#devil's trifecta

same soulmate energy

@kissooff oh man I don’t think I have anything particularly exciting or insightful to answer that! It kind of felt like a couple of different ideas melding into one stream of consciousness?

I guess, the first part of that is Gibbs seems to regret a lot of his life choices over the years -- or rather realizes that he sabotaged his personal life post-Shannon & Kelly and is warning Diane not to let herself do the same thing with Victor, since she seems to be on the cusp of self-destructing her own marriage when she has to face some truths she doesn’t like about herself. 

I thought it was unusually honest and vulnerable of him to admit that to her, especially because she’s, well, her, but I also think that Gibbs kind of realizes the part he’s played in why she is the way she is. (Except I think Diane was probably always a little bit nuts, but that’s a whole other discussion.)

But then she makes that comment about him ending up all alone -- sorry, I forget the exact nature of the conversation -- and he explains that he isn’t alone. And we know he’s not, because he’s wearing that NCIS-emblazened ball cap, which I’m sure was deliberate. Because the team as much his family now as she was briefly back in the day, but it’s obvious the NCIS is a much more permanent fixture in his life, and he realizes the importance of their role in it. 

I mean, we get those moments once in a while, like that time he told Ziva you’re never alone when you have kids (one of my faves btw), but I guess I like the recurring nature of that theme -- that it’s the family he’s made with these people that he cherishes, that they’re able to fill part of the void in him (however minor) that was left when his blood family was destroyed. Have I mentioned I’m a sucker for that trope lately? Because I am. 

So I guess the TL;DR is that the hat is very blatantly representative of the NCIS family and I love this band of misfits? Gibbs may realize that he has closed himself off and hasn’t lived a full life post-Shannon, and doesn’t want anyone to follow his example in that, yet in spite of that, he’s managed to salvage some kind of family through the team.