Warning: SPOILERS for the NCIS: Sydney episode “Sucker Punch” are ahead!
So far on NCIS: Sydney Season 3, William McInnes’ Roy “Rosie” Penrose hasn’t had a lot to do outside of his normal forensic pathology duties and kickstarting the search for Mavournee Hazel’s Bluebird Gleeson after she mysteriously disappeared. Tonight on the 2025 TV schedule, however, Rosie got the spotlight, though not in an ideal way. “Sucker Punch” dealt two devastating blows to the character, both physical and emotional, but I’m hoping that dealing with the latter in the weeks ahead will lead to he and Blue becoming closer.
What Happened To Rosie In “Sucker Punch”
While performing the autopsy on this week’s NCIS: Sydney victim, Dr. Alan Bridges, Rosie accidentally got splashed with some of the body’s blood, as did Blue, who’d popped in to share that the recently deceased had been sober. Rosie then immediately noticed something was off with the body and triggered the biohazard alarm. It was eventually revealed that Bridges has contracted a manmade strain of ebola designed to kill within six to eight hours, so obviously Rosie and Blue had to be quarantined because ebola is transmitted via bodily fluids.
If you missed out on watching “Sucker Punch” live, stream the new NCIS: Sydney episode with your Paramount+ subscription to learn the details behind how Bridges was deliberately infected with ebola. The main thing to know here is that while Blue didn’t test positive for it, Rosie did, though he strangely refused to let the doctors treat him. Fortunately, Blue was able to persuade him otherwise once the antibodies were recovered and a proper treatment could be developed.
So why did Rosie initially refuse treatment? Well, it’s for the same reason he was in a bad mood before coming across Alan Bridges: his wife Alice died. In NCIS: Sydney Season 1, we learned that his wife suffered from dementia and was being cared for in a rest home. I’d had a sneaking suspicion something was going to happen to Alice in last week’s episode when Rosie told an unidentified person on a phone call to let him know if “anything changes.” Between then and now, she passed.
Why I Hope This Can Lead To Something Good Between Rosie And Blue
There’s been a special kinship between Rosie and Blue almost since the get go, which makes sense considering how much time they spend together back at headquarters. It’s clear Blue sees Rosie like a father figure, going so far as to call him “family” when she met her grandmother at the end of “True Blue.” And like I said earlier, Rosie cared enough to learn where Blue went off to after the NCIS: Sydney Season 2 finale, even going so far as to break into her apartment to look for clues.
Needless to say Rosie isn’t going to just get over the death of his wife quickly. That just doesn’t happen when you share your life with someone for decades. He’s going to need the support of his friends during this trying time, and I know Blue will be there for him first and foremost. Hopefully this leads Rosie and Blue developing a deeper bond, with the former thinking of the latter as a daughter of sorts, like how Leroy Jethro Gibbs thought of Abby Sciuto on NCIS.
It’s still unclear how many episodes will comprise NCIS: Sydney Season 3, although the final episode of 2025, “Turkey Shoot” (which airs December 9) isn’t labeled as the season finale. So it stands to reason more Season 3 episodes will air in early 2026, and I hope they carve out some time to showing Rosie and Blue becoming closer and looking out for each other more than they already are.