'NCIS' Premiere: The Search For Ziva Begins As She Prepares To Leave The Show (VIDEO)

"NCIS" kicked off Season 11 with the first of a two-part farewell for Ziva. Only, she didn't appear in this episode. We found out that a terror kingpin was going after Gibbs' team, and his next target was Ziva, who was in Israel.

Tony enlisted Ziva's friend in Israel to track her down at her father's secret cabin, and they found the cabin. By the time they got there, though, they did not find Ziva. Instead, there were signs of a struggle, and three dead bodies.

“Ziva was here, but she’s gone," Adam told Tony. "As you can see, clearly there was a struggle. Three men are dead. We’ll get them identified."

Tony wanted to know how Adam could be so sure that Ziva was there. "Because she told us," Adam said pointing to Ziva's Star of David necklace. She'd left it hanging from a picture frame on the mantle. The investigation continues next week, but will Ziva die in her final episode?

CarterMatt noted that at least we know Ziva's alive ... for now. Over at Entertainment Weekly, Sandra Gonzalez said that the premiere "laid the groundwork for the much touted Farewell to Ziva, and while the necessary story set-up resulted in less in-person appearances from Ziva (none, to be exact), it’s easy to see why it needed to be done.”

Say goodbye to Ziva next week on "NCIS," Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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