Sometimes an episode is enjoyably
solid, with an interesting case despite there being no character development
and this week’s instalment of NCISLA is just such an example. Under Pressure sees the team investigate
after napalm is detected at the scene of a brush fire, with one fatality who
may have links to terrorism. Well, it’s the
team minus Deeks who is sent back to LAPD for a mandatory active shooter course
(actor Eric Christian Olsen was on holiday for the filming of this episode). He is present for the opening and closing
bull pen scenes that bracket the episode which for once provides the usual
banter when Deeks poses a logic question to his colleagues.
The absence of Deeks meant that
Kensi was paired with Hidoko again and whilst the women work very well
together, there is the lack of sparkle and energy from the easy going banter
that Deeks and Kensi have as partners.
It does allow for some more serious conversations and as the case of the
week touched on high school and cyber bullying, the women discussed their own
very different personal experiences from school. To episode writer Joe Sach’s credit, the
predictable race card was not played with Hidoko. Instead she was teased for being a gifted
student. Kensi’s high school bullying
links back to her refusal in season five to be a supply teacher, but is also a
missed opportunity about how her living on the streets affected her. In the same way, there could have been a
conversation between Sam and Callen, who both sympathise and are very sensitive
to teenager Amanda Delgado but that is as far as it went. No one could imagine Sam being bullied as a
child, however Callen, a foster child who must have swapped schools frequently. Another missed opportunity for Callen fans only
(as this does nothing to detract at all from the episode).
In addition to
bullying, the case touches on climate change and environmentalism, cyber and high school bullying. The brush fire victim/suspect Zack Fuller was
a twenty year old with no electronic footprint and no family. He had no extremist religious links and was
into no particular ideology unless you include oceanography. Zack dropped out of Navy Boot Camp when the
military replaced the dolphin Marine Mammal Programme with one involving
underwater drones. It is rather ironic
that cause was saving the planet yet his method involved tapping in to 1920s
oil fields beneath LA suburbia to reach
natural gas, with a view to dropping napalm down the hole to create a mass
explosion.
The remaining villains were
father and son Gavin and Carson Tweed who were introduce early on with the
solar panel business. This in itself was
a clue they were the bad guys and only confirmed just before the final
confrontation. Their reasons and
willingness to die as martyrs for their cause didn’t quite sit right - maybe
there was a lack of real conviction and the contradiction in their method. They believed that by wiping out LAs natural
gas supply people would have to convert to solar and wind power. The deaths being a bonus as less people
means less demand for energy. Flawed
logic. It was also curious why the
father had a dead man’s switch, which is usually associated with suicide
vests. Regardless, Kensi and Hidoko saved
the day, improvising by pouring concrete on the Tweeds, and bumping fists to
celebrate their success.
It was good to have a slightly
more serious case, without the silliness that Deeks can sometimes bring,
although Eric did provide a touch of the cringe-worthy comments. It was also Eric who referenced Hetty with
his comment “In the words of a great woman, I sense impending mayhem.” Hetty’s story has become virtually forgotten
due to the lack of consistency across the episodes. At least with Kensi’s stories (Afghanistan
in S5 and her ongoing recovery last season) she was present each week even if she
was away from the team. The good news is
that next week signals the start of the team’s efforts to launch a rescue
mission. Should Hetty be successfully
rescued and return to her previous
role, it will be intriguing to see the
dynamics between her and Mosley. The
Executive Assistant Direct was more involved this week operationally,
presumably because they are without an Operations Manager. Hetty has still not been replaced so Mosley has
no option. She does seem to be warming
to the team though.
The closing bullpen scene
partially reflected this with Kensi wondering if they should invite
Mosley. It is of course Callen who
believes they shouldn’t. Deeks returns,
battered and bruised from his LAPD course and the team return to answering
Deeks’ riddle. They Googled the
answer! Fittingly in an episode where
the mother did not realise the extent of her daughter’s bullying, Sam closes
the scene by calling his daughter, reminding her she can tell him anything -
even if he’s in the middle of a shoot out.
A lovely, amusing and heart-warming ending.
What did you think of the episode? Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.