NCIS: Los Angeles ended over three years ago, but the series has remained a big part of the NCIS franchise, even now more than ever. At present, LL Cool J is preparing to make big return as Sam Hanna in the upcoming spinoff, NCIS: New York, which drops later this year on the 2026 TV schedule. At the same time, Eric Christian Olsen is rejoining the franchise as a producer for NCIS: Origins. The show means a lot to Olsen, and I'm loving his comments about Hetty still needing "closure."It was definitely a shock when CBS announced back in 2023 that NCIS: LA would be ending after its then-current 14th season. As far as finales go, though, there was a lot of closure for most characters. The final minutes of the finale never sat right with me, though. Viewers see Callen (Chris O’Donnell) and Sam being sent on a mission and meeting up with Nell (Renée Felice Smith) and her team to help rescue Hetty (Linda Hunt), who got herself “into a pickle,” as Nell put it. However, Hetty's story was never properly resolved, as Hunt was absent due to various reasons for many of the later seasons. The uncertainty of Hetty's status still seems to weigh on fans, and even the cast. While speaking with franchise stars Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover on their NCIS: Partners & Probies podcast, Olsen shared his thoughts on Hetty, revealing that Hunt actually asked him to write her last episode. He recalled shooting Season 9’s “Monster” and how much dialogue Hunt had to do for the heavy episode. He recalled:It was a lot of dialogue, and it was really difficult, and I was like off camera dying because this is someone that I love, and I'm watching her struggle through dialogue that was overwritten. And I was like are you terrified that she was going to be like, ‘The fuck am I doing?’ And she ultimately said — she was like, ‘I want you to write an episode for me.’ She pitched Russia. She’s like, ‘Maybe I’m in an apartment in Russia.’ And I was like, ‘OK, let me let me think on that.’ And, ultimately, [we] didn’t get a chance to tell that story.Hunt appeared in NCIS: LA throughout much of its run but, beginning with Season 10, she began to appear less frequently. Of course, those absences were understandable is understandable, given the now-81-year-old actress' health, 2018 car accident and the eventual COVID restrictions. It’s disappointing that we haven't gotten the ending for Hetty that Hunt wants, but Olsen is still trying to make it happen -- and I desperately need him to succeed:She’s still out there and, as an audience member, but also as a person [who] deeply loves her, there should be an end to that story. I don’t know what that is. I think we need resolution. I think the idea that it’s floating for eternity needs something to be — we need closure. It’s a great question, I don’t know. I have a whole pitch for what I would do with that and what she did and why she chose to do what she did. Of course, I cry all the time, but when she asked me that question, I definitely got tears in my eyes and I was like, ‘Whatever you want.'It can be argued that Hetty is one of the NCIS' most beloved characters. While she was the Supervisory Special Agent of OSP, she also served as a parental figure of sorts for the team and dropped some pretty quick one-liners at times. It was heartbreaking when her absences began to become more frequent. Considering how important Hunt's Hetty was to LA, it's a shame the character's fate is still uncertain. She deserved a sweet ending just like the other characters.Paramount+: from $8.99 a month/$89.99 a yearEnjoy the NCIS shows by streaming them with Paramount+. The Essential plan costs $8.99 a month, and the ad-free Premium option runs for $13.99 a month. Customers can also save money by grabbing an annual subscription.View DealDietzen, who has written a few episodes of NCIS, told Olsen that the door is always open for him to tell Hetty’s conclusion on the Mothership, and he would be more than happy to write it with him. I'm honestly not sure what such an episode would look like, but I'm loving Olsen's enthusiasm:That’s a good idea. Yeah, Hetty needs closure.I'm not sure I'll ever stop thinking about Hetty, and here's hoping there will be an opportunity for her to return down the road. Luckily, the NCIS franchise is still going strong, so there are plenty of ways in which Linda Hunt can reprise her role. My hope is that we get an update on her during NCIS: New York, which airs this fall on CBS and will stream the next day with a Paramount+ subscription.