Perhaps there’s no better narrative device on a TV show than the “will they, won’t they” chemistry of two people who are obviously in love but don’t really get a chance to be together. Over the course of 4 seasons, NCIS agents Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham) and Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) played their parts wonderfully, leaving a lot of people with the question: do they ever get together? Not to worry, we have the answer.
Affectionately known as Ellick to NCIS fans, the two agents romance story started in earnest during the episode “High Tide” from season 15. The two go undercover as a crime couple and get jobs as drug movers. At one point, their cover is almost blown so Ellie kisses Nick. This leads to eventual flirting as they discuss the kiss and gain a mutual respect for each others abilities.
In the episode “Death From Above” from the same season, Dinozzo Sr. asks Nick if Ellie ever dumped him, furthering the romance. During season 16, they continue to get closer and flirt with the idea of getting together. In the episode “Boom,” Ellie helps get some shrapnel out of Nick’s back and he puts his hand on her shoulder to protect her.
Over the course of the season, he cals her “babe,” they attend goat yoga together, they care for a baby and they fall asleep facing each other. The episode “Toil and Trouble” sees the couple go on a pretend date and Nick cancels a thing Ellie has with Boyd. She gets mad and asks why he did and he can’t answer. They almost kiss but don’t.
During Season 17, Ziva tells Nick he’s being a wuss for not telling Ellie how he feels. Eventually, Ellie asks Nick to dinner but he tells her he has a girlfriend. They go back and forth until Nick breaks up with his girlfriend, and they go out to dinner as friends.
It’s not until season 18 and the episode “Unseen Improvements” that they finally have “the talk.” Unfortunately, it’s not meant to be. During the season finale, they bid each other goodbye after Bishop is implicated in the NSA document leak, revealing that she’ll be leaving for good.
The scene is no big payoff. Bishop is cold and distant and seems almost annoyed. However, she grabs him at the end of the talk and kisses him. Then she leaves. They never really get a chance to be together. It’s sad.
It felt like the show’s writers were maybe leaving the door open, but it turns out Wickersham was leaving the show for good. On her Instagram stories, she reflected on her time on the show:
“This business is finicky and weird and consistency is a rarity. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of a show where I got to show up and act and laugh and learn with wonderful people. A moment in time I surely won’t forget. Thank you CBS and ‘NCIS‘ for including me in a part of television history.”