NCIS Character Analysis – Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Gibbs. The fearless leader. Never, have I seen a show portray such an accurate description of leadership. Agent Jethro Gibbs is a very intimidating leader; to his agents, and to his suspects. No one wants to mess with Gibbs, and that is no surprise. He is incredibly strong emotionally, and a very loving person to his family. His top qualities are leadership and fearlessness. Gibbs is also very impatient, and easily angered, which don’t serve him well in his relationships.
Leadership is Gibb’s best quality. On the outside, he is tough as nails, seemingly impossible to break. On the inside, he is a compassionate person, who is extremely supportive of his friends and family. When a team member needs to voice a concern, or just needs someone to listen to them, Gibbs is always there. This is seen particularly often in conversations between Gibbs and Abby. Another quality of leadership that Gibbs has is decision-making abilities. Indecision is no decision, and Gibbs certainly knows that. When he is faced with a tough set of options, he makes his decision within minutes.
Agent Jethro Gibbs is also talented at channeling his fear, one of the most complicated and in-erasable human emotions. When asked about his fearless nature, and how he eliminates fear, Gibbs replies “You can’t remove fear, it’s what you do with it”. This is one of my favorite quotes of NCIS, along with Dinozzo saying the classic phrase: “If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always got”. Gibbs knows the emotion of fear all too well, because of the horrible things he has been through in the past. Throughout his journey, Gibbs has learned how to channel fear into confidence and leadership, and how to make the best situation possible when fear presents its ugly face. Gibbs is the most fearless man, fictional or nonfictional, that I have ever seen. He is my role model for leadership and fearlessness.
Just like any other character, Gibbs does have his shortcomings. We all know that Jethro has been married 4 times, divorced 3 times. His aggressive nature has made it very difficult to have a successful relationship. He is away often, easily angered, and extremely impatient. Impatience and anger in the right situations can make for an incredible NCIS agent. Do they make for a good husband? Not particularly. But that’s okay, Gibbs will always find a way to handle it.
Gibbs is the staple of the NCIS show. He has garnered huge attention as a fictional character, and has inspired many people to channel their fear, and become better leaders. There are T-Shirts on sale, that read: “What Would Gibbs Do?”, and rightfully so. A role model in many senses. Although his patience and anger control need some improvement, they are perfect qualities to have in Gibb’s field of work. Mark Harmon has done an excellent job portraying Donald Bellisario’ character. What an inspiration!
Now that we know who he is, let’s answer a basic questionnaire about what Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs would do in certain situations:
Q1. Your best friend has just lost a loved one, how do you handle it?
A. Agent Gibbs is the best NCIS character at comforting others after a tragic loss. He has the ability to absorb and alleviate grief. His calm nature makes him extremely supportive, in a quiet way. Gibbs is the type of person who doesn’t need to say many words, he just lets his facial expressions do the talking.
Q2. You just won $1,000,000 from a lottery ticket that you bought. How do you react?
A. Gibbs doesn’t care. Period. He would never have bought the lottery ticket in the first place. But in the event that a friend gave it to him, he would give away all of the money.
Q3. Your best friend has just achieved his or her dream goal. How do you show your support?
A. Again, Gibbs is a very quiet supportive type, and he strongly dislikes events. A simple phone call, a few brief words, and a congratulations. Simplicity is his style.
Q4. On your deathbed, how well did you live your life? Is there anything you would have done differently, given a second chance?
A. Agent Gibbs is not one to regret. He knows exactly what choices he is making, and what consequences will come from making a particular choice. If given another chance, he would live with his wife and daughter peacefully. Besides that major aspect, Gibbs lives very consciously.