NCIS: Sydney Revealed Trigger’s Tragic Backstory, And Now I’m Worried It’s Set Up A Dark Twist
Warning: SPOILERS for the NCIS: Sydney episode “Lone Wolf: Part One” are ahead!
The NCIS: Sydney Season 3 premiere introduced Claude Jabbour’s Travis “Trigger” Riggs, an ex-bomb tech who initially had trouble finding his footing on the team. Thankfully, Michelle Mackey set him up with his own workshop so he could “earn his keep,” but before that happened, we learned that Trigger lost his bomb tech job after failing his psychological evaluation because it was suspected he had a death wish. Now “Lone Wolf: Part One,” the latest Sydney episode to air on the 2026 TV schedule, has revealed the tragic backstory behind this belief. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I’m worried this episode’s revelations have paved the way for a dark twist.
(Image credit: Paramount+)
Trigger’s Fiancée Was Killed In A Bombing
“Lone Wolf: Part One” opened with a bomb disposal unit being killed by a secondary device specifically meant to activate after the first bomb was disarmed. This is the same unit that Trigger used to be on, and he soon realizes that the mystery person responsible for his former teammates’ deaths is also the one who detonated the bomb at a bus stop that killed his fiancée, Charlotte Knox, two years ago. Even worse, the bomber set a countdown clock for another attack to happen less than five hours later.
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The good news is the bomber’s identity was uncovered by the end of the episode: Timothy James Wright, the son of an armed robber named Jason Wright whom Trigger killed during his first warrant drop 10 years ago while working tactical response for the state cops. I’ll get more into that soon, but the bad news is that Timothy had been hiding in plain sight in front of Trigger. When he was injured during the bomb blast that killed Charlotte because he wanted to witness the explosion with his own eyes, he pretended to be a victim named Carl Headen to befriend Trigger, then hid the recovery of his spinal cord injury until the moment was right.
The even worse news is that Timothy kidnapped Evie and strapped a bomb to her neck. Now Trigger just has minutes to disarm it while being freshly shot, and all while Timothy is standing nearby and demanding the truth about his father’s death. But Trigger has no idea what he’s talking about, so what’s going on here?
(Image credit: Paramount+)
I Think Trigger And JD’s Colleague Might Be Dirty
You may recall that in the same NCIS: Sydney episode where Mackey trigger up with his workshop, JD met up with an AFP colleague named Rory Latham and asked him to pass along Blue’s NCIS/AFP application to the people he knows at Admissions and make sure there are no issues with her returning to work. This was a return favor for JD pulling some strings on Rory’s behalf so that Trigger could be on the team. As it turns out, Rory and Trigger go way back, including the latter being with the former on the day he killed Jason Wright.
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(Image credit: Paramount+)
Now here’s where things get suspect: at one point the NCIS: Sydney protagonists think the bomber (still unidentified at this point) is located at a specific apartment. While that was just a ruse, Trigger immediately picks up on this being where Jason Wright used to live. And yet, Rory, who’s part of this current investigation, said nothing and later claimed he thought this was just a coincidence. Then, Trigger said he killed Jason Wright because he was about to pull a gun, but Timothy claimed his late father never owned that model of gun, and Trigger then realized he never actually saw the gun in question.
Here’s what I’m thinking: Rory Latham robbed that bank with Jason Wright 10 years ago, then arranged the raid on Jason’s apartment as an excuse to have him killed. Trigger legitimately thought Jason was going to shoot him, and then Rory discreetly planted the gun so all the loose ends would be tied up. What he didn’t count on was Timothy going on that revenge bombing spree. So I suspect that in “Lone Wolf: Part Two,” Trigger and JD will learn that Rory is corrupt, and Trigger will have the guilt of killing an unarmed man on his conscience.
If I’m way off base with this theory, I’ll let you know after the next NCIS: Sydney episode airs next Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. While it’s safe to say that Evie will make it out of “Lone Wolf: Part Two” alive, given that Claude Jabbour is a recurring actor on Sydney rather than a series regular, I can’t help but worry that he’ll be killed off. Fingers crossed that doesn’t happen!
