No. overall No. in season Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod. code U.S. viewers (millions) 163 "Spider and the Fly '' Dennis Smith Gary Glasberg September 21, 2010 (2010 - 09 - 21) 801 19.41 Following Jackson Gibbs ' (guest star Ralph Waite) confrontation with Paloma Reynosa (guest star Jacqueline Obradors), he is placed in NCIS protective custody at his son 's house. A few months later, the death of a helicopter pilot embroils the team in the Reynosa Cartel 's vendetta with Gibbs, making each team member a target. Paloma Reynosa, head of the cartel, plays a game of cat and mouse with NCIS as she makes a wide trail through the US, expanding her cartel 's influence. Tensions erupt when Alejandro Rivera (guest star Marco Sanchez), calls Abby on her bluff to send the report on the Pedro Hernandez murder and threatens her in front of Gibbs. Aware of his involvement in the Reynosa Cartel, NCIS leads Rivera into a trap at a safehouse, tricking him into thinking his sister is dead and those responsible are in protective custody. Rivera takes the bait and intends to exact revenge, but ends up fatally shooting his own sister. Meanwhile, Leon Vance, whilst putting the report implicating Gibbs in a place no one will find it, receives a mysterious text message from Eli David, Director of Mossad claiming "I found him ''. 164 "Worst Nightmare '' Tony Wharmby Steven D. Binder September 28, 2010 (2010 - 09 - 28) 802 19.15 A teenage girl is kidnapped from her middle school on the Quantico marine base, prompting NCIS to investigate. Nicholas Mason, the missing girl 's grandfather (William Devane), complicates matters when he arranges a ransom drop without informing NCIS. While the team are working to find out the identity of the kidnapper and motive, Gibbs is worried Mason will take the law into his own hands and potentially cause more damage. Using an elaborate ploy, the team manages to trick the kidnapper into revealing where he was hiding the girl and arrest him. Meanwhile, three interns are assigned to NCIS; Abby is suspicious after her last assistant 's (Chip Sterling in Season 3) attempt to kill her, Palmer feels ineffective after Ducky bonds with his intern, and McGee must contend with an intern who shows no interest in law enforcement or field work at all. 165 "Short Fuse '' Leslie Libman George Schenck & Frank Cardea October 5, 2010 (2010 - 10 - 05) 803 19.81 NCIS responds to an emergency phone call after Heather Dempsey, a Marine bomb technician, shoots and kills an intruder in her home. Dempsey initially evades the investigation, but the team quickly find evidence she was not alone at the time. Her lover is revealed to be a senior FBI agent; the intruder a hit man. They learn that Dempsey 's brother was shot and paralyzed by a man named Abbott in a gang war, and that the FBI lover recommended protective custody for him after he testified to escape jail time. Dempsey started a relationship with the agent to learn Abbott 's new identity and location. When he learned that Dempsey was searching for him, Abbott hired the hitman to kill her before she could kill him. Because hiring the hitman was not part of his immunity deal, Abbott is arrested. Meanwhile, Tony is excited to be chosen as the face of NCIS ' new recruitment campaign, but Director Vance decides Gibbs promotes the qualities NCIS is looking for more than Tony does. 166 "Royals and Loyals '' Arvin Brown Reed Steiner October 12, 2010 (2010 - 10 - 12) 804 19.20 The team is involved in an international incident as they investigate the murder of an American petty officer whose case is connected with a Royal Navy ship. Complications ensue when someone tries to get the ship to depart before NCIS can properly investigate. They discover that the murder was over a large amount of stolen CIA money, used to pay off warlords and dictators in Afghanistan. At first, the team suspects that the Royal Navy liaison officer is responsible, but quickly find out that he is actually an MI6 agent who was framed for the theft. With his help, they track down the real culprit, the corrupt CIA handler who was in charge of the money. 