The Season 17 premiere of the hit CBS procedural NCIS is getting closer, and the network is starting to tease the return of Cote de Pablo (Ziva David). After her surprise appearance in the last few seconds of the Season 16 finale, showrunners Frank Cardea and Steven D. Binder promised de Pablo would be back for the premiere, and the new extended trailer is all about the return of this beloved character.

“For three years they thought she was gone forever. They were wrong,” reads the text in the intense 80-second trailer for the premiere episode titled Out of the Darkness.

In the trailer, Ziva reveals that a mysterious woman named Sahar (Mouzam Makkar) wants her dead, and now she’s after Gibbs (Mark Harmon). Ziva doesn’t know any details about Sahar’s motives, and she says she’s never seen her.  But, she knows that Sahar is dangerous, and Ziva and Gibbs are going to have to defeat her together.

The trailer also features some of the cast reactions to the news that Ziva is alive. Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) was certain Ziva was dead and is shocked to find out he was wrong. “Ziva David is freakin’ alive!” exclaims Torres.

Sloane (Maria Bello) is mad out of concern for Gibbs.  She asks, “This is Gibbs’ life we’re talking about. How could you not tell us?”

Palmer (Brian Dietzen) is on the verge of passing out upon hearing the news and needs to sit down. And, McGee (Sean Murray) is furious that he was kept out of the loop because Ziva is like a sister to him and he had a right to know.

The trailer teases a massive storyline that is unlikely to wrap up in just one episode, so it’s hard to believe that Ziva won’t be back for more. However, the show has only confirmed de Pablo will appear in two episodes.

“If you had the chance for one more minute with your daughter, wouldn’t you do anything?” Ziva asks Gibbs midway through the trailer. But, the action doesn’t stop there, as Vance (Rocky Carroll) declares, “Folks, things are gonna get really dicey here.”

The trailer wraps up with Ziva telling Gibbs, “we are not who we once were.” To which he replies, “Doesn’t matter who we are. I’m not leaving you.”

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Season 17 of NCIS premieres September 24th on CBS.