After Ducky's debut appearance in NCIS: Origins season 2 episode 3, the prequel series is about to stage another reunion. However, this time around, the guest of honor might not be as well-received by a particular member of the team. It's finally time to meet Franks' estranged brother Mason, who we first met in season 1 in an extended flashback episode.
In NCIS: Origins season 2 episode 4, titled "No Man Left Behind," Chicago Justice alum Philip Winchester guest stars as Mason Franks, the estranged older brother of Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid). One Chicago fans will recognize Winchester as Peter Stone, who first appeared in Chicago PD before leading the short-lived legal spinoff. The series aired one season on NBC back in 2013.
Winchester joins another long-running franchise in a key role, and there's sure to be some fireworks between the brothers. We're surely about to learn exactly what the years apart have done to their relationship and more details about what exactly happened between them. But Mason's return into his brother's orbit will drum up more than the past when his present's still a mess.
NCIS: Origins season 2 episode 4 welcomes Franks' estranged brother Mason
As if Franks hasn't already been having a stressful season so far (reminder, we're only three episodes in) between corralling a much too confident Gibbs from his first interrogation and dealing with the lasting impacts of Lala's accident, he will now be faced with a family reunion he probably wasn't expecting. Reliving the past is one thing, but facing the future is a whole other beast.
Before the episode's premiere, CBS shared the official synopsis and teased the family reunion: "Tensions rise when Franks’ estranged older brother, Mason (guest star Philip Winchester), blows into town, desperate for help after hitting rock bottom. Also, the team investigates the robbery of a Navy bank while Lala, still struggling after her accident, makes a decision about her future."
We'll get to the Lala of it all in a second, but it's interesting to hear that Mason has hit rock bottom and he's turning to his little brother for help. In the flashback we saw play out in season 1, Mason was the one helping Franks through being drafted for the Vietnam War. They enlisted in the Marines and served together, but by the time they returned, their relationship soured.
While Franks will have to make a decision about whether to help Mason and how to help Mason, it sounds like Lala will also be making a pivotal choice in season 2 episode 4. She would never let us see that she's struggling, but clearly, she's having a hard time. What does this decision entail? Will she be stepping back from the team? Gibbs would without question have a hard time with that.
So far, NCIS: Origins season 2 is off to the races with incredible stories and even better guest stars that are fully building out the untold first act of the long-running procedural. It's exciting to see a One Chicago star whose show deserved much better back on the small screen playing a major guest role in another franchise. Now, if only we could see Peter Stone pop back up in Chicago!
Don't miss the new episode of NCIS: Origins on Tuesday, Nov. 4 on CBS, streaming next day on Paramount+.