167 5 "Dead Air '' Terrence O'Hara Christopher J. Waild October 19, 2010 (2010 - 10 - 19) 805 19.41 The team investigates the death of a radio DJ and a naval officer who were both killed live on air, and their job becomes more difficult by the discovery of various suspects. While searching for the murderer, they inadvertently uncover a large domestic terrorist group composed mostly of wealthy homeowners living in a gated community. The terrorist group feel that America should be spending more money defending itself rather than on foreign wars, and attempted to recruit the DJ to their cause. When the DJ refused, they had him killed to silence him. The NCIS team raids the community and arrests all of the members, only to find out that they have something much more sinister planned. 168 6 "Cracked '' Tony Wharmby Nicole Mirante - Matthews October 26, 2010 (2010 - 10 - 26) 806 20.18 The NCIS team investigate the death of a Navy researcher who was hit by a bus in the middle of a busy street. They are surprised to find that her entire body is covered in elaborate chemical formulae, but begin to suspect her death was nothing more than an accident after finding evidence that she was becoming increasingly paranoid. Recognizing the researcher as a kindred spirit because they share similar thought processes, Abby becomes fixated on solving her equations and vows to finish the work that the victim originally started. Unfortunately her new - found obsession soon begins driving a wedge between her and the rest of the team but thanks to Gibbs and the victim 's mother, Abby eventually regains her priorities and resumes working on the case. As the team discover that the researcher was being poisoned, Abby deduces that the formula is a method of converting bacteria into fuel. The trail leads back to a jealous co-worker, who poisoned the researcher in order to take her job. Meanwhile, Tony 's latest fling causes trouble when she suggests role playing, but refuses to tell Tony what she has in mind. Her fantasy is later revealed to be Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever, evidenced by a very uncomfortable Tony attempting to sneak out of the Navy yard in a white disco suit. 169 7 "Broken Arrow '' Arvin Brown George Schenck & Frank Cardea November 9, 2010 (2010 - 11 - 09) 807 19.87 When investigating a murder of a former Navy Commander and friend of Vice Admiral Chase, the team stumbles across a piece of an old nuclear bomb that had been lost during the Cold War. Because the victim had connections to Tony 's father, they track him down and question him. Eventually, much to Tony 's annoyance, Gibbs recruits DiNozzo Sr. to use his contacts to infiltrate a private party attended by arms dealers. They discover that the CEO of a salvage company stumbled across the nuclear bomb and plans to sell it on the black market. The CEO is arrested, and both DiNozzos finally reconcile their differences with one another. 170 8 "Enemies Foreign '' Dennis Smith Jesse Stern November 16, 2010 (2010 - 11 - 16) 808 19.43 The team is designated to protect Eli David (Mossad Director & Ziva 's father) during a NCIS conference. They must deal with three Palestinian terrorists trying to kill him. The episode ends on a cliffhanger when, after an attack by the terrorists at the conference apparently fails, Vance and David go to a safe house. Gibbs can not reach them on the radio and Officer Hadar is shown to be lying dead at the safe house. 171 9 "Enemies Domestic '' Mark Horowitz Jesse Stern November 23, 2010 (2010 - 11 - 23) 809 18.78 Gibbs arrives at the scene to find Hadar dead, Vance critically injured, and Eli missing. Eventually, the team tracks down Eli, who had gone into hiding to elude his assassins. They then deduce that the man who planted the bomb is an insider at NCIS. During the episode, Gibbs revisits Operation Trident, Vance 's first job with NIS and when he met Eli David. Gibbs originally comes to the conclusion that Eli tried to have Vance killed during the op by tipping off his primary target: a Soviet operative called the Russian. When Eli is found, it is revealed that Vance and Eli had actually worked together during the op to stop the Russian and his hit team which was the career builder for Vance. The insider in NCIS was the same person who mounted the operation in Amsterdam and whose plan was foiled by Vance and Eli. It is revealed that the insider is Riley McAllister, former head of the San Diego field office, and that he mounted the operation so that his area of expertise, Russia, would come back into a post-Cold War play which would have allowed him to become Director. He had hired the Russian, the