'NCIS' Fans Are Devastated After Character's Shocking Death (2024)

Fans are reeling after the NCIS cast underwent another major shakeup during Tuesday night's all-new episode. During the most recent episode of Season 18, "Winter Chill," fans were forced to say goodbye to yet another character after they died, sparking plenty of discussion and heartbreak on social media. Warning: This post contains spoilers for NCIS Season 18, Episode 9, "Winter Chill."

As the team investigated the world of food trucks after discovering the body of a man frozen in the back of one, tragedy struck close to home when the daughter of Tobias Fornell (Joe Spano), Emily (Juliette Angelo), lost her battle with addiction. Towards the end of the episode, Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) received a call from Fornell informing him that Emily had relapsed. Fornell had found Emily at home surrounded by pills and rushed her to the hospital, where she died. Following her death, Director Vance (Rocky Carroll) read a poem by Merritt Malloy called "Epitaph."

Emily's death quickly sent shockwaves throughout the NCIS fandom, with many viewers taking to social media to react. Following a string of emotionally heavy episodes, some even suggested they need to take a break from the series. Keep scrolling to see what people had to say.

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I am not ok after tonight’s #NCIS. That was unexpected and uncalled for. This show loves to pull on my heart. 😭

— ‎⎊ Michelle ‎⎊ (@Nitny_) March 10, 2021

Emily's death came amid an already tragic season for fans. Just last month it was revealed that Breena Palmer (Michelle Pierce), the wife of Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen), died of COVID-19. That death proved to be just as shocking as Emily's, and the storyline itself even spurred some backlash.

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I’m going to go down the road of denial and pretend that the episode didn’t end like that #ncis pic.twitter.com/fGAHmfg9oV

— theseshows19 (@theseshows19) March 10, 2021

"No. Not Emily," one person tweeted. "I know she wasn't on the show all that much, especially recently, but when she was I really loved her character."

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Seriously @NCIS_CBS ? First Breena Palmer and now Emily Fornell? Come on, I want to watch one episode without crying! #NCIS.

— Kathy Hansen (@KNHansen87) March 10, 2021

Emily's death also came just a week after the NCIS cast shortened by one members. During the March 2 episode, Maria Bello's Jack Sloane left NCIS to stay in Afghanistan to continue her friend's humanitarian work. Jack did not die, however, meaning there is always the chance she could return in future episodes or seasons.

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Thank U #NCIS for making me ugly cry!

— VOLANDMUSTANGLOVER (@ResistVolPony57) March 10, 2021

"Ok, I'm going to need [NCIS] to stop killing people off and ending episodes by breaking my heart and making me cry," added somebody else. That same person shared their heartbreak by adding a series of crying emojis.

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Okay @ncis stop with all the team drama. Tired of you killing of family members.

— John Borneman Breaks His Silence (@JohnDBorneman) March 10, 2021

The major cast shakeups follow on the heels of Pauley Perrette's 2018 departure. Perrette had starred as Abby Scuito, the eccentric genius whose trademark goth look, for 16 years, 15 seasons, and more than 350 episodes before her exit. At the time of her departure, Perrette said "there's never been a character like Abby on television… Abby's legacy is going to be forever. The effect that she's had around the world, especially in young girls pursuing math and science. There [are] young women out there who've gotten their degrees and are in the field of science and math and forensics because of this TV character."

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That was freaking brutal. #NCIS

— Traci (@manntr07) March 10, 2021

"Man, the ending of [NCIS] tonight was a tear jerker," wrote another person. "The poem by Merritt Malloy was perfect."

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Sit down. Take a breath. #NCIS

— NCIS (@NCIS_CBS) March 10, 2021

For their part, NCIS heard fans' cries and reached out on Twitter in an effort to calm the heartbreak. As discussion continued on the social media platform, the official account for the series encouraged viewers to "Sit down. Take a breath."