So, the question remains, will Hetty ever return? “Her story continues,” NCIS: Los Angeles showrunner Scott R. Gemmill reassured Parade.com at PaleyFest—A Salute to the NCIS Universe event. “She was in at the beginning of this season and then we had her disappear. The plan is to follow that up next year with some reveal.” Next, NCIS Adds a New Recurring Character Opposite Special Agent Alden Parker While Hetty has been MIA, Callen has been doing an investigation into his childhood to ascertain exactly what he means to her. Was he just one of hundreds of young recruits she brought into the agency? Or is their relationship as special as he believes it to be? “We’ve pitted her a little bit against Callen in terms of what he went through as a child, so that’s something we’re very eager to explore and have fun with,” Gemmill continued. “We saw a little bit of that confrontation earlier this year, but before they could really have it out, she disappeared again. That’ll be focus for us in season 14 when we come back.” Callen has been on a journey of discovery as to his identity during the entire run of NCIS: Los Angeles. First it was to discover what the G. in G. Callen stood for. We now know his birth name was Grisha Aleksandrovich Nikolaev. His investigation went on until he finally found his father, now deceased, and a half-sister and nephew. “I think he got to a point where he seemed he thought he knew who he was, and then suddenly there was a reveal,” Gemmill said. “I think he wants to truly believe that Hetty did this out of the goodness of her heart, took him under her wing, and not that he was just another project of hers that was not as emotional as his relationship with her is. I think he wants answers to that so that he doesn’t feel betrayed. Over time, we’ve helped to give him some closure. I think this is probably the final step and the real reckoning with his mother figure, which in this case is Hetty.” While we will have to wait until season 14 to discover more about Hetty’s whereabouts and what she’s been up to, Gemmill did fill us in a little bit about what to expect as we head toward the finale, especially because it had to be written before the show was picked up for the next season. “What we really focused on because we weren’t sure what was happening, we really wanted to always leave the fans in a happy place,” he shared. ‘We never want to stress them out too much. Because we hit the 300th right before that, we focused on what really the show is about to all of us, which is about work and family. “In the finale you’ll see Kensi [Daniela Ruah] and Deeks [Eric Christian Olsen] moving onto the next place in their lives in terms of having a family. Callen, as well, will start to take some control over what his future is going to be. And even Sam’s [LL Cool J] character will be dealing with family issues, as well, in a way that we haven’t really seen yet and meet so much of his family that we haven’t met that we’ve alluded to, specifically his father.” NCIS: Los Angeles airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Next, NCIS: Los Angeles Is Making Waves! Here’s Who’s Coming and Leaving in Season 13