same man that he later sent Gibbs to assassinate in Paris along with Jenny Shepard, to kill Vance and he had set up the bomb at the safe house to have revenge on Vance and Eli. He then tries to kill Vance in his hospital room but Vance stabs him with a knife that Gibbs had given him to defend himself. Before he returns to Israel, Eli makes peace with Ziva. 172 10 "False Witness '' James Whitmore, Jr. Steven D. Binder December 14, 2010 (2010 - 12 - 14) 810 19.87 The NCIS team investigates the disappearance of a Navy Petty Officer who is the sole witness in an upcoming murder trial. Meanwhile, Ziva and McGee attempt to discover the reason for Tony 's strange behavior. 173 11 "Ships in the Night '' Thomas J. Wright Reed Steiner & Christopher J. Waild January 11, 2011 (2011 - 01 - 11) 811 21.93 Gibbs and the NCIS team partner with Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) Agent Abigail Borin to investigate the murder of a Marine First Lieutenant on a dinner cruise. The team learns of the victim 's wealth, opening up new lines of investigation. The victim was the heir of a multimillion dollar corporation, and was intending to use his ownership to turn the corporation into a charity organization. Piecing together the clues, the team discovers that the victim 's death was the result of a conspiracy between his sister, the family lawyer, and the corporation 's CFO. Later, one of the victim 's squadmates, who is also a lawyer, arrives at NCIS to deliver his last will and testament, which was intended to carry out the victim 's wishes to reform his company. 174 12 "Recruited '' Arvin Brown Gary Glasberg January 18, 2011 (2011 - 01 - 18) 812 21.09 A petty officer 's recruitment session at a college fair comes to a fatal end, prompting the NCIS team to solve his murder. The team learns of the petty officer 's homosexuality, leading Gibbs to classify the murder as a possible hate crime. Ducky 's predecessor at NCIS, Dr. Walter Magnus (Bob Newhart), pays a visit. The team tracks down several suspects, but Gibbs eventually figures out that the killer was the father of one of the students the petty officer was advising. The father did not realize the petty officer was trying to help his son deal with his homosexuality, and feared he was attempting to start a relationship with him. Meanwhile, Magnus reveals the true reason for his visit; he is suffering from Alzheimer 's disease and he was hoping that coming back to NCIS would help him regain his memories. To help Magnus, Ducky with McGee aiding him gives Magnus a collection of pictures of all of the people Magnus had helped during his time in NCIS. 175 13 "Freedom '' Craig Ross, Jr. Nicole Mirante - Matthews February 1, 2011 (2011 - 02 - 01) 813 22.85 The team investigates the death of a marine, which reveals that his wife has been abused. 176 14 "A Man Walks Into a Bar... '' James Whitmore, Jr. Gary Glasberg February 8, 2011 (2011 - 02 - 08) 814 20.35 A naval commander is found dead in his rack aboard ship, apparently murdered. The NCIS team investigates while having to deal with mandatory psychological evaluations conducted by Dr. Rachel Cranston, who is eventually revealed to be the older sister of their former colleague and friend, Agent Caitlin Todd. It is discovered that the commander had actually committed suicide due to facing mandatory retirement and having no life other than the Navy. His colleagues had disguised the suicide out of respect for him. 177 15 "Defiance '' Dennis Smith George Schenck & Frank Cardea February 15, 2011 (2011 - 02 - 15) 815 19.40 A botched assassination attempt in Belgravia forces NCIS to protect the Defense Minister 's daughter Adriana, who is studying in the U.S. While the team is busy guarding Adriana, Gibbs attempts to investigate the death of the Marine who was killed protecting the minister. Meanwhile, Adriana begins developing a crush on McGee, but she is suddenly kidnapped by two armed attackers. Furious at their failure, Vance orders the team to solve the case in 48 hours or he will take McGee and Dinozzo 's badges. The team discovers that Adriana, who disagreed with her father 's policies, arranged her own kidnapping to pressure him. However, one of the conspirators becomes greedy and decides to hold her for ransom. Fortunately, the team is able to rescue her, but are unable to arrest her for her role in the plot due to diplomatic