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Spoilers ahead. In “The Arizona,” Joe Smith asks NCIS to verify that he served aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor—and to have his ashes interred there. Shrapnel recovered from his scarred arm corroborates his account. After Smith dies, Gibbs takes his ashes to Pearl Harbor and tells McGee about his own wartime experience.
What happens in “The Arizona”?
Joe Smith approaches NCIS with a claim that proves difficult to verify: he says he served aboard the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attack and wants his ashes interred there after his death. At first, the team cannot place him aboard the ship, and Smith is reluctant to revisit the attack.
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Gibbs eventually gets Smith to recount what happened. Noticing burn scars on Smith’s right arm, Gibbs suggests an X-ray. Jimmy finds embedded shrapnel, and the fragments are identified as coming from the Arizona. That physical evidence supports Smith’s account. CBS’s episode description also summarizes the case as the team investigating Smith’s claim and his request for burial at Pearl Harbor: CBS’s NCIS episode listing.
Smith dies shortly after telling his story. Gibbs then escorts his ashes to Pearl Harbor, fulfilling the request at the heart of the case.
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Why does Gibbs open up to McGee?
Smith’s story prompts Gibbs to tell McGee about his own wartime experience in Kuwait and how war changed him. The episode does not make that disclosure a full account of Gibbs’s service; its significance is that Gibbs chooses to share something personal with a colleague. Writer and co-executive producer Gina Monreal described the story’s character purpose as “a way of doing a father story for Gibbs.”
The moment marks a change in how Gibbs relates to McGee. Co-showrunner Frank Cardea said of whether an earlier Gibbs would have opened up this way: “I don’t think he would have.”
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Was “The Arizona” the planned Season 17 finale?
No. “The Arizona” was the last episode of Season 17 to air, but it was not the season’s originally planned finale. Pandemic-related production shutdowns left four episodes unfilmed. Cardea told TVLine that “The Arizona” was meant to be Episode 20 of a 24-episode season; the intended finale had a surprising development rather than a cliffhanger and was expected to carry into early Season 18. TVLine’s recap and interview explains the production circumstances and the episode’s ending.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Episode details and viewing
- Series: NCIS
- Episode: “The Arizona,” Season 17, Episode 20
- Original air date: April 14, 2020
- Runtime: 44 minutes
- U.S. rating: TV-14 V, L
These details are listed on CBS’s episode page. On the checked CBS page, streaming in the United States requires a Paramount+ subscription; access and availability may differ by region and change over time.
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