Katrina Law on Returning to 'NCIS' for the Season 22 Premiere

She’s back. After Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) accepted the job as Chief REACT Training Officer at Camp Pendleton in California in the Season 21 finale, it wasn’t clear if she would be returning to NCIS.

But a case involving a missing undercover agent takes Parker (Gary Cole) out to California, where he’s reunited with his former team member in the Season 22 “Empty Next” premiere episode.

“It's an interesting and very complicated start to the season for Knight and for all of the characters,” Law tells Parade. “When we start the episode, we are four or five months into it, and she’s been at Camp Pendleton with her new REACT job. She's digging her new job, but her change has caused a chain reaction of changes with the other team members.”

The changes back in the D.C. office involve Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) returning to his roots and accepting an undercover assignment and Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) busy interviewing for a Deputy Director position, which leaves Parker on his own in the NCIS bull pen staring at all of the empty desks until he gets called out to California.

“I reunite with Parker, and it gives us a chance to have some heart to hearts,” Law continues. “How are you? How's life going? What's going on? What do you want? From there we'll see what happens.”

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Of course, being reunited with Parker brings up some nostalgia for Knight’s working with her old team and she may start to second guess her decision to take the REACT training position.

“Even though Knight is super happy with her job and is having a good time and California is being good to her, I think that she always has this gnawing feeling underneath that something isn't right, and it isn't quite settled,” Law says. “She doesn't know if it’s because of new job, new place, new state, new friends, but I think as soon as she sees Parker’s face, I do think that there are some -- I don't necessarily know if it’s doubts -- but maybe some realization of, “Oh, this is what.”

During our conversation, Law also talked about the Knight/Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) breakup, what could lead her back to D.C., and the emotional aftermath of the near-death drowning experience in the Season 21 finale.

Jimmy broke up with her because he couldn't see the long-distance relationship working, but also because he wanted to be the rejector, not the rejectee. How much does she miss him? Is she counting the days?

It's actually [Jimmy's daughter] Victoria who's counting the days for us, so she's definitely making the two of them very aware of how long the separation has gone on. I think in the season finale when Knight brought up the mention of the job offer taking her out to Camp Pendleton, I think the reason why she didn't run immediately to Jimmy and tell him is because she instinctively knew this might not go well, but I do think she was in the mindset of this isn't a forever job. I'm not going to be in California forever. This is just another step up the ladder and we can make long distance work. Maybe I'll be there for a year or two or three, so like anybody who does a tour of duty, we can make this work.

I think the deep-seated issues that were brought up when potential distance came up were issues that were always there. I think it was what the red flags were for Knight coming up. Not only for him but also for herself, the issues of fear of loss, fear of abandonment, and also a little bit of that toxic, people-pleasing trait that they both have.

I think the reason why she ended up taking that job was because she is very ambitious, and she is going to take a promotion. That's just who she is. But also realizing fully for the first time that maybe we're rebounds for each other and maybe we have some issues that we need to work out on ourselves before we could ever get back together.

With her people pleasing, she's going, “I can't keep trying to fix these things for you and I can't keep tiptoeing on eggshells and keep asking you if everything's OK and if I'm moving too fast and all these different things.”

I think the reason why Jimmy was also able to accept that ending that we had was I think he instinctively knew we both have some stuff that we need to respond to individually, so I do think that she thought they could make it work, but I think at the end, it was that realization of for it to work, these issues need to be resolved first.

Related: Why NCIS Alum Pauley Perrette Says She Will Never Return to Acting

When Parker comes out and then she gets involved in solving a case again instead of just being the REACT trainer, is it one of these instances of be careful what you wish for because you just might get it?

She definitely has a moment where she's like, “I got what I wanted. I definitely did.” Going back to the to the NCIS team would definitely be a demotion, but at the same time, I think she's at a place for the first time in her entire life where she's going, “I'm not going to make decisions based off of what my father wants. I'm not going to choose based off of what Jimmy wants. I'm going to 100 percent do what I need to do for myself right now, and right now, I need my home and my family more than I need a promotion,” which I'm sure in her head she's going, “I'm not worried about getting promoted. It will happen.”

Knight almost died at the end of last season, drowning and all that dramatic stuff. Has that affected her going into the new season? Does she have a new approach to life as a result of this near-death experience?

Yes, I think it fundamentally changed her. It changed the relationship with her and Parker. The two of them have a bond now that I don't think she expected to have with him and that plays out really beautifully this entire season. But, I think, again going back to the “You know what? Can't make my dad happy, can't make Jimmy happy. I almost died, I'm just going to live.”

So, I think we get to see Knight wild out a little bit this season and go back to her roots because I think between her father and wanting to climb up that ladder, she molded herself into something a little more structured than who she actually is. And then same thing with Jimmy, trying to take care of a man and then also his child, you mold yourself into something and make yourself fit into his world. So now that both those worlds have kind of exploded in her face, she's basically, “I’m going to be who I am. I don't necessarily know who that is but I'm going to have fun finding out.”

NCIS returns for its 22^nd season tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

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