Sasha Alexander Left NCIS For A Specific Reason, But I Miss Her Character (& Wish She Could Come Back)

Summary

Sasha Alexander left NCIS due to intense schedule demands, wanting balance
Alexander played Kate Todd, who had notable relationships with Tony and Gibbs
Fans hope to see Kate return in a flashback or dream sequence for closure

As a lifelong big TV fan, I eagerly watched every gripping and emotional episode of The Pitt season 1 and can’t wait to see where the characters end up in Stranger Things season 5. I also like the comforting familiarity of every episode of NCIS, the CBS series about the Navy agency the Major Case Response Team. While NCIS season 22 is currently airing and there are still great characters, I miss one former agent the most: Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander).

Before watching Sasha Alexander play Kate Todd on NCIS, I enjoyed her character arc as Pacey’s (Joshua Jackson) wise older sister Gretchen Witter on Dawson’s Creek. The actress is no stranger to long-term TV roles and played Dr. Maura Isles on Rizzoli & Isles from 2010 to 2016 along with Helene Runyon on Shameless from 2015 to 2016. But, unfortunately, Kate didn’t stay on NCIS forever. While I understand the reason why Alexander quit NCIS, I wish the clever character could have stayed on the CBS procedural.

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Why Did Sasha Alexander Leave NCIS?

Kate Todd died in NCIS season 2, episode 23, “Twilight” when Mossad double-agent Ari Haswari (Rudolf Martin shoots and kills her. While sometimes characters are killed off because of a story choice, that wasn’t the case here. Sasha Alexander wanted to leave NCIS and explained why she made that decision in a 2012 interview with TV Guide. The actress said:

“People don’t realize that on a network show, you make 24 episodes a year — that’s 10½ months a year, 17 hours a day. It’s hard core.”

Both Kate and former character Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) were such important parts of the team that their absence still stings Alexander continued that leaving NCIS was the right thing for her to do as she could balance family time with creativity. She added:

“I really firmly believe in my heart that I would not be where I am today — happily married, with two kids, doing things creatively that I want — if I had stayed. I didn’t want to wake up and be in my forties and go, “Oh, my gosh!” But people don’t understand.”

Why (And How) I Want Sasha Alexander’s NCIS Character Kate Todd To Return

Although Sasha Alexander’s reason for leaving NCIS makes sense, as it does sound like a TV series like this one has an intense shooting schedule, I miss the intelligent Kate Todd for a few different reasons. I enjoyed watching Kate and Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) banter and bug each other at work all the time. Secondly, I think Kate and former NCIS character Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) had a fascinating mentee/mentor relationship, and I would have liked to see how that changed as she got older and more experienced. There are plenty of characters on The Rookie season 7 who have a similar bond that Kate and Gibbs had, and this always works well on a procedural.

While bringing Kate back to NCIS would be tricky since the character died, and since I’m not sure Alexander would want to given her reason for her exit, I still hold out hope that fans will see her again. I’d love to see Kate in a brief cameo flashback scene in a future NCIS season because her death was brutal and quick and I don’t think fans got closure. It would also be fun to see Kate in another whimsical dream sequence. Kate appeared in NCIS season 9, episode 14,” Life Before His Eyes,” and this time, she was still alive. DiNozzo and Kate were married parents, which was heartwarming. Maybe a current character could have a dream about Kate, which would be a fun way for her to come back. It might not be realistic to want Kate to return, but I’ll always have hope.