NCIS season 23 premiere recap: Who killed Parker's father?

The NCIS season 23 premiere opens with a return to high-stakes drama and personal loss, reminding viewers why the long-running procedural remains one of television’s most resilient franchises. The NCIS investigates crimes that are connected with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, combining procedural investigation with character drama. It tracks a team of special agents who investigate naval-related crimes for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers for the show. Reader's discretion is advised.

In the NCIS season 23 premiere, one of the key plot points is resolved to gruesome effect when Carla Marino murders Parker's father with Parker's own gun after leaving him helpless, thereby framing the crime with intensely personal consequences. The episode begins in a flashback to Parker's troubled childhood and builds from forensic clues, admissions, and showdowns to establish Carla's guilt.

The premiere not only advances Parker's quest for revenge but also introduces familial tension, procedural conflict regarding jurisdiction, and the tall stakes when a dangerous perpetrator is cornered but resourceful.

How does Parker track Carla in the NCIS season 23 premiere?

While pursuing Carla Marino, Parker orchestrates shutdowns of transit systems through bomb threats to ensnare her within the country in the NCIS season 23 premiere. He refuses to let Vance bench him and goes off-protocol. Parker's unit tracks an SUV linked to Carla, but Homeland moves in before they can.

Parker keeps working outside the book when, eventually, he's drawn into crime-family gunfights, tracks down Carla's forger with a false FBI badge, and assists in staking out a hideout. When armed thugs steal the mock Ford during a takeover, Torres sneaks a tracking device onto the car.

That results in a shoot-out where Ford uncovers Carla killed Parker's dad, using his own handgun, and announces a weapons deal on a ship called Quinton. Parker gets on the ship before NCIS, laying the groundwork for a lethal showdown at sea.

How does Parker's team help him with his mission in the NCIS season 23 premiere?

The filming of NCIS season 23 (Image via Instagram/@wilmervalderrama)

As Parker acts, the NCIS team is bogged down by jurisdictional changes. Vance pushes the team off the case and puts the agents on "watching Parker" to keep him in line. In defiance of this, McGee, Torres, Jess, and Kasie disobey orders to keep investigating. They run autopsy data, examine residue from Carla's SUV, and connect the phony badge to an old forger Torres had met.

When the team follows Ford to a garage, they encounter shooters and try to recover him, even with Vance's indignation at the mission. Kasie uses the tracker on Ford's vehicle to locate it, enabling the team to rescue Ford's hostage convoy and compel him to reveal Carla's scheme.

Towards the end of episode 1 of NCIS season 23, even while Harriet assumes command of the mission and orders NCIS to fire upon the ship, the team continues to work together, cutting through bureaucratic red tape to pursue Carla into international waters.

Other highlights of the NCIS season 23 premiere

Aside from the primary conflict, a number of parallel events inform the episode's tension and character relationships. NCIS season 23 premieres with a flashback: teenage Parker is arrested and having an argument with his father over perpetual relocation and absence, with his sister sticking up for their father, suggesting estrangement to come between siblings.

In the present time, Parker's sister Harriet is a high-ranking Navy admiral and is not informed of their father's death at first, and her arrival later causes complications in the developing mission. The autopsy verifies there were "no surprises," which heightens the intrigue surrounding Parker's father's death.

Throughout the mission, a fake Agent Ford is working under a phony identity while the team detects the forgery and follows the trail, resulting in a confrontation at Ford's hideout. Carla's SUV winds up at the evidence lab, which leads to further inquiry. Vance publicly chastises the team for overstepping and transfers control to the FBI.

At the same time, Parker is muscled out of the official inquiry and declines even to phone Harriet. Towards the end of the episode, the operation is ordered into military action against the Quinton as it approaches international waters, threatening both the mission and Parker's life as armed conflict threatens.

The NCIS season 23 premiere is available to stream on Paramount+.

Edited by Somava