Forget Carla Marino, NCIS season 23’s true villain is more dangerous than Alden Parker’s arch nemesis. The game-changing NCIS season 22 finale sets up much of what’s next for the Major Care Response Team. With Carla Marino in the wind and Parker’s dad’s murder, the squad is confirmed to band together to get justice.

It has been a while since a member of the MCRT experienced a personal tragedy. This type of heartbreaking narrative was more frequently done during NCIS‘ earliest years. But as the stakes in NCIS diminished, and it became a more lighthearted series, episodic stories have leaned more into simpler cases.

That’s about to change in NCIS season 23, with Carla being still the focus of MCRT. However, Parker and his team need to be more cautious when dealing with the year’s true antagonist.

NCIS Season 23 Poster Indicates Vance’s Separation From MCRT

As part of CBS’ marketing efforts for NCIS season 23, a brand new ensemble poster has been released featuring the main cast of the procedural. Instead of being set inside their Navy Yard office, its backdrop is the easily recognizable skyline of Washington, D.C. While there’s nothing really new about that, the characters’ blocking is quite interesting.

Parker remains at the center of the cast, with the rest of his team behind him. Curiously, however, Director Leon Vance is separated from the rest of squad, with a clear empty space between him and Kaisie Hines. From a structural standpoint, his placement makes the whole image imbalanced and not aesthetically-pleasing — unless there’s a narrative reason for it.

Physically separating Vance from MCRT backs up what has previously been revealed about his role in NCIS season 23. On the heels of Parker’s dad’s murder, the whole team is confirmed to back up their leader, but the Director will be against it and actively make it difficult for them to execute their plan. This effectively makes him the biggest threat to MCRT in NCIS season 23.

How Vance Is A More Dangerous Villain Than Carla Marino In NCIS Season 23

Full transparency, it has been teased that there’s an important reason behind Vance’s demeanor change. So he won’t be a full-blown traitor. That said, his behavior will be more than enough to make it so much harder for MCRT to operate effectively, especially since he is their superior.

With Parker’s dad dead, the team is now well-aware of just how dangerous Marino is, and therefore, is more cautious when dealing with her. If they keep their guards up, they can protect themselves. However, dealing with Vance is much more difficult because they have to answer to him. He can jeopardize their missions and even cause major trust issues within the team.

For what it’s worth, Vance is being a hypocrite in NCIS season 23. He knows full well what it feels like to have someone close murdered when Jackie was killed years ago. If anything, Vance should just be more open about what’s really going on to his team instead of sabotaging them without a proper explanation.

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NCIS

6/10

Release Date

September 23, 2003

Showrunner

Donald P. Bellisario

Directors

Dennis Smith, Terrence O’Hara, Tony Wharmby, James Whitmore Jr., Thomas J. Wright, Michael Zinberg, Arvin Brown, Rocky Carroll, Diana Valentine, Leslie Libman, Tawnia McKiernan, Colin Bucksey, William Webb, Bethany Rooney, Alrick Riley, Jeff Woolnough, Alan J. Levi, Lionel Coleman, Martha Mitchell, Peter Ellis, Michael Weatherly, Edward Ornelas, Stephen Cragg, Tom Wright

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  Sean Murray

  Timothy McGee

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  David McCallum

  Dr. Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard