Season 11 has been
a mixed bag so far. The premiere was good but not quite up to the standard
of the many previous openers. The second episode was again good but
curious - Callen and Sam were in Israel inexplicably assisting
Mossad with a drugs bust, while Deeks, Eric and Hetty were AWOL. Then
came grumpy Admiral Kilbride and his penchant for keeping all mission details
secret from the team. Not quite so good. This was followed by last
week's brilliant episode which focused on a potential Ebola outbreak as well