Is Rocky Carroll leaving “NCIS”? Unpacking the 500th episode's shocking twist

Randall ColburnWed, March 25, 2026 at 5:33 PM UTC

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Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance in 'NCIS' season 23Credit: CBS

Warning: This article contains spoilers for NCIS season 23, episode 13, "All Good Things."

All good things must come to an end. It's right there in the title of NCIS's 500th episode, which puts an end to a very good thing, indeed — Rocky Carroll's performance as the toothpick-chewing, no-nonsense NCIS director Leon Vance.

Vance, who first appeared on NCIS in 2008 and stayed for 18 seasons, died in action in the 13th episode of season 23. The episode is built entirely around Vance, who's arrested and interrogated amid the agency's shutdown by the Department of Defense. Agents under his command are suspected in the murder of a CID agent, and he's being accused of obstruction.

But as the episode unfolds, with Vance narrating the events as he experienced them, it becomes clear that something strange is afoot. This interrogation is not really an interrogation at all, nor are his memories of the case entirely accurate.

Below, we unpack Vance's death, as well as the circumstances behind Carroll's departure. Is he really leaving NCIS? Well, yes and no. Allow us to explain.

How does Leon Vance die on NCIS?

Brian Dietzen as Jimmy Palmer and Gary Cole as Alden Parker tend to Rocky Carroll's wounded Leon Vance on 'NCIS'Credit: CBS

With NCIS shut down and CID in charge, agents Alden Parker (Gary Cole), Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama), Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), and Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) are scattered in the wind. They reunite when a case with ties to the departed Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon) falls into their laps.

The case, which centers on a smuggling ring, ends up involving a crooked CID agent named Dolan (Matt Cook) with plans to set off a bomb in the evidence locker. When Vance defuses the bomb, he's shot several times by Dolan, who's determined to destroy the evidence implicating both him and his commander.

Parker and McGee quickly arrive and dispatch Dolan, and Vance reveals that he was wearing a bulletproof vest. "I'm not going anywhere yet," he cracks.

It's here that Vance's interrogator reveals himself to not be an agent at all. In fact, Vance has been speaking with a young Ducky Mallard (Adam Campbell), who died back in season 21. Ducky reveals he's there to help Vance move on.

"I wasn't wearing a vest, was I?" Vance asks.

No, he wasn't, and we're then shown the team trying in vain to resuscitate him. Tragically, Vance died from his wounds.

"I'd hoped a familiar adversary might make the transition a little easier," Ducky says.

Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance and Adam Campbell as Ducky Mallard on 'NCIS'Credit: CBS

Vance is despondent. "I gave up most of my life for this agency, and apparently my actual life," he says. "But for what? NCIS is gone. And now my children have lost both of their parents. So without putting too fine a point on it, this sucks."

But Ducky has good news. Vance's sacrifice helped expose the truth about corruption within the CID. The department's director, fearing Vance and his team would discover he and Dolan's scheme, "fudged" the budget to ensure NCIS was shut down. Following Vance's death, the CID director was arrested and the shutdown order reversed.

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"Your legacy will live on," Ducky tells Vance.

It's then that a pair of doors open to reveal a blinding white light. "A little on the nose, isn't it?" Vance cracks. Tears begin to spill from his eyes as viewers are shown a montage of Carroll as Vance over the years.

When it finishes, Vance approaches the light. He hears the voice of his late wife, Jackie, who died in season 10. "Hey, baby," she says.

"Hey, Jackie," he replies, then walks into the light.

What has Rocky Carroll said about Vance's death?

Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance and Adam Campbell as Ducky Mallard on 'NCIS'Credit: CBS

Carroll spoke about the decision to kill off Vance in a recent chat with PEOPLE, saying he had an "out-of-body experience" upon hearing the news from executive producer and showrunner Steve Binder.

"This wasn't one of those scenarios where I came to the network or I came to the producers and said, ‘Hey, it's been a great run, but I think I want to move on,'" the actor said.

He elaborated in an interview with Variety, saying that his "knee-jerk response" was to ask whether Vance could go out of his own free will, like departed NCIS characters Gibbs, Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), all of whom are still alive in the grander NCIS universe.

But Binder eventually sold him on Vance's sacrifice, telling PEOPLE, "[He] said, ‘This is going to be a love letter to your character. It's going to be a tribute to Vance.’ And when we finished it, I said, ‘I think we accomplished that.’”

Carroll continued, "I've been a series regular on NCIS for 18 seasons, and if this had happened in my third season as a cast member, I'd be devastated. But 18 seasons, to me, that's the equivalent of living to be 105. I said jokingly to my friends, ‘You go to a memorial service for somebody who lived to be 105, you're kind of betwixt, in between, because you're like, 'Yeah, it's sad that he's gone, but geez, he lived to be 105!'"

Is Rocky Carroll leaving NCIS?

Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance on 'NCIS'Credit: CBS

As a main cast member, yes, Rocky Carroll is leaving NCIS. Vance's death is about as definitive as they come. That said, Carroll regularly works as a director on the series (he even helmed an episode after filming his death scene), and told PEOPLE he plans to continue doing so

He's also not ruling out the fact that Vance could resurface as a "ghost star," telling Variety, "We have more ghost stars on our show than anybody. So I absolutely foresee [Vance returning]."

As for who will step in as the new NCIS director? We'll have to wait and see.

Where can I watch NCIS?

NCIS airs on CBS and streams on Paramount+.

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