As NCIS Season 23 barrels toward its finale, the Major Crimes Response Team is facing one of its most personal cases yet. In the penultimate episode, “Deal with the Devil,” airing Tuesday, May 5, Supervisory Special Agent Alden Parker (Gary Cole) finds himself behind bars after a controversial immunity deal sets a dangerous man free. But the biggest surprise isn’t the legal mess—it’s the return of his estranged sister, Harriet, played by Last Man Standing star Nancy Travis.
Collider has an exclusive sneak peek that shows Harriet visiting Parker in jail, where the two share a tense but heartfelt reunion. The clip opens with Harriet arriving to see her brother locked up, and they exchange a few lighthearted barbs before the conversation turns serious. Parker’s attempts to keep the case alive after the immunity deal have landed him in hot water with the law, and now he’s facing a potential prison sentence if the opposing lawyer decides to press charges.
Harriet is clearly frustrated that Parker has once again bent the rules, especially given the trauma they endured earlier this season. In the two-part season premiere, their father was murdered, and Parker was nearly killed while hunting down Carla Moreno (Rebecca De Mornay) in a mission of revenge. That memory is still fresh for Harriet, who was almost left as the last surviving Parker. She doesn’t want to lose her brother again because he can’t let the legal system run its course.
“Deal with the Devil” serves as a full-circle moment for Season 23, forcing the Parker siblings to confront old family wounds and reckon with their losses. Harriet was convinced she had lost “Aldie” after he was presumed dead in an explosion, and this latest case tests Parker’s ability to balance justice with personal safety. The sneak peek cuts out just as Parker is about to promise—or not—to trust the legal system, leaving viewers to tune in to see how he decides to proceed.
This season has been a landmark for NCIS, which celebrated its 500th episode earlier this year. The milestone installment was packed with tension and Easter eggs, culminating in the shocking death of FBI Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll). Alongside Cole, the cast includes Sean Murray, Wilmer Valderrama, Brian Dietzen, Diona Reasonover, and Katrina Law, all returning for Season 24.
Beyond the mothership series, the NCIS universe is expanding. After the end of NCIS: Los Angeles three years ago, LL COOL J is reprising his role as Sam Hanna in a new spin-off, NCIS: New York. He’ll team up with Scott Caan’s roguish agent to lead a new team policing naval crime in the Big Apple. The show, created by Kingdom’s Byron Balasco, will debut this fall in the 9 p.m. slot between the main show and NCIS: Origins, before NCIS: Sydney takes over midseason.
For fans of the franchise, this is an exciting time. And with Parker’s fate hanging in the balance, the season finale promises to deliver emotional stakes that hit close to home. Don’t miss the penultimate episode of NCIS Season 23 on May 5 on CBS.
