{"id":893,"date":"2026-04-22T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/?p=893"},"modified":"2026-04-22T02:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T02:00:00","slug":"ncis-brings-back-ll-cool-js-sam-hanna-with-nods-to-past-and-future-tvline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/?p=893","title":{"rendered":"NCIS brings back LL COOL J’s Sam Hanna with nods to past and future – TVLine"},"content":{"rendered":"
Of course, it was great to see LL COOL J return to “NCIS” this week as Sam Hanna of “NCIS: Los Angeles” fame. But we didn’t expect this week’s episode to be packed with nearly as many “NCIS” Easter eggs as the 500th episode.<\/p>\n
Tuesday’s episode begins with a mother and her children (and the poor plumber) being held captive by an unknown assailant. Back at the NCIS office, Casey spearheads a major upgrade to the computer system and brings in four “tech trolls” (Parker’s words, not ours) to do the job. Everything must be shut down for two hours, including all computers and surveillance cameras. The reboot begins and everything seems fine, until one of the tech trolls, Daryl, dies.<\/p>\n
Was it an accident or a murder? Jimmy says Daryl’s neck is broken and it looks like someone hit him…but who? When Parker hears a noise from Ducky’s office, Jimmy jokes that it might be Henry, the office ghost first mentioned earlier this season. But it turns out to be Sam catching some Z’s on the couch after getting stuck on a long layover on a plane to Dubai. Jimmy is disappointed that his daughter Victoria did not know he was in town. (They’ll have to do karaoke another time.) Sam also assures Jimmy that he will join the murder investigation, telling Parker, “You should have seen him in Hawaii, in that dungeon they put us in.” Remember the NCIS: Hawaii season 2 crossover?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Sam gives Jimmy some much-needed encouragement.<\/h2>\n
Sam and the team question the tech trolls, but one of them, Harold, mistakenly says he went to Penn with Daryl…but later corrects himself that it was Cornell. Hmm. Meanwhile, Sam updates Jimmy on what’s going on with the kids. “As you know, Aiden is now captain. Kamran is still on a mission to save democracy.” They also notice that Jimmy is wearing a weighted vest, and Jimmy confesses that he is training to climb Kilimanjaro, but he has not yet told the rest of the NCIS team. A power outage traps them in the elevator, which prompts Sam to give Jimmy a pep talk and encourage him to tell his friends about his plans…and to escape by climbing through a panel in the elevator’s ceiling. “This is your Kilimanjaro moment,” Sam tells him, which actually prompts Jimmy to climb up the elevator shaft and free himself before freeing Sam.<\/p>\n
Harold confesses that he lied about going to Penn because Harold really needed this job because he got kicked out of school for hacking and made up a fake name and resume. Additionally, an old computer fan goes haywire, stalling Casey’s reboot, and Parker and Sam are sent to the evidence locker to find a replacement. Sam asks how the team is doing since Coach Vance is gone, and Parker admits, “It doesn’t seem real. A lot of us are still in denial.” Sam also speaks up and confesses that he doesn’t know what he’s going to do next with his life. “I’ve been waiting to make a move for a while. I haven’t decided on a direction yet.” Perhaps that direction points to New York? <\/p>\n
They find a replacement for the broken computer fan, and Casey cools the server, with the reboot still going smoothly. But then Jimmy sees someone he knows at the morgue and is shocked. Parker sends his fellow janitor Vito home early after learning that Tommy, the janitor he ran into earlier, wasn’t scheduled to work tonight. Oh, oh.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
It was Tommy, the janitor, who knocked Jimmy out cold. Jimmy then notices Tommy frantically trying to patch Casey’s laptop. “I have to do this!” he yells at Jimmy. When Parker and Sam rush in to confront him, Tommy holds an ax to Jimmy’s throat and says he didn’t intend to kill Daryl, but he can’t let them stop him. The reboot ultimately ends as planned, but Jimmy manages to shove Tommy away, only for Tommy to scream, “He’s going to kill my family!” <\/p>\n
Yes, Tommy’s family is kidnapped at the beginning, and when Sam and Parker break into his house, they find his wife and children (and the plumber) tied up but unharmed. The assailant fled with only Tommy’s wife’s cell phone. Tommy says he punched Daryl to access the computer, but the tech troll landed on the wrong side and killed him. It was an accident. But he had to implant the device into an NCIS computer or his family would die.<\/p>\n
It feels like a happy ending. Casey completes the reboot and Jimmy finally tells Parker about his plans to climb Kilimanjaro. (Parker is supportive, of course.) But Casey is in trouble. I noticed that one folder was missing even though nothing was added to my computer system. A folder named “Edna”. Casey seems shocked and realizes, “I think it’s my fault that Daryl died.” (I think you’ll have to wait until Part 2 next week for the answer.)<\/p>\n
What did you think of Sam Hanna’s return to ‘NCIS’? Are there any Easter eggs we missed? Hit the comments and share your thoughts.<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"Jimmy](\"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776840770_370_NCIS-brings-back-LL-COOL-Js-Sam-Hanna-with-nods.jpg\")
![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776840770_172_NCIS-brings-back-LL-COOL-Js-Sam-Hanna-with-nods.jpg\")