Please excuse us as we continue to sob in the corner over last night’s miserably beautiful NCIS Ziva farewell episode.
Let’s face it: while watching Ziva’s swan song last night, we were all kind of a hot mess of emotions. We’ve invested eight years of our lives into this brilliant and sassy NCIS agent, and after all we’ve been through with the girl, it’s hard to really let go. So when it was announced this summer that our favorite former Mossad officer was going to be leaving the NCIS bullpen for good, we couldn’t help but agonize over how she was going to take a piece of our hearts with her.
Fortunately for millions of invested fans, Cote de Paulo is a classy lady and returned this season for one final sendoff. Would NCIS do justice to Ziva’s growth from a deadly Mossad assassin to the loving, yet conflicted NCIS agent? Would she die? Would she move on from NCIS? Why? And perhaps most importantly (to the thousands of hardcore shippers, at least), how would they address the years upon years of slow-burning Tiva love?
Last night, for better or worse, we got the answers we’d been waiting eight years for. And while we were left wanting more, we as an audience, like Tony, knew that this felt like a natural conclusion for the deadly girl who only ever seemed to long for the chance to do the right thing.
So, now that it’s all over, let’s take a moment to look back. Here’s ten reasons that remind us why we fell in love with Ziva David in the first place:
She can literally kick anyone’s ass.
From the moment we met her, we knew she was a terrifyingly deadly force to be reckoned with. Mossad doesn’t mess around, and Ziva’s far and away the best.
She can literally kick anyone’s ass… while wearing a killer outfit.
She actually manages to make this ass-kicking look graceful and elegant.
She’s got a fantastic laugh.
Such a sharp change from Kate’s teasing smirks, Ziva’s laughs were wide and warm and easygoing, even when taunting Tony.
She’s simultaneously an open book and a total mystery.
Ziva might be unabashed when it comes to answering Tony’s intrusive questions, but beyond the “what you see is what you get” exterior, Ziva’s true feelings are often harder to understand.
She’s definitely a terrifying driver.
She considers those white and yellow lines on the road to be more like “guidelines.”
She knows how to boost McGee’s self-esteem.
Remember that time she told him he was better-looking than Tony? She said he had a nice butt. That was super nice of her.
She’s got crazy chemistry with our boy Tony.
To say that the kiss we’d all been waiting eight years for was bittersweet is an understatement. Remember when he stalked off to Africa because he had a “hunch” that she might be in trouble? No big deal.
We don’t understand how he’s ever going to get over this. We don’t understand how we’re ever going to get over this.
And she’s Gibbs’ girl.
Okay, so it’s true that all of their scenes together bring us to tears. At the end of the day, he’s her moral compass.
She really loves those close to her, even when she tries to hide it.
Whether it’s warming up to her NCIS family or crying over her destructive biological one, behind that poker face exterior, Ziva keeps her heart close to her sleeve.
She knows how to make the tough calls.
It’s how she came onto NCIS and it’s how she left it. This is why we’re sobbing isn’t it? Deep down, we know she’s right. We just wish it was wrong.