NCIS season 18 will be dropping back-to-back episodes when it returns next year on CBS. The police procedural drama delivered intense stories, with the first three episodes focusing on a particular case that Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) has been working on in the past.
NCIS season 18 will continue to focus on this storyline while bringing stories for other characters at the same time. The title of the fourth episode is "Sunburn," which is seemingly a reference to Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) and his wife Delilah's (Margo Harshman) vacation getaway.
McGee and Delilah were both enjoying their Bahamian vacation. However, this simple getaway turns into a high-stakes mission. The case the team has been tracking involving a dead escape room manager was revealed to have ties to the island.
Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) and Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham) will be involved in this particular case. Based on some preview photos, the two are working together in order to find answers about the case -- even though they're seemingly not present on the island.
Meanwhile, episode 4 also sees Gibbs continues searching for Tobias Fornell (Joe Spano). But then, the situation gets quite complicated and dangerous when his journey in finding his friend leads to blood. This event will be picked up in the fifth episode, "Head of the Snake."
The early run of NCIS season 18 has seen Gibbs and Fornell working together to locate the leader of the opioid drug ring. In episode 5, the two -- along with the team -- were inching closer to getting answers to their questions, but that won't be entirely easy.
The synopsis notes that Gibbs and Fornell's mission in finding the drug ring head responsible for the latter's daughter's overdose comes to climax. Fans will also see some unusual pairings in this episode, with a preview photo featured Fornell and Torres teaming up.
It's yet to be seen what's next for Fornell when this case is closed. The team never really talked about the drug ring case in the previous season, aside from Gibbs deeming it as a "personal mission." Now that it's coming to conclusion, it's uncertain if Spano's character will still be involved moving forward.
When this storyline wraps up, NCIS season 18 will focus on the present-day. One of the biggest questions left in the premiere was Gibbs shooting McGee. He didn't cause permanent harm to his beloved agent, though there's a question as to why he did this.
NCIS season 18 returns on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, on CBS.
