For a decade, Nick Torres has been the NCIS agent who can handle anything—until the one case he can't outrun is his own history. In Season 24's third episode, “Sleeping Dogs,” Torres is forced to face the man he used to be when his old undercover alias, Dante Navarro, is used to commit a string of murders. It's a storyline that digs deep into the character's psyche, and Wilmer Valderrama promises it's just the beginning of a major transformation.
Valderrama recently opened up about the episode's brutal opening, which shows Torres (as Dante) killing a man in a bar to protect a bartender—a moment that sets the tone for the entire hour. “This is the Torres you've never met,” the actor explained, adding that the scene was designed to shock viewers and remind them that his character's past is far from clean. “He's going to battle with that animal that's trying to wake up in him.”
The conflict becomes personal when Walt Keller (Mike O'Malley), Torres' former handler, resurfaces with a chilling claim: Nick Torres is the cover, and Dante Navarro is the real person underneath. It's a devastating accusation that forces Torres to question everything he's built at NCIS. Valderrama sees this as a relatable struggle—fighting the parts of yourself that made you who you are while trying to embrace the person you've become.
“You live with somebody for 10 years, and you love him for what he is and how fun and all that stuff, but beneath it all there's a human being that's just begging to stay alive,” Valderrama said, hinting at the depth of Torres' internal battle. The episode also explores the lasting toll of undercover work, with Valderrama noting that catching bad guys often comes at a cost of self-sacrifice that lingers for years.
One of the most talked-about moments comes at the end, when Torres asks if a CIA position is still open. But Valderrama insists it's not a simple career move. “It's not quite jumping ship,” he said. Instead, Torres is testing whether the operative he used to be still exists inside him. “I have to throw myself back in the deep,” the actor teased, suggesting that the question is more about identity than ambition.
Looking ahead, Valderrama promises that the coming episodes will fundamentally change Torres' relationship with his NCIS team. The actor hinted that the fallout from “Sleeping Dogs” will ripple through the rest of the season, forcing Torres to reconcile his past with the family he's found. It's a storyline that could redefine the character for years to come.
For fans who've followed Torres since his introduction, this is a pivotal moment. The episode not only delivers high-stakes drama but also sets up a deeper exploration of what it means to be a hero with a complicated past. As Valderrama put it, the hunt for bad guys is never pretty, and sometimes the biggest battle is with yourself.
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