Contains spoilers for “NCIS: Origins” Season 1, Episode 16 — “Bugs”

Jamison “Bugs” Boyd (Jared Bankens) was definitely never intended to be a lifer on “NCIS: Origins.” Boyd is pegged to be the sniper known as the Sandman, and he at least partially exists to intrigue key “NCIS” franchise character Special Agent Vera Strickland (Diany Rodriguez), who becomes fascinated with the case after Boyd confesses to killing Melanie Hewitt, her boyfriend, and two others. Yet, as he meets his doom in “Bugs,” one kind of wishes that he would have lived a little longer — if only because the revelation of his innocence forces the team to take a step back and realize that even the guiltiest-looking suspect might not be what they seem. 

Boyd vows to talk to Vera in Episode 16, but when the team reopens his case, they learn that the bedrock of his original confession is completely faulty. He wasn’t the Sandman; he was a spotter for the assassin and worked as his partner. Boyd genuinely loved Melanie and she wasn’t involved with the man the team presumed was her lover; she was just trying to stop the Sandman’s rampage. He also didn’t kill Melanie. The real Sandman is still on the loose — and Boyd becomes his latest victim at the end of his self-titled episode. 

Even though it very obviously sets up Operation Sundown — which will make young Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ (Austin Stowell) name as an agent, become his first major case and bring in the real Sandman — it’s hard not to think of the might-have-beens regarding Boyd and “Bugs.” Sure, he serves his purpose in this episode, but he might have gotten out and added something interesting to the show’s ever-expanding backstory. As a matter of fact, it would have been much more intriguing if Boyd had become some sort of informant for Gibbs and his evolving crew. From the depths of addiction to the peak of the intelligence world itself? Sounds like an interesting story.

Alas, fully confessed and absolved of his guilt, he happily closes his eyes and accepts death at the end of the episode — opening the door wide for Gibbs to become a legend. For NCIS fans, it’s a worthwhile sacrifice; now they’ll get to watch Gibbs rise up and seize his opportunity, becoming one of the best intelligence agents in the world. There probably isn’t a Gibbs Rule for that, but there ought to be.