NCIS: Los Angeles has dropped a bombshell: Renée Felice Smith's Nell Jones is planning
to leave, potentially for good, at the end of the show's eleventh season.
But what's the real reason Nell will no longer be a part of the show?
On the episode entitled "Fortune Favors the Brave," Nell's reason for wanting to leave
is revealed: the job has changed her so much that she even struggles to get out of bed
in the mornings to come to work.
She confessed as much to Kensi Blye early on in the episode.
"I don't think I want to be an agent anymore."
"Okay…
Um…"
Kensi tried to suggest that Nell rather stick to her old base of Ops rather than going out
into the field as an agent, but that wasn't the solution Nell was looking for either.
"Kens, I'm going to resign from NCIS."
Though Kensi suggested a holiday and was supportive of Nell's confliction and struggles, she was
somewhat less supportive of her desire to resign from the team.
To be fair, the job Nell wants to leave behind is a tough one, with plenty of grief and stress
involved.
Between that and the personal troubles Nell has endured with her mother's illness, it's
completely understandable that she's having serious doubts about her job right now.
Nell was previously touted to be taking over from Operations Manager Hetty Lang, who has
also been fairly absent on NCIS: Los Angeles recently.
She seemed like she'd be the perfect fit for the job.
But just a few episodes ago, Nell's future on the series suddenly became unclear.
Instead of pushing to keep Nell in the fold, Hetty indicated that she was instead now looking
at Callen to take over for her when the time comes.
Hetty being Hetty, it seems she was well aware that Nell's inner turmoil would probably lead
her to walk away from the job opportunity.
"Now… begone."
The episode closed with Nell finally telling Hetty that she was resigning, but the ever-stoic
operations manager gives her another option before she makes her final decision.
In Hetty's view, Nell is free to leave if she wants but first, she's going to have to
burn through a few weeks' worth of unused vacation days.
" If I don't hear from you once they've elapsed, you can consider yourself resigned."
That unused vacation time indicates that Nell may well be suffering from a serious case
of burnout.
Between working as hard as she does and spending time at her sick mother's bedside, Nell's
head is likely spinning too fast in every possible direction, which could easily be
the cause of her high stress levels and lack of desire to go to work.
When Nell walked away to tell Eric about her decision, she stopped for a moment to look
around the office, seemingly saying goodbye to the place that had been a second home to
her for almost a decade.
Her relationship with Eric also seems to have suffered lately, with the pair appearing to
have communication issues.
A relationship between Eric and Nell was long hoped for by NCIS: LA fans, who noticed their
flirtations early on and hoped to see them seal the deal.
It looked like their relationship was finally confirmed, but season 11 has brought them
some unexpected troubles.
Episode 19 saw Nell desperately trying to avoid talking to Eric at every turn something
that's not usually a good sign in a relationship when major decisions are being made.
"I are you avoiding me?"
And even though there have been hints of Eric also waving goodbye to NCIS, the turmoil between
him and Nell might instead see the couple split.
Actor Barrett Foa's time away from the show during the early episodes of season 11 were
to allow the actor time to appear in a play.
His return to the small screen and the Ops center has seemed to be fairly permanent despite
him previously looking for jobs in San Francisco, where Nell's mother is being treated.
Nell isn’t in the preview for Season 11’s 20th episode, but the why of it all still
remains to be seen.
If she has decided to leave, will fans get a chance to see her again?
Or has she already disappeared for good?
Like many other TV shows have had to do recently, NCIS: LA has had to cut production on the
current season short.
Instead of the usual 24 episodes of season 11, fans will only get 21.
This could mean that the uncertainty around Nell's decision may be dragged out even longer
than originally planned if her vacation days haven't elapsed by the time the truncated
season reaches its end.
So far, Renée Felice Smith hasn't yet made an official announcement about leaving the
show, but a recent Instagram post of hers directed fans to tune in to see a "wistful"
Nell on Sunday night.
The studio also hasn't confirmed that she's definitely departing the team, leaving fans
with no option but to keep on watching to see where Nell ends up.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite movies and TV shows are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.