After the confrontation between LaRoche and McGee in the penultimate episode of NCIS season 22, the team learned that he had been working as a double agent for the Secretary of Defense. They originally had someone else on the operation, but the Nexus cartel found out about his real identity and his body was found in the Potomac.

Parker and Vance were unhappy about being left out of the loop, but now in return, they were in charge of the investigation into what the Nexus cartel was planning. They received help from an unlikely source, Parker’s nemesis, Carla Marino. Nexus is planning to once again steal nuclear fuel rods despite the team having prevented this.

El Carnicero aka The Butcher took over the role of the priest who originally was connected to the cartel. There was no way to find him, but the SD card that LaRoche gave McGee helped them determine Nexus was using the online chat feature of a word game to communicate with unknown individuals.

What happened at the end of the NCIS season 22 finale??

The messages included the numerical location to an abandoned clinic, where Knight and Torres found radioactive materials and a dead body. Peter Mobley had been connected to the shipment of uranium being stolen, and with things escalating, Parker finally agreed to get help from Carla.

She did know El Carcinero wanted to move up from just selling drugs and wanted something bigger, but she didn’t know who the buyers were as of yet. But eventually, they got a call that El Carnicero wanted to meet.

While Knight and Torres met with a possible buyer for the uranium, Carla, Parker, and a couple of agents went to go to the meeting. However, it turned out one of the agents was actually working with Carla and shot the driver before holding Parker hostage.

The team realized Carla was the real head of Nexus. El Carcinero was a fake person created through AI. She had also been planning to take out the rest of the crime families so that way she could control everything.

Luckily, the team managed to prevent the bomb from going off, but Carla escaped after letting Parker go. Unfortunately, Parker went home to discover his dad had been killed and all that was left were two wine glasses, one with a lipstick print on the rim.

With the finale ending on this note, it left a lot of things open, especially since it is clear Parker will stop at nothing to avenge his dad. Plus, Jimmy also hinted to Knight that something was off about Parker’s mom’s death certificate. Not all of our questions were answered, so we are sure season 23 will continue the thread into what will happen for all of the characters into the next season.

Until the show returns, you can catch up on previous episodes of NCIS on Paramount+.

Make sure to tune into One Chicago Center for continuing coverage of NCIS