immunity. McGee is left to wonder if Adriana really did have feelings for him or if it was all just an act. 178 16 "Kill Screen '' Tony Wharmby Teleplay by: Steven D. Binder Story by: Steven Kriozere February 22, 2011 (2011 - 02 - 22) 816 21.32 The discovery of some extracted teeth and dismembered digits in a purse results in an NCIS investigation when they are identified as belonging to a Marine. As the team tries to track down the killer, an investigator from an electronic security firm (guest star Jason Beghe) arrives, having traced the source of a number of computer hackings to NCIS. This makes McGee nervous as he had regularly illegally hacked into government computers under Gibbs ' orders. The team manages to track down Maxine (guest star Beth Riesgraf), who is the dead Marine 's girlfriend and is an avid gamer and computer expert. She begins to take a liking to McGee. However, McGee tries to maintain his distance due to the events in "Defiance ''. She reveals that she had accidentally uncovered some sort of encrypted code in an MMORPG which turns out to be a program capable of hacking the Pentagon. The team tracks down the programmer responsible and shuts down his program, but he is found dead. Gibbs and McGee deduce that the investigator that arrived earlier was behind the killings, since news of such a threat to American security could ruin his career. Later, DiNozzo manipulates events to get McGee to start dating Maxine. 179 17 "One Last Score '' Michael Weatherly Jesse Stern March 1, 2011 (2011 - 03 - 01) 817 19.21 NCIS discovers that one of its former investigative assistants found brutally stabbed to death was selling details for how to rob a warehouse full of valuable possessions. 180 18 "Out of the Frying Pan '' Terrence O'Hara Teleplay by: Reed Steiner & Christopher J. Waild Story by: Leon Carroll, Jr. March 22, 2011 (2011 - 03 - 22) 818 19.46 Director Vance has Gibbs and his team assigned to the case of a drug - addicted teenager accused of patricide. Gibbs begins to question Vance 's motives when the NCIS team begin to find inconsistencies in the investigation that lead him to believe his suspect is innocent. Tensions between Gibbs and Vance -- fuelled by budget cuts and re-assignments in previous episodes -- come to a head when Vance admits the victim was a close friend. After a lengthy investigation, NCIS discover that the boy 's runaway mother had recently tried to re-enter his life, and killed his father in a rage when he refused to let the two meet. 181 19 "Tell - All '' Kevin Rodney Sullivan Andrew Bartels March 29, 2011 (2011 - 03 - 29) 819 18.73 A dying message from a naval officer attached to the Defense Intelligence Agency leads Gibbs ' team in search of a manuscript containing military information. As the team investigates further, they find the body of a murdered FBI agent, and discover that both victims were involved in the writing of a book exposing secret anti-terrorist operations. However, the team is forced to track down the anonymous author of the book when Navy intelligence officers destroy all copies of the book. With the author 's help (who is also a former Marine Lieutenant who was discharged for a failed anti-terrorist operation), they manage to arrest an arms dealer who had stolen a shipment of military weapons, but find out that she was n't the killer. With this new information, as well as new evidence from Abby, Gibbs deduces that the FBI agent 's husband is the killer, since he mistakenly believed that his wife was having an affair. As a minor story, Gibbs gets an invitation to a wedding, and throws it in the bin. Tony spends the entire episode trying to figure out who it is from. It turns out it was from one of his ex-wives (the same wife who married and divorced Fornell). 182 20 "Two - Faced '' Thomas J. Wright Nicole Mirante - Matthews & Reed Steiner April 5, 2011 (2011 - 04 - 05) 820 19.40 The body of a seaman is found wrapped in plastic and doused with a hospital - grade cleanser, hallmarks of a serial killer known as the "Port - to - Port '' killer who kills service personnel when they make landfall. Vance creates a task force to catch the killer, appointing Barrett as lead investigator as she had been tracking the killer since he struck in Rota, Spain. Tensions arise within the MCRT when Gibbs suspects Barret and DiNozzo are sleeping together, compromising the loyalties of the team. Ziva discovers her boyfriend Ray is a secret CIA liaison to NCIS and questions the entire nature of their relationship when she catches him in a lie. After several dead ends and the discovery of another victim (bringing the known total to five), the episode ends with Ziva and DiNozzo in a bar, discovering a human eyeball floating in a glass of gin and tonic sent by an unidentified patron. 