The Leroy Jethro Gibbs portrayed in NCIS is confident and sure of himself, but that is not the case in NCIS: ORIGINS. The showrunners of the prequel explained why they made that distinction.

“I think these characters are finding the truth within themselves as well, which is an interesting place to be, especially for the Gibbs character, who the iteration that we know from the mothership is very sure of himself, knows who he is,” Gina Lucita Montreal told Movieguide®. “That is not the same character that we’re seeing here. He hasn’t grown into that yet. He’s discovering what truth means to him, what he believes. And I think that makes for an interesting journey because I think it’s one that we all tend to go on.”

This struggle with truth came to the forefront in the season finale as Gibbs and other members of his team have to decide if they are going to lie to cover up Gibbs’ past actions and save him from dire consequences. He eventually decides it is best to tell the truth, as noted in Movieguide®’s review.

In ORIGINS especially, we’re interested in showing the sort of emotional side of [military work]. The struggles that could go on in your own head, and what that does to a person” Montreal said.

This struggle is greatly highlighted in the season finale as not everyone is happy with Gibbs’ decision, particularly Special Agent Lala Dominguez who risks her own freedom to protect him.

“There’s a lot of disagreement. They could lose their jobs, go to jail,” Mariel Molino, who plays Agent Dominguez, told TV Insider. “You see everybody’s worst side. Lala is between this friendship and loyalty to the guys.”

Fans of the show will continue to see Gibbs and the other characters develop as ORIGINS has been renewed for a second season. And especially after a cliffhanger finale, this next season cannot come soon enough.