Abby, the cute and perky goth forensic scientist on NCIS, was once one of the favorite characters in the show. In fact, her unique character led her to win hearts all over America. That is until she bid the show goodbye, shocking the press and audience.
What could have led the actress to quit the show that had been running for 15 seasons?
Abby Scuito’s last appearance was in the two-part episode, ‘One Step Forward’ and ‘Two Steps Back.’ The last one aired on May 8, 2018, and the character left the show after an assassination attempt on her life. However, the actual reason behind the actress leaving the set was equally arresting, if not more.
So let’s discover why and how the character and the actress left NCIS.
Why Did Abby Sciuto Leave NCIS?
In her last appearance on NCIS, Abby Sciuto was struggling for her life in the ER after suffering a gunshot wound. The team is struggling to find out who among the hundreds of people Abby had helped put away was the attacker.
In the hospital, McGee tells Abby he is scared and begs her to wake up. When she does awaken, she asks about Reeves, who took the bullet meant for her. Two days later, Abby remembers nothing regarding the shooting, and the team can’t find any leads.
Well, it is just like Abby to find her own attacker, and she did just that. She discovers an email invitation to The Cooler dinner and realizes it was set up to get her to a location. She traces the IP address of the sender and sends agents.
As agents enter an abandoned building, we realize it is a feint so that she can confront the real criminal, Robert King, alone. She lies that she had slipped cyanide into the man’s coffee and tells him to confess if he wants to antidote. He helplessly does so, and the agents enter to arrest him.
After this incident, Abby decides to leave the team once and for all, as she is tired of seeing her friends die while criminals get to live.
Why Did Pauley Perrette Leave NCIS?
Pauley Perrette reportedly left the NCIS after a fallout with Mark Harmon. Apparently, Harmon brought his dog to the set, which bit a crew member. The crew ended up getting 15 stitches and successfully traumatized everyone else on set. Harmon kept bringing his dog, leading to a rise in tension.
Officially the actress announced that she needed a change of pace, and her life was so interesting that she needed to do nothing for a while.
After leaving the show, Perrette tweeted a string of critical messages that threw fans into a frenzy.
All these questionable tweets led rumors to swirl about physical abuse on set. People thought the actress was getting silenced and could not reveal the reason behind her departure.
There are also rumors that she and Mark were never at the set on the same days.
CBS responded by saying that they had worked with Perrette to find a resolution to her workplace concerns. Another cryptic message with no explanation whatsoever. After a few more days, Perrette suddenly did a 180 and tweeted that she had been tweeted extremely well by CBS,
One of the last statements by Abby on her final episode was, “You have to go with your gut, and my gut is telling me that I have to go.” This could also be the last message from the actress Pauley Perrette herself.
Will Abby Ever Return to NCIS?
When an NCIS spinoff was announced, fans were keen to see Abby back as the forensic scientist. Many people asked the actress if she would reprise her role. This generated an angry response from Perrette, who denied ever returning to NCIS.
So there you have it; Pauley Perrette is never returning to NCIS. Later in 2020, the actress also announced that she was retiring from her career, bringing an end to the bubbly character once and for all.
What do you think of Pauley and her cryptic messages upon quitting the show? Let us know in the comments if you want to see her in other roles if she makes a comeback.
