the Ziva David years during her reign. I've also been reviewing a variety of YouTube videos dedicated to Tony and Ziva and the fan base phenomenon surrounding these two beloved characters. The NCIS finale was a few weeks ago where we watched Anthony DiNozzo say goodbye to his NCIS familty. We also watched as Tony discovered that he had sired a daughter with Ziva David during the time he was in Israel. And we also watched as it was explained to us that Ziva was killed in a mortar explosion and fire at her family compound by a hired terrorist because some supposedly incriminating files were housed there.

As devastating as that was to hear for Tony and to the fan base, why was it necessary to kill off Ziva? It's not like having a beloved character is so unusual, but for NCIS, it seems like it's a typical standard operating procedure that they've overused to the point where you have to ask, is there any other way of writing out a character? Case in point, here are the roster of NCIS characters that they've killed off:

● Caitlin Todd- One of the original NCIS team members, Kate was an integral part of the NCIS family. It was a major shock when Kate died from a single gunshot wound to head when the team was searching for the terrorist and Mossad double agent, Ari Haswari. Interestingly enough, we are introduced to Ziva David as she is the half-brother to Ari Haswari whom she kills to save Gibbs. When Kate was brutally killed. It was a shock to the system. No broadcast television had shown in graphic detail of a woman taking a bullet to the head. It made you gasp for breath when Kate hit the rooftop hard.

● Jennifer Shepherd – Jenny Shepherd was the NCIS director overseeing the ins and outs of Gibbs's team. She was no nonsense and at some given time, she and Gibbs had a connection. Although not as shocking, her death came at the hands of terrorists as well but this time it was off screen. She died in a hail of gunfire in an abandon diner along a deserted stretch of road. She also happened to be dying after being diagnosed with an incurable disease. The disease was never disclosed but alluded to as some sort of neuromuscular disease.

● Ned Dorneget – NCIS Agent Ned Dorneget was a good character. He was more of a comic relief to the NCIS family and you would never have known his time was limited on the show. Dorneget lost his life in Cairo after a terrorist set off a series of explosive devices at an outside restaurant. His death was a surprise because his portrayal on NCIS was that of an amiable guy whom you thought would never be in the line of fire but unfortunately he was. We later learn that his mother is a big wheel in the CIA intelligence community and uses her expertise to go after the terrorist that caused Ned's death. Ned was the object of pranks initiated by DiNozzo which is why his death was an unexpected event.

● Diane Sterling - Diane was an investigator with the IRS. She also was the ex-wife to Jethro Gibbs and to FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell. While investigating a case, she infuses her way into a case NCIS and the FBI were covering. She gets drafted into working the case with both of her exes thanks to Director Vance. She dies at the hands of Sergei Mishnev in the same manner as Caitlin Todd, a single gunshot to the head. This too was shocking to see and a total surprise. Here was another character whom you thought nothing bad would happen to them but it did. She and Tobias had reconciled their difference although their daughter has some misgivings. Once again, NCIS had killed off a reoccurring character who brought some levity to the show.

● Eli David- Former Mossad director and father to Ziva David, Eli died in a hale of gunfire by a hired assassin. Eli had been a recurring figure because of Ziva. As the director for the Israeli intelligence, his role was an integral one and also as a back story to the Ziva character development. Although his death wasn't as big of a shocker to the core, his death, none the less, gave Ziva more layers and added another element to her and Tony's relationship.

● Jackson Gibbs – Father to LeRoy Jethro Gibbs. Father Gibbs died from a massive stroke off camera. Father Gibbs was a recurring character and was at times, at odds with is son because of generational issues. In real life actor, Ralph Waite had died from complications of pneumonia at the age of 85.

And while we come to like these characters, Ziva had become something more special because we watched this dynamic between her and Tony grow and develop. We started to see the pilot light come on with these two. We listened to the verbal jousting with these two. We saw how their interpersonal flirtation smolder like molten lava from a spewing volcano. We say how much they avoided the “L” word but knew it was there by the way that they looked at each other. So, why kill her?

The writers will make the argument that it was a necessary vehicle in order for Tony to justify his departure from NCIS. There are many who would disagree with that assessment. Ziva could have easily walked back through those NCIS doors with child in hand and inform Tony that he's a father and she wants him to come back to her or they could have easily settled in some U.S. City as security consultants for big business. Let's say she was caught in the fire, she could have survived but was injured and Tony would need to go back to Israel where he would have discovered that they had a child together and Ziva was in a coma. He would either stay or transferred her back to the states where she would get the proper care and to watch over her and set up house for his new family. Or, you remember the next to the last scene of Tony and Ziva in the orchard where he whispers to her that he's fighting for Ziva and she says, she knows, well, cut to now where she says, “Do you remember when you said you were fighting for me?” and he says, “Yes.” and she says, “ You've won that fight. Let's go home, we are a family now.”

Any one of these scenarios could have been better than allegedly killing her off. We would at least get some sort of resolved story line with these two characters that would have been much better than the dead Ziva one. Don't you think that the fans of this show deserved a happy ever after one with Tony and Ziva after experiencing so much death with this series? There are those who have taken the position that Ziva isn't really dead because it was never stated that a body was found, only that Gibbs had said that she was dead. Tony was taking his daughter back to Israel to find answers and then to Paris because Ziva loves Paris. He never used the past tense with that statement. He also had evaded the truth with Gibbs when he had found Ziva in the two months that he was gone. So, is it possible that this story really isn't done yet? Do we still hold out hope or do we face the pseudo reality that this closes the chapter on the love story of Tony and Ziva?

Somewhere in the synapses of my mind I would say no. This shouldn't be the final chapter. There were plenty of stories left on the table with these two that the writers squandered. A long time ago, I was part of a team of comedy writers for a morning rock and roll station. I was the head writer and when I left, one of the principals of the show made the statement that it was like one of the piston was removed from the engine. Well, I would say the same for NCIS. When Ziva left, one of the pistons was removed and with Tony's departure, another piston is gone. We felt the absence of Ziva in those two years, sorry Bishop, you were a lawn mower engine to a Ferrari. NCIS will sputter along with three and half cylinders. Maybe they will figure out a way to prime the engine as this chapter closes out.