Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 8 of NCIS: Tony & ZivaSo far, NCIS: Tony & Ziva has rocked us with one major death. At the halfway point of this ten-episode NCIS spin-off, we saw acting Interpol General Secretary and Tony’s (Michael Weatherly) friend, Henry (James D’Arcy), get mercilessly executed by the show’s villains. But the only reason his death was shocking was because he was playing a fairly major part in the series and had only just come over to Tony and Ziva’s (Cote de Pablo) side in this whole debacle — not because we were genuinely upset to see him go. At the time, Henry’s death became another reason for the main crew to be wary of Jonah’s (Julian Ovenden) unpredictable nature and wrath, but we didn’t truly realize how deep the implications of his loss would run.
Ever since Henry’s grisly fate in Episode 5, we are slowly coming to realize just how much he meant to Tony. From witnessing Tony being wracked by waves of grief to brief flashbacks that reveal just how involved Henry was in raising Tali (Isla Gie), it feels like we should have been more emotionally moved by his unexpected death. Episode 8 cements this sentiment, as we find out Henry was supposed to be Tony’s best man at his wedding. The question on all of our minds is: why didn’t the show portray this sooner, so Henry’s death could feel more meaningful?
‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ Killed Henry Before We Knew He Mattered
Tony & Ziva first introduced Henry as one of Tony’s clients at his security firm, the representative of Interpol. Naturally, we didn’t really think anything more than a professional relationship existed between them. Sure, the show delivered scenes of Tony having back-and-forth banter with Henry, and the two cast members shared plenty of chemistry, but Tony’s charming characterization tended to bounce off everybody. We couldn’t have known that Henry was special. We even get a flashback of Henry attending one of Tali’s birthdays, but Jonah was also present, and Tony certainly did not have the same visceral reaction when he found out Jonah was actually a conniving, vengeance-blinded antagonist.
The only scene prior to Henry’s death that might’ve pointed us to realizing how much he meant to Tony was during the secret meeting in Episode 2 that went wrong. Ziva gave Tony one chance to prove Henry was trustworthy by setting up a covert meeting so they could clear their names, but Henry fails by turning it into a sting operation. Tony is certainly hurt by this betrayal, but it could be interpreted as him being saddened that Henry would not extend him that professional courtesy of innocent-until-proven-guilty considering their long working relationship. Or perhaps Tony was disappointed that his colleague believed he was capable of being dishonorable. Either way, it wasn’t a fail-safe route to prove they had a true personal connection like the episodes after Henry’s death demonstrate.
‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ Revealed Henry’s Beloved History With Tony Too Late
During Tony & Ziva Episode 5, we start seeing how delighted Tony is that Henry is back at his side, only for the latter to be ripped away, execution-style, by Jonah’s unblinking murder. But during this scene, it is Jonah’s ability to kill a man he has worked with for years without any remorse that strikes us, not necessarily Henry’s death itself. It certainly raised the stakes of the show, but now seeing Tony’s reaction and the later flashbacks, we’re realizing that Henry’s death was supposed to be more than just a narrative device. Tony’s scenes of grief, where Weatherly does a superb job at being wracked by sobs and vulnerability, just make our heart ache for the character who doesn’t usually show this much emotion. But it does start to make us question how close Tony and Henry really were.
During the three episodes since Henry’s death, the show gradually reveals little details that depict just how involved he was in their lives. We find out that Henry essentially became an honorary uncle to Tali, so much so that Ziva admits that she was jealous of him considering the years she spent apart from her daughter. It’s Episode 8 that really solidifies how vital Henry was in their lives as a flashback reveals that Henry was supposed to be Tony’s best man. On top of that, we witness Henry getting Tony to open up about his emotions and potential fears around the impending marriage, something not even Ziva could do after all these years. It makes Tony’s loss more profound, but doesn’t retroactively make Henry’s death more meaningful; the series should have conveyed this before Henry’s death.
Henry’s Death Could Have Been More Impactful in ‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’
In this case, hindsight isn’t necessarily 20/20. Just because we now know Henry mattered to Tony, doesn’t mean his death is now suddenly eliciting the impact it needed to before. Because Tony & Ziva didn’t establish the depth of Henry and Tony’s connection prior to his death, it minimized how his loss is received by the audience, stripping it of the emotion it is supposed to have and turning it into a narrative device. The pitfalls of the show’s dual timeline also come into play here. For Tiva’s relationship arc, it makes sense to place the pre-wedding flashbacks at this point of their story, but this means that Henry’s role in the show had to be undermined since these meaningful scenes with Tony had to be placed after his death in the present timeline.
It’s not the most egregious downfall, but not establishing Henry and Tony’s relationship beforehand was a missed opportunity to deliver a real gut punch, one where all the implications of the loss of a dynamic character and Tony’s grief would have cascaded over us in one fatal blow. Instead, when Henry is murdered in Tony & Ziva, we only really think of him as Tony’s colleague and friend, not honorary uncle and best man material.
- Release Date
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September 4, 2025
- Network
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Paramount+
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Michael Weatherly
Tony DiNozzo
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