NCIS: Origins season 1 episode 6 ending explained: Is Lala trapped in a box?

NCIS: Origins season 1 episode 6 explores the character arc of Special Agent Lala Dominguez. The opening narration mentions the strain her work environment is taking her. The narrator, Gibbs, mentions that the walls seem to be closing in around her.

She's been facing sexism from both ends of the spectrum lately. Franks has demeaned her by insinuating she's just a "workplace distraction" for Gibbs, and Gibbs himself has played the white knight by pulling a gun on some people who were harassing her during last week's case.

In NCIS: Origins season 1 episode 6, Lala goes for a "girls' night" out with Vera and Mary Jo, in order to commemorate Vera's profiling program being approved. She's forced to leave the party after the NIS pages her for a work matter, but she gets followed by a man who forces himself into her passenger seat.

She initially tries to get him to leave, but ultimately cracks under the cumulative pressure of everything she's been through, and caves to his advances. This is simply the first sign of the sexist pressures Lala has been facing professionally and personally through NCIS: Origins season 1 finally getting the better of her.

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NCIS: Origins season 1 episode 6 focuses on Lala's inner turmoil

Lala Dominguez has become the focal character of NCIS: Origins season 1 in episode 6. The previous episodes had already established a history of sexist behavior she's had to put up with throughout her time at the NIS, which finally boils over in this latest episode.

After her minor breakdown at the party, where she caved to a stranger's advances, Lala pushes herself right back into her work. The case the NIS called her over for was a murder that was staged to look like a su*cide, and the victim was a Navy official with access to sensitive state secrets.

The NIS discovers that these secrets are on the verge of being sold off, with SAC Wheeler leaning into his source at the FBI to suss out who the buyer might be. Franks and Wheeler meet up with their informant at a Mexican restaurant, who turns out to be none other than future NCIS agent Fornell, who's going by the name of "Tobias" for this episode.

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An undercover infiltration only serves to deepen Lala's insecurities in NCIS: Origins season 1

Lala's lingering resentments, including with Gibbs, finally boil over. (Image via Instagram/@ncisverse)

Gibbs eventually decides to pose as a buyer for the intel, and Lala tags along beside him to coach him on how to get through his first undercover assignment. She poses as his date as they enter an exclusive club, and after a near-miss where they nearly stumble upon Gibbs's dentist who would've blown his cover, the two manage to meet up with the buyer.

However, getting the intel seller to incriminate himself proves to be the easy part. The hard part is adjusting on the fly after Lala discovers the hard way that the SWAT backup they were supposed to expect got called away. Gibbs finds himself in a tight spot thanks to the money he shows to the seller, which falls short of what the latter expected.

Thankfully, Gibbs and Lala prove equal to the challenge, as Lala shoots down the seller's henchman, and passes an icepick to Gibbs, which he holds at the seller's neck. With the mission accomplished, Lala returns to the NIS locker room, only to overhear her fellow agents crudely remark on how hot she looked in her black dress.

This leads to another blowout she has with Gibbs, who's been trying to move in with her and take their relationship to the next level. Lala reveals her parking lot hookup to him, causing him to realize the hard way how he's almost taken her for granted all this time.

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NCIS: Origins season 1 airs on CBS.