The Season 1 Episode 15 of NCIS: Origins, titled From the Ashes, follows the investigative team delving into the murder of Sergeant Joan Lewis, who is assaulted and killed. For Mike Franks, this case brings back the one-year-old incident that happened with his ex-girlfriend, Tish, when she was assaulted in a parking garage with her licence taken away by the culprit as a reward.
The episode, therefore, triggers Franks' memory of the transgression that Tish is desperately trying to forgive, though Franks wants to find the culprit and punish him. Read on to learn in detail what happened in Season 1, Episode 15 of NCIS: Origins, which dropped on March 31, 2025.
What happens in NCIS: Origins Season 1 Episode 15?
Episode 15 mostly highlights the strained relationship between Tish Kwa'la and Mike Franks, and takes us back to the incident a year ago when Tish was assaulted by an unknown person. She has tried to move on, while Franks, infuriated by the incident, has always been determined to punish the culprit. This becomes a reason for Tish's angusih, and, by the end of Episode 15, she decides to leave Los Angeles in a bid to start a healing process.
The episode opens with the team dealing with another murder — this time of Sergeant Joan — who, Franks thinks, is killed under similar circumstances as the attack on Tish. The idea compels him to think about a possible connection between the killing and the attack. Just like Trish's assaulter took her licence, Joan's licence cannot be found. Of course it could have been destroyed in the fire. As the events unfold, Franks is shown to suffer from emotional turmoil. He decides to tell the team everything about Tish's case.
He transfers the case to Lala to avoid an emotional bias, though he continues to provide support to her with his experience.
How does Season 1, Episode 15 of NCIS: Origins end?
As the investigation unfolds, they suspect Anthony Cook only to find no connection between him and Seageant's murder. However, they find substantial evidence to arrest him for potentially assaulting Tish and other women.
Sergeant Joan was last seen entering Raymond Garcia's car. The investigation is still not closed, and all this disturbs Tish to such an extent that she decides to leave Los Angeles, leaving Franks alone to tackle his own grief. Tish decides to heal and move on.
This creates a heart-wrenching situation between the lovely couple in NCIS: Origins.