NCIS Season 21 Secretly References Abby, 6 Years After Pauly Perrette’s Exit

6 years after Paul Perrette left, NCIS season 21 features a reference to Abby. The police procedural mourns the loss of their beloved medical examiner-turned-historian, Dr. Mallard, better known as Ducky. NCIS stages a poignant tribute episode to the character, whose death mirrors David McCallum’s own in 2023. Ducky was the original ME of NCIS, and while he worked with all iterations of the team until his death, he was the most active during the early years of the long-running series.

Instead of spending the whole outing simply reminiscing about the time they had with Ducky, NCIS season 21, episode 2, “The Stories We Leave Behind,” sees the team finish the last case that he was working on before he died. There were several ways considered how to honor the character, including the idea of bringing back as many former players for a star-studded tribute. In the end, NCIS decided to bring back Michael Weatherly’s Tony DiNozzo to offer support to Ducky’s mentee, Jimmy Palmer. Beyond that, there are also references to Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Perrette’s Abby.

Abby Sends Flowers For Ducky In NCIS Season 21, Episode 2

Proof of how beloved Ducky was is the unending arrival of flowers from many agencies and organizations sending their condolences. That being said, there’s one particular wreath that holds a special place for those who have been an avid viewer of NCIS since it debuted in 2023. While Palmer obsessively cleans Kasie’s lab, a flower arrangement made of black roses with a sparkly skull in the middle can be seen on top of one of the tables. The show doesn’t name-drop Abby, although Hines mentions that it shouldn’t be a mystery as to who its sender is.

It makes sense that Abby’s wreath is delivered to Kasie’s lab, considering that it was once hers. She spent years working in that area with the original NCIS team spearheaded by Gibbs. Despite having separate spaces, Ducky also visited her once in a while and vice versa. Considering Abby’s demeanor, Ducky was usually very gentle and loving towards her. It would have been great to see her back to personally pay tribute to Dr. Mallard, but the black wreath is also a nice touch.

Why Pauley Perrette’s Abby Sciuto Left NCIS

Perrette left in NCIS season 15. Narratively, Abby’s decision to walk away from her long-term job stemmed from a traumatic experience that put her life in jeopardy and resulted in the death of MI6 Agent Clayton Reeves, who was protecting her from a hitman. After successfully arresting the perpetrator who caused all her grief, she subsequently resigned from her post, accompanied Reeves’ body back to England, and started a charity on his behalf.

Behind the scenes, Perrette’s NCIS exit was more complicated. In a series of social media posts, she claimed that she was threatened on the set of NCIS and vowed to never return. The actor was referring to co-star Harmon as the person she was terrified of. CBS revealed that they did receive a couple of concerns from her, but those issues were eventually resolved. More formally, Perrette said that she just felt like it was time for her to move on.