
NCIS: ORIGINS Explores This Beloved Character’s Emotional Backstory
By Movieguide® Contributor
NCIS fans finally got to learn an important piece of Mike Franks’ backstory in “Flight of Icarus,” the most recent episode of NCIS: ORIGINS.
In the episode, the NIS team investigates the death of a Marine general’s son, which takes Franks to the past and reveals why he joined the Marines rather than the Army. It also introduces Franks’ brother.
“We knew that Mike Franks was from Texas, we knew that he was a Marine and he mentioned a brother in one line, so we had those pieces,” co-showrunner Gina Lucita Monreal told Parade. “The rest we created around those pieces that we already had.”
“We wanted to stick to canon, and we wanted to stay close to the character of who we felt that Franks was and there are pieces of the Vietnam story that we haven’t seen yet. So hopefully all of those questions will be answered once we delve into that,” she added.
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Screen Rant explained that the episode doesn’t move as fast as others do, but the showrunners wanted to convey Franks’ emotional ties to the case, believing it would help audiences connect on a deeper level with the character.
“We thought to do a story that shared some emotional ties and not necessarily story points,” Monreal explained. “This was more interesting and something maybe that people hadn’t seen. I think, for me at least, that’s the way it is with life. You hear the story, or someone tells you something and it affects you. It’s not exactly what you’re going through. But it affects you on some deeper level, and that’s what we’re going for here.”
Co-showrunner David J. North added that the script “was just so moving when I read it,” saying “We’re just so proud of this.”
For Kyle Schmid, who plays Franks, uncovering his character’s backstory has been emotional.
“Mike’s story is heart-wrenching,” Schmid told TVLine, “and I think that the relationship between Gibbs and Mike is so strong because of the things that they share in common and what their innate emotional reactions to tragedy are, the way that their fight-or-flight reaction is triggered and what triggers it.”
Gibbs and Franks’ story continues in Episode 12, which airs on Feb. 3.
In it, “viewers will see Gibbs navigating the challenges of his new role. Under the guidance of NCIS legend Mike Franks, he learns the ropes of investigative work while dealing with the complexities of team dynamics,” per IMDB.
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