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NCIS will return for its whopping sixteenth season in a matter of weeks, and it will mark the very first full season without Pauley Perrette as a regular. One NCIS star has weighed in on how it feels to continue without Perrette, and we already know one character who will be explored further when the show returns, so changes are in store. That said, a new image from Season 16 has hit the web courtesy of actor Wilmer Valderrama that indicates there will still be some classic NCIS shenanigans going on as well. Take a look at Torres and Palmer behind bars!
Now, under normal circumstances, two members of the NCIS team locked up would be cause for alarm. The various shows in the NCIS franchise have proven that very bad things can happen when good guys are stuck behind bars, wrongfully or not. This photo, however, doesn't have me wracking my brain to wonder what horrible thing could have happened to land these fellas in jail. Torres and Palmer's expressions (along with Wilmer Valderrama's cheeky Instagram caption) point toward the boys getting themselves into trouble thanks to some hijinks rather than being framed or caught in the act of a crime or something equally serious. My money is on this scene taking place right after the opening credits roll and before the agents find out of their case of the week.
At this point, diehard fans can only guess what Torres and Palmer did to wind up in the slammer. The stains on Palmer's shirt seem to point toward him getting himself splashed with paint somehow. As for Torres, he seems to have a shiner on his left eye. How do we connect a paint-splattered palmer with a Torres sporting a black eye? I don't want to say that they got locked up after a paintball battle gone wrong, but I'm also not going to rule it out. As of now, the only thing I'm 100% confident of is that we don't have to be concerned about any characters in mortal danger because of whatever landed Torres and Palmer in the clink.
In case you had any doubts that Torres really is sporting a shiner in that first pic, Wilmer Valderrama shared a closer look at his face in another image:
Ouch! Are Wilmer Valderrama's caption and hashtags a clue that the bruise is real and accidentally happened on set, or is he just showing off the makeup job that shows off a Torres who has seen better days? We'll have to wait and see. Given that a romance between Torres and another character will start to build in Season 16, we may get to see some commentary on what happened to his face.
Tune in to CBS on Tuesday, September 25 at 8 p.m. ET for the Season 16 premiere of NCIS. For more premiere dates (including those for NCIS: Los Angeles and New Orleans), swing by our fall TV premiere schedule.