# NCIS: Origins Q

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-origins-q/1017944>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\
**Created:** [May 6, 2025, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-origins-q/1017944 "2025-05-06T08:16:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-origins-q/1017944/1 "2025-05-06T08:16:59Z")

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Okay, I know that the last two episodes of **NCIS: Origins** were about two of Gibbs’s rules: " Never go anywhere without a knife," and “Best way to keep a secret: Keep it to yourself. Second best: Tell one other person—if you must. There is no third best.” Do all the other episodes correspond to his list of rules, too?

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**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-origins-q/1017944/2 "2025-05-06T13:24:44Z")

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No. The rules pop up occasionally but not in every episode.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-origins-q/1017944/3 "2025-05-07T00:08:02Z")

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Well, a recent episode seemed to end with him realizing why he should never go anywhere without a knife (Rule 9). The season closer, I thought was going to be about why you should never date a co-worker (Rule 12) but was actually about the consequences of sharing a secret with too many people (Rule 4).

The most endearing thing about this series is that it’s not as rigidly formulaic as its parent series, which has gotten _really_ by-the-numbers lately. But what if this _is_ the formula? Each episode shows the genesis of a particular rule in Gibbs’s handbook? I can’t remember if other episodes specifically hinged on why you should always wear gloves at a crime scene, never involve a lawyer, etc., but figure someone who notices these things might be keeping better track of it than I am.