183 21 "Dead Reflection '' William Webb George Schenck & Frank Cardea April 12, 2011 (2011 - 04 - 12) 821 19.87 The Major Case Response Team investigates a murder in the Pentagon that was caught on camera. Complications arise when the killer himself is found dead in an apparent car accident, but Ducky claims it was impossible for him to have committed the murder that was caught on tape as he died two days earlier; eventually the team discovers the real killer was using an advanced silicone mask to impersonate the deceased so he could tamper with evidence implicating him in a botched special forces mission. Meanwhile, after trying to figure out the mystery of the eye from "Two - Faced '', E.J. and Palmer discover that the eye from the previous episode can open MTAC when scanned, leaving everyone including Gibbs and the team shocked at the revelation. 184 22 "Baltimore '' Terrence O'Hara Steven D. Binder May 3, 2011 (2011 - 05 - 03) 822 17.87 Special agent Anthony DiNozzo must dig into his past as a cop at Baltimore Police District when his old partner is murdered. 185 23 "Swan Song '' Tony Wharmby Jesse Stern May 10, 2011 (2011 - 05 - 10) 823 17.62 While chasing the Port to Port Killer, NCIS is placed on high alert when evidence comes to light that he has infiltrated the Navy Yard. They learn that his latest victim survived because somebody intervened and lost an eye in the process: the team 's on - again, off - again enemy, Trent Kort. Kort names the Port to Port Killer as Lt. Jonas Cobb (Kerr Smith), the first member of a CIA assassination team who cracked under inhumane training. Kort was sent to locate Cobb and eliminate him. As the NCIS team close in on Cobb, they suffer a personal tragedy when Mike Franks is killed after attempting to apprehend him. With Cobb injured, armed and unaccounted for, Gibbs confronts Leon Vance over his decisions in recent weeks. Vance admits that the decision to put E.J. Barrett in charge of the case came from higher up. Gibbs realizes that Cobb identifies with him, and is likely targeting E.J. The episode ends with E.J. ignoring Vance 's orders and attempting to apprehend Cobb. However, Cobb ambushes E.J. and they both get into a struggle, which E.J. begins to slowly lose. 186 24 "Pyramid '' Dennis Smith Gary Glasberg May 17, 2011 (2011 - 05 - 17) 824 18.62 Having finally learned the identity of the Port - to - Port killer after the death of Mike Franks, Gibbs and his team prepare for the worst when he makes his final strike close to the heart of NCIS, leading Ziva into a trap. When Ziva is found by McGee, DiNozzo, Gibbs and Ray Cruz, she reveals that it was misdirection while the killer, Lt. Jonas Cobb, infiltrates NCIS to target the people he holds responsible for turning him into a killer as a part of "Operation Frankenstein '': Leon Vance, Trent Kort and the Secretary of the Navy. Everything he has done since killing his first victim in Spain has been with the sole intention of finding them -- but knowing that the Secretary of the Navy is under twenty - four - hour protection, Cobb changes tactics and instead targets E.J. Barrett who is not only the person who has been investigating him from the beginning of his killing spree, but is also the Secretary of the Navy 's niece. The NCIS team are able to track Cobb back to the facility where he was put through his training and is seen "training '' Trent Kort, Jimmy Palmer and Barrett. He claims he only ever did what he thought was right, but refuses to surrender and is shot and killed by Gibbs and Vance. The Secretary of the Navy resigns over the affair, Trent Kort goes into hiding in Israel and Mike Franks is given a military funeral in a coffin built by Gibbs. The episode ends with the new Secretary of the Navy Clayton Jarvis (Matt Craven) giving DiNozzo a classified assignment to "handle '' an unknown person and informing him that an NCIS agent is suspected of selling classified information.
who dies in season 8 episode 23 of ncis
Mike Franks Mike Franks Mike Franks