Who is Sahar on NCIS? That’s a good question. It’s one that Gibbs and Ziva David got wrong. And that twist at the end of the fall finale was certainly one that many viewers never saw coming — but let us explain.
The character of Mira Sahar Azam was the main villain of Season 17 so far, with actress Mouzam Makkar playing the part during the first two episodes this fall. It all tied back to Ziva and her past.
Sahar worked with Ari Haswari, who was the half-brother of Ziva. Ari shot and killed NCIS Special Agent Caitlin Todd in one of the more shocking moments of the show. Ziva later killed Ari, splintering the group of people working with him.
The myth. The legend. #NCIS pic.twitter.com/2nGPZlQjcs
— NCIS (@NCIS_CBS) December 18, 2019
To open the current season, Sahar blamed Ziva for her group of terrorists falling apart. That led to the drama that brought Ziva back into the lives of Gibbs and the rest of the current NCIS team. They tracked down Sahar, who was almost captured in the second episode of the season, only to instruct her men to kill her.
But there was a bigger mystery under the surface?
Who is Sahar on NCIS?
Adam Eshel, who had helped Ziva fake her death, was found to be a captive of Sahar in the fall finale. Only how was that possible? Sahar was supposed to be dead. Adam shared that they already knew the real Sahar, but it appeared that he was speaking to Ziva. Later, it was revealed that Adam was actually speaking to Gibbs.
The CBS audience was slowly let in on what was taking place, as it was revealed that Sahar sometimes goes by Sarah and has a son with her — named Phineas. Alarm bells start to go off at this point, as everyone suddenly realized that Gibbs has been living next door to Sahar for a while now.
When Sahar nearly kills Ziva, it is Gibbs that comes to her rescue, shooting and killing Sahar before she can take out his friend. It appears the end of Sahar has arrived, but we have been led to believe that in the past as well.
During Season 17, the new Sahar (Sarah) has been played by actress Louise Barnes. Viewers watching closely may have already suspected that she was up to something, but Phineas (the kid) normalized her a bit.
Before joining the NCIS cast, Barnes was best known as Miranda Barlow on Black Sails. She also played recurring characters on Reprisal and Outsiders.
Following the conclusion of the dramatic NCIS fall finale, the show now takes a short break before returning in January 2020. The next new episode will also feature Cote de Pablo as Ziva David, with many viewers hoping she finally gets to see Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) on screen again.
NCIS airs Tuesday nights at 8/7c on CBS.