Directed by Thomas J Wright
Written by John C Kelley
Season 2, Episode 23
Twilight
Admit it, you never saw this coming right?
The FBI is searching for a terrorist assassination team in Washington, D.C., when agents learn the team's target is not a government official but Gibbs.
Tropes in this Episode:
- Bond One-Liner:Ari: Sorry, Caitlin.
- Boom, Headshot!: See the picture above.
- Borrowed Biometric Bypass: One of the dead naval officers is missing his hands, which are then used to access the drone missile's controls.
- Character Death: Rest in peace, Kate.
- Cruel Twist Ending: Kate survives Taking the Bullet for Gibbs near the final moments of the episode and all seems well, then Boom, Headshot! and Kate is dead.
- Dies Wide Open: Kate, as seen in the page image above.
- Dope Slap: Gibbs gives one to DiNozzo.Gibbs: You feel that?DiNozzo: Feel what?Gibbs: (slap) That. Welcome back, DiNozzo!
- End of an Age: Kate's death officially breaks the show's original status quo.
- Hero Killer: If Ari hasn't already proved how dangerous he is, he does now at Kate's expense.
- Impersonating an Officer: In the cold open, the "Virginia State Trooper" pulls over and shoots dead the naval officers.
- Inverse Dialogue/Death Rule: Subverted. Kate Todd, one of the lead special agents, gets sniped straight in the center of her forehead and dies abruptly.
- Killed Mid-Sentence:Kate: "Wow, I thought I'd die before I ever heard..." (Boom, Headshot!)
- Relocating the Explosion: After Ari leaves the café, Gibbs finds a Time Bomb under the table. He barely has time to chuck it into a dumpster before it goes boom.
- Season Finale: The show's second.
- Status Quo Is God: Oh, no, it's not!
- Sudden Downer Ending: Kate survives Taking the Bullet for Gibbs then starts having her usual banter with Tony. Then out of nowhere, "Boom, Headshot!" and Caitlin Todd is no more.
- Terrifying Pet Store Rat: Played with In-Universe when Tony "saves" Kate from a snake that he claims is venomous, only for McGee to show up a moment later and (correctly) identify it as a non-venomous corn snake. Naturally, Kate is not amused.
- That Came Out Wrong: After the car bomb, Tony, who had just gone back to work after been afflicted with the plague, is being examined by Ducky. Tony is sore but refuses to rest. Kate says she should just get him into bed. When Ducky and Tony look at her, Kate realizes the innuendo behind that.
- Tonight, Someone Dies: Trailers leading up to the episode promised a major Character Death. They did not disappoint. Rest in peace, Kate.
- Wham Episode: The episode features the very first major Character Death in the series, officially shaking the status quo.
- Wham Shot: Kate's death, literally.
