NCIS season 19 just solved the show's biggest mystery

NCIS season 19 spoilers follow.

The ongoing mystery surrounding Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his boats in the basement was finally solved during this week's episode of NCIS.

Fans have long wondered how Mark Harmon's character manages to get his lovingly hand-crafted boats out of his basement without any obvious exit for them.

Well, wonder no more, as the latest instalment answered that particular question in emphatic style.

mark harmon as ncis special agent leroy jethro gibbs, sean murray as ncis special agent timothy mcgee, ncis

Bill Inoshita/CBS via Getty Images

It's all thanks to Gary Cole's FBI agent Alden Parker, who went searching for the AWOL commander at his home in the latest season 19 episode 'Great Wide Open'.

As Parker lit up the basement with a flashlight, viewers could clearly see that one of the walls had an enormous boat-shaped hole in it.

Essentially, this suggests that Gibbs breaks through the wall on each occasion a boat needs moving – bricking it back up upon his return.

CBS

As well as long-serving viewers, many characters in this universe have themselves wondered just how he manages to remove those boats.

Nicholas Torres jokingly speculated in the last episode: "Moveable walls, pulley systems... your house has a coal tunnel underneath?"

Let's be honest, did anyone see that bulldozer of a technique coming?

Ali Goldstein/CBS via Getty Images

Another piece of news that came out of NCIS this week concerned the future of Gibbs, after the character decided to stay put in Alaska after hunting a contract killer out there.

While this serves as Harmon's exit from the series as a regular, showrunner Steve Binder commented: "As an executive producer and dear friend, Mark continues to be an integral part of the fabric of the show.

"Our north star has always been staying true to our characters, and that truth has always guided the stories we tell and where those characters go. So regarding the future of Gibbs, as longtime fans of the show may have noticed over the years... never count Leroy Jethro Gibbs out."

Keep your eyes peeled.

NCIS airs on CBS in the US.

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Reporter, Digital Spy

Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.

In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.