And it’s clear from those discussions that one of the things fans want to see most in season 13 is the survival of Gibbs. He’s one of the most prominent characters on the show, and he’s become a fan favorite at this point, so it would be quite disappointing for many fans to see him being sent away.
Still, the fact that Mark Harmon has signed a contract for a whole new season is encouraging. They wouldn’t give him a full season contract just so they can show his death in the first episode, after all.
Then again, we don’t know how these contracts work, and it’s possible that there is no option to sign him on for a shorter period of time, or the duration could be intentionally misleading to the public in order to hide what’s happening in the first episode of season 13.
In any case, there is still some time to go until the new “lucky” season 13 arrives, and until then, online discussions and speculation are all fans will have to go by. Let’s hope that Gibbs will be shown for many more episodes to come, and that if he ever departs from the show, it will be on a positive note and won’t leave fans disappointed.