Anthony DiNozzo and Ziva David
Why This TV Couple Meant So Much to So Many
For the most part, we are suckers for the happy ever after, to a degree. We are believers of a good love story. Songs, poetry, acts of altruism, winning a stuffed toy at an arcade shooting game, pick your poison, has always been part of the cornerstone to dating and romance. So, when we said goodbye to Anthony DiNozzo, the very special agent on the long running series, NCIS, on CBS, we did so with respect and a twinge of sadness. With 17.6 million people tuning in for the finale, we experienced several layers of emotions, surprise, anger, sadness, love, respect, friendship and a few more. What made us tune in was not only to say farewell to a beloved character but to also, perhaps get a chance to see Ziva David. For those who may not have been a viewer of the show, Ziva was a central character that made up what some fans referred to as “Tiva”. Tiva is the combination of Tony and Ziva.
When Ziva was there, she and Tony had this dynamic partnership. It was, at times, volatile, exacerbating, frustrating, funny, compassionate, and more importantly, loving. Tony and Ziva could give each other looks that spoke volumes. And when they did speak, it was with honesty. Like Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who also had chemistry, Tony and Ziva had more chemistry than a Monsanto chemical plant. But unlike Scully and Mulder, who kept their attraction below the surface, Tony and Ziva were the complete opposite.
But why these two? It’s not like we’ve been down this path before. There have been other TV couples that we’ve watched over the years, Ross and Rachel, the previously mentions Scully and Mulder, Carrie and Mr. Big, Laurie Gilmore and Luke to name a few. What made these two stood apart from these other couples is that we became invested in the slow and steady build up to this relationship. They never did separate from one another like Ross and Rachel for example. And they were mature with their feelings. Each one of them respected the others boundaries. And at the core of all of this that was never spoken out loud, was that they truly loved each other. They never said the words. “I love you” out loud. Ziva was a person of action and was tough as any man. Tony has a father who never demonstrated emotions and as such, kept his emotions in check.
But as time moved on, Ziva slowly brought those feeling s to the surface. And it is because of that journey that we watched and experienced, we grew right along with them and we felt a part of them, And when they announced that Ziva was dead, it was too much of a bitter pill to swallow. We watched Tony finally pour out his anger to Gibbs as he pounded his hands on his desk and we felt that pain, that anger that had built up since she has left. Gibbs understood that and when Tony’s father came in, he became the father Tony needed him to be by telling his son to come home.
Tony’s past relationship could best be described as close but no cigar. He had felt love before but with Ziva, she was brutally honest and never accepted anything from Tony that was false. And for whatever reason, Tony was always honest with her, not matter the consequences or the fallout. And as we continued watching, this emerging flower began to bloom, layer by layer, petal by petal. Scully and Mulder gave each other looks but by comparison, they were silver medalist while the looks Ziva and Tony gave each other was definitely in the gold rankings. So, when Ziva returned to Israel and Tony followed her and that led up to their last goodbye, she told Tony that he was loved. Tony gave her that most passionate of kisses and said this is the hardest 180 he’s made in his life, he climbed that stair and looked at her for the last time. And while on the plane, he discovers that she had slipped her prized necklace inside his coat jacket pocket, it was a signal to him that she was his heart.
Tony never moved on from that. His subsequent relationships were frivolous and meaningless. He may have thought otherwise but the subconscious said something else. Ziva was in him. When those relationships ended, he moved off them so fast, it was like tossing away those coffee cups he drinks. No matter what, Ziva was hard to replace and infused into his body.
So, it was no surprise for some that they had a child together. As the psychologist stated, “He lost a love but gained a child.” Kind of cold. She should have said, “He lost a love AND gained a child. And as tony found out more while interacting with his daughter, Ziva did let her know that he was her father by the photograph of Tony and Ziva in Paris. She pointed to her mother and she pointed to her father, Tony. She did know who her father was and Ziva did know how Tony would feel.
Now it was clear that Tony must find a new life and a new chapter with his daughter. He could no longer put himself in the line of danger as he was a newly minted single parent. It was time to say farewell to the other people he loved before he went off to this new life. In the elevator with Abby, he still wasn’t sure how much did Ziva love him. He stood as a man with regrets for not saying those special words himself to the woman he loved. But Abby assured him that Ziva did love him and he had to know that Ziva loved him and not think that she loved him because she told Abby that she did. That was perhaps the closer for the legions of viewers who had come to cherish what Tony and Ziva came to represent. They were a treasure to watch like a rising tide along the shoreline. It is sad to know that they will no longer be together but that too is a part of life. Tony has a reminder of the love they had. He will love his daughter with a force stronger than seven suns. It’s too bad we won;t get to see it, it would have been nice. There is one thing that Tony did do in that last scene, he past on his baton to McGee when he said “I only have five words to say to you, Very Special Agent Tim McGee.”
Goodbye Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.
