Pauley Perrette (Abby Scuito) exited 'NCIS' in a most dramatic way

Fans of the award-winning procedural drama show, NCIS, dreaded Pauley Perrette's final episode. She portrayed the role of Abby Scuito for sixteen years!

As reported by E! News, her last episode was aired on May 9, 2018, and it was not what fans had expected at all. Please note, this article contains spoilers

In the previous episode, titled One Step Forward, Scuito was leaving a restaurant with special agent Clay Reeves when a mugger appeared out of the shadows.

He pulled the trigger but the screen faded to black and the audience was left with a pressing question: Was Scuito still alive?

'Abby’s exit from NCIS is in two parts. May 1 and May 8th. I worked really hard to give you my best. I really hope everyone tunes in.'

Pauley Perrette, Twitter, April 8, 2018.

Tuesday's episode titled Two Steps Back toyed with viewers' emotions by showing a black body bag on the autopsy table. However, it was revealed that Sciuto survived and Reeves was killed.

Viewers also learned that the mugger was none other than former Army specialist Kent Marshall who had a personal vendetta with Scuito.

It wasn't a random criminal act, he was intentionally trying to take Scuito's life, and he nearly succeeded. Scenes from the hospital revealed that medical personnel was rushing to save her life.

Showrunners also included flashbacks from previous episodes, which gave the impression that Scuito would not recover from her injuries. However, she did, but with dire news.

Scuito informed the team that she would be leaving NCIS to start a charity in honor of Reeves. It was a life-long dream of his, and with his life cut short, Scuito felt it was up to her to fulfill his wish.

Perrette announced in October 2017 that she would leave the show and explained that she needed a break and simply wanted some privacy.