‘NCIS’ Season 13 Spoilers: How Is Bishop’s Divorce Affecting Her, Plus How Does Dr. Taft Return?

There’s a familiar face coming back to NCIS Season 13 in the coming weeks, but in a slightly different way than he has been seen before in his previous two episodes. Plus, how is Bishop really handling her divorce?

Jake and Bishop’s relationship had not been the same since Bishop joined the team; they went from working together at the NSA and being able to talk about work to Bishop in a new field position and unable to talk about some things of a classified nature. Earlier in NCIS Season 13, Jake had been in Dubai when a bomb had gone off, but he wasn’t at the site when he should have been. Instead, he was in a taxi, and he wasn’t alone. As Bishop looked into it, she found him having lunch with the same woman (where they used to have lunch), and when she confronted him, thinking it had to do with an Internal Affairs investigation, he admitted he had an affair.

Jake tried to reach out to Bishop in the aftermath of his confession, but she ignored his calls. When she couldn’t put off talking to him any longer, it was the beginning of the end of their relationship (officially). The affair was just a symptom of a bigger problem. Working together at the NSA allowed them to live in a bubble of sorts, making their divorce seemingly inevitable. They’re just two different people; he likes pushing paper, she doesn’t. They’re still the same people they are, just not together anymore, as she realized when talking to Brody about the divorce in the NCIS: New Orleans crossover. So far, she seems to be handling this well.

But will that continue to be true in NCIS Season 13? According to what Emily Wickersham has said in an interview with TVGuide.com, the answer is a resounding no.

“Divorce throws anyone for a loop, especially in these circumstances. She has it seemingly sewed together in so many ways and is kind of a perfectionist oftentimes. This has really thrown a wrench into her whole thing. … It’ll be hard for her. We’ll see a bit of unraveling.”

That’s because, as she has realized, they’re different people and were living in that NSA bubble. “The fact that their relationship was basically formed in a work environment based on convenience, it was bound to have problems,” Wickersham explained. In fact, that’s probably something she should have realized sooner and this affair just brought that to light.

Just because she is single now, don’t expect to see her dating as NCIS Season 13 continues. Instead, the actress expects to see her focusing on her work and taking “a little bit of time to herself, to really take a moment, think about that relationship.” She did that a bit in the latest episode, through the letter to President Truman, which she began by writing that the case made her reconsidering why she became a federal agent and concluded that it made her want to work harder and be the best agent she can be. It was through that letter that she realized the differences between her and Jake when it comes to pushing paper and hitting the ground on a case.

Also coming up in NCIS Season 13 is the return of Jon Cryer as Dr. Cyril Taft, the surgeon who saved Gibbs’ life in the premiere and is now serving as his therapist of sorts because after that kind of experience, he needs to talk to someone. According to Entertainment Weekly, Cryer returns in “Loose Cannons,” an episode slated to air in February. Laura San Giacomo will appear in that episode as well, as Dr. Grace Confalone, Cryer’s character’s coworker and confidant.

So, what brings Dr. Taft back on screen? It’s actually a case that the NCIS team will be working involving stolen weapons and munitions, and he’s going to be right in the middle of it, as executive producer Gary Glasberg revealed.

“This time Jon Cryer’s Doctor Taft gets to help Gibbs solve a case and he likes it! Apparently solving crimes can be fun.”

NCIS Season 13 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on CBS.

[Image via CBS]