The synopsis for NCIS's 8th episode of Season 18 has recently been revealed, and it is looking like it will be an emotional roller coaster for Jack Sloane fans. 'NCIS' star Maria Bello first appeared as Gibb's 'equal' in the form of a forensic expert named Jack Sloane on NCIS in Season 15.
'NCIS' - Jack Sloane's final case is personal
According to a Press Release by CBS, Maria Bello's last episode, as Jack Sloane in NCIS, will involve a case in a location from her traumatic past.
As the press release says, and I quote: "True Believer," - When Sloane's name is discovered in Afghanistan at the site of an abandoned bus with a dead driver, Gibbs accompanies her on a trip to find a group of girls who were kidnapped from the bus. Also, McGee, Bishop, and Torres track down a hacker who emailed compromising information to the Taliban."
Jack's troubled past makes this case personal
NCIS agent Jack Sloane has had a traumatic past. She was the sole survivor of a group of prisoners of war, or POWs, captured in Afghanistan, as revealed in the NCIS Episode 'Handle With Care'. That incident took place before the series.
She was rescued, and her captor - Nigel Hakim, who was thought to be killed in a drone strike during that rescue - served as the antagonist for her and the team to overcome in Season's finale 15 and the premiere for Season 16. This upcoming farewell episode for Maria Bello's Jack Sloane character will take viewers to Afghanistan for a POW rescue story, a nice bookend note to go out on, given her past traumatic experiences in Afghanistan. The tweet below has a promo picture and synopsis, courtesy of Viacom and Twitter user @actualistic.
Jack's final exit from 'NCIS' in Episode 8 of Season 18 could be messy
With a subject matter such as impactful to Sloane such as this, 'NCIS' could be hinting at a deadly departure for Sloane - which fans have expressed outrage at, or it could quickly be set up the departure of Sloane to be bittersweet as she leaves the team to help others in need, just like Pauley Parette's character of Abby did in the final episodes of Season 15.
'NCIS' has had some fun and interesting moments between Gibbs and Sloane in the past, like their chat in the infamous elevator, for example.
'NCIS' reunion for Jack and Faith 'very unlikely,' based on the plot synopsis
As the plot synopsis for Season 18 Episode 8, "True Believer," clarifies, Jack Sloane's focus will be on Afghanistan. Thus, a reconciliation between Jack and Faith, her biological daughter born due to a traumatic personal encounter and given up for adoption, as explained in the show, is very unlikely. It could occur if it ends up being the reason for her departure from the show. With that being said, it's much more likely it's going to involve something going down in Afghanistan that warrants her leaving the show, as the plot synopsis indicates.
What will warrant Sloane to leave NCIS is going to remain unknown until March 2nd. Either way, it looks to be an emotional roller coaster, for sure. That being said, we did get a little cheat sheet from Viacom Press that indicates that Sloane won't die but make a "life-changing decision." As to what it is, we'll have to wait and see.
'True Believer' episode promo likely to air tonight
There will more than likely be a trailer at the end of tonight's new NCIS episode, 'The First Day.' We will have to wait and see on that, but there will likely be a promo at the end of tonight's episode to build up suspense regarding March 2nd's grand exit for Jack Sloane. NCIS generally premieres new episodes and - as of recently -airs reruns for Season 18 every Tuesday at 8 PM.
The season started in November 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic instead of its' normal premiere month of September. Reruns generally air on Optimum channel 81 (Oxygen) and CBS (Channel 2) at various times depending on day and channel, though for CBS, reruns of earlier character-specific episodes - mainly NCIS agent Ziva as of late - air at 10 PM on Sundays.