When\u00a0NCIS<\/a><\/em> fans tuned into the show\u2019s milestone 500th episode, they were treated to not only an outstanding hour, but one that featured a shocking exit (Rocky Carroll<\/a>\u2018s Vance was killed<\/a>) and return (Adam Campbell<\/a> reprised his role as young Ducky<\/a> to guide him).<\/p>\n \u201cIt was amazing,\u201d Campbell, who also returns as the character in the March 30 episode<\/a> of NCIS: Origins<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0tells TV Insider of returning and working with Carroll on those scenes. \u201cIt was quite heavy, I\u2019ll say, because not only was it the last scene in the episode, it was also the last scene he shot. And so it was quite a privilege to be there while he was saying goodbye as it were to everybody on set. It was quite emotional for the camera guys and just everyone there who\u2019ve been working with Rocky for so many years. So, it felt really heavy. I felt very privileged to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Campbell also liked the circumstances surrounding his return. The episode is framed as if Vance is being questioned for his team\u2019s actions regarding an Army CID agent\u2019s murder, by a mystery man played by Adhir Kalyan<\/a>. At first, Vance thinks he\u2019s Army CID, then that he\u2019s working for the smugglers they\u2019re after. But once Vance realizes what\u2019s really going on, that he wasn\u2019t wearing a vest like he thought when he was shot, he picks up on the fact that he does actually know the man in front of him, his \u201cold friend.\u201d That\u2019s when the man changes his appearance to that of Adam Campbell\u2019s Ducky, there to make the transition a bit easier between acceptance and walking towards the bright light as his late wife\u2019s voice greets him.<\/p>\n \u201cThe theme is really moving. He\u2019s entering the afterlife and seeing his wife again, and it\u2019s heavy. It\u2019s a really emotional episode. But yeah, it was wonderful to do it. I thought it was really clever that Ducky got to welcome him there. I thought it was a really nice touch,\u201d says Campbell, adding, \u201cObviously, it would\u2019ve been better if it was David [McCallum]<\/a>, but I was very happy to fill in for him.\u201d<\/p>\n If you ask us, Ducky\u2019s the perfect face for such circumstances, and Campbell agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nice that they gave him some lighthearted moments as well to show that it\u2019s the same Ducky,\u201d he shares. (Ducky does remark that he dabbled in community theater while at university.)<\/p>\n