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Aug 9 2009, 4:30 PM EDT MargyW 7 words added
Jun 13 2009, 8:09 AM EDT Sorgiña

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Played by Lauren Holly Talk about Jenny!
Sing about Jenny!
Photos of Jenny
Funny pages about Jenny


Jenny Shepard
you will be missed...


Jenny ShepardWas the Boss. Was Director of NCIS.


What made her a good leader:
She is mad, bad and dangerous to know. So much more fun than someone who knows how to get the right-sized toilet roll dispensers distributed across the organization. She hasn't left the field, she just moved it to her office. The combination of being taught by Gibbs and her sense for politics have allowed her to morally and confidently make decisions for her agency. Jenny is highly intelligent and fiercely independent which she uses to make up the difference of being a woman in stereotypically mans job.

Personal:
We know she is the daughter of Col. Jasper Shepard who worked for the Pentagon. Jasper's file states (in season 4) that he committed suicide 12 years ago and was under investigation for taking a bribe from an arms dealer, Le Frog in 'Bury Your Dead' says he was said arms dealer. However Le Frog was under CIA's control so was Col. Shepard being tricked?
Jenny refuses to believe her father committed suicide and is positive he was killed, she believes by Le Frog. Her frustration of being an NCIS Director with the powers that come with the title and not being able to find out the truth surrounding her father's death and Le Frog, is shown largely in season 4 when she tries her best to hide her emotions. Even when Gibbs queries her motives she is tight lipped and rarely tells anything he doesn't 'need to know'. Jenny does not trust anyone and isolates her self from everybody, even the people she cares for and the people who care for her, therefore she leads a lonely life, but then again her life is filled with the agency and her angst at not being able to honor her father, what little is left for people? In the time she does have left she goes on dates (e.g Todd she is speaking on the phone to in early season 4 was Gibbs' Doctor end of season 3) but I doubt they ever get further than that.


Relationship history:
Gibbs taught her how to be an NCIS agent (so her rise in the organisation has been meteoric). When they got bored during stakeouts or when hiding from enemies, they passed the time by having sex. (They waited one night before getting started: very restrained of them). But she chose career over Jethro: she said no to him when he wanted her to return to the US with him when he was posted back to America.

Jethro knows her favourite food is pepper steak and salad, and uses it to manipulate her. He uses memories of the bedroom to distract her and defuse her authority over him (manipulative naughty boy that he is). But he worries about her secrecy and bad judgement and the effect it will have on her career. He warns her, but she presses on regardless. At times, he seems to be watching a car crash about to happen, with Jenny as the car.


Who is Jenny? Discuss her character development by season.


Season 3:

When Jen started as Director of NCIS she had a lot of chips on her shoulder, it was as if she took the job for an excuse to be around Gibbs. She was too often wistful, the flirtation and backing off between her and Gibbs made her seem as though she really had no business being in charge of NCIS. Gibbs inferred that she was playing at being director and more suited to the field, though even his comments regarding the field and what we were shown left those abilities questioned in viewers minds, too much emphasis was placed on their shared history as lovers and not enough on her abilities as an agent and now as director.
Season 4:

I fully expected with the La Grenouille storyline to learn that at the time in Paris when Jen didn't have Gibbs' back that it had to do with trying to clear her father's name. The time line is right for that, a personal side investigation that she didn't share with Gibbs. It may end up being something completely different, but it would make sense given the way Jenn lost all objectivity going after La Grenouille. It also gave us a better understanding of her character, she seemed a bit shallow and needy. Season 4 started showing more depth to the character and until the middle of the season, the character wasn't very likable, more just an irritation factor for Gibbs. She's strong, but vulnerable. She cares deeply and isn't just a pencil pusher bureaucrat.
Season 5:

This season Jen is starting to come into her own as Director, she's starting to really fit the job. On a personal level she's matured a great deal, the booze play up of last season with her drinking in the middle of the day seems to be over. She's learning that her actions in her personal life affect NCIS, her actions in both arenas affect agents, positively or negatively.

We have learned that Jenny may very well be the murderess of Rene Benoit, as her gun is missing, and despite what she intimates to the FBI, Jethro knows that Benoit did not take Jenny's gun with him when he left her house. Jenny deliberately lied.

Jenny died heroically in a hail of bullets after taking out 4 (count 'em! 4!) baddies in the finale episode of Season 5 but, because she was dying of a disease that would have been very painful and caused her to lose her motor skills, we think it was a form of 'suicide by baddie' (as opposed to suicide by cop). But wait! there's more! She died in order to protect Gibbs. Wow. Way to go, Jenny! We think Gibbs will be lighting three candles at church in future: Shannon, Kelly and Jenny. (Why does Gibbs love women whose names have double consonants? Shannon, Kelly, Jenny, Abby, Hollis?) < wow. good observation...

Link to Blog entry about Jenny Shepard