NCIS’ Jessica Knight was “happy” in California to start off season 22, but actress Katrina Law revealed the pull of being “home” in Washington, D.C. was too strong to keep her there.
Warning: Spoilers ahead from NCIS season 22, episode 1.
“Knight is a very ambitious person, and for any person with ambition, you take the job,” Law, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly of her character’s choice to move to California’s Camp Pendleton and become the Chief REACT Training Officer following a job offer at the end of season 21.
Knight ultimately took the gig because she “decided to step out of the shadow of her very high-powered father, who she loves and adores,” Law explained. She noted that Knight also realized that she couldn’t make her father or then-boyfriend Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) “happy” at that point in time, so she moved “solely based on my wants and needs.”
When season 22 kicked off on Monday, October 14, Knight had been in California for six months already and she and Palmer were broken up. (The two had a fight during the season 21 finale, which aired in May, hinting at their split.)
“When she got to California, she was happy. She really loved the job, she loved her REACT team. She loved everything about it,” Law said. “But I think there was something that was ultimately gnawing at her that didn’t come to light until she saw [Alden] Parker’s face, walk into the REACT clubhouse.”
During the episode, Knight takes a bad guy hostage at Camp Pendleton in hopes to save Nick Torres’ (Wilmer Valderrama) life, since he is undercover with a drug crew and goes missing.
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Knight’s former boss, Parker (Gary Cole), is on site in California to help her solve the mystery of where Torres is — and their rekindled work relationship pushes Knight to see what she really wants.
“It all became crystal clear to her. ‘Yes, I love where I’m at right now, but ultimately I wanna go home.’ And home is in D.C.,” Law told Us of Knight’s decision at the end of the episode to forgo another promotion to head back to the NCIS team in D.C.
The actress explained that seeing Parker paired with saving Torres (yes, he’s safe and sound) made her realize she’s better as a field agent.
Law called Knight an “adrenaline junkie” who likes getting “fulfillment out in the field, chasing bad guys, bringing them down and, and finding justice.”
Moving forward, Law told Us, Knight is “no longer on my dad’s career path and I’m not trying to worry about my boyfriend’s feelings, I’m just going to do what feels right in this moment, not necessarily what’s best for the career path.”
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Knight is going to throw her “completely structured point of view” out the window when she returns to D.C. after learning to embrace her lighter side in California.
“She’s just going to let loose a little bit more,” Law said, noting that Knight has let go of thinking she should make others “happy” instead of herself.
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Law revealed that Knight is going to be a “little bit of a wild card” for the foreseeable future.
“[Knight] started playing it safe for [her] dad, started playing it even more safe for Jimmy,” Law explained, confessing, “It was kind of squashing her a little bit. Now she’s basically going, ‘I’m free, I’m just gonna do what I want’ and Lord knows what that’s gonna be.”
When it comes to Knight and Palmer’s future, Law teased that their reunion in D.C. will be “interesting and awkward.”
NCIS airs on CBS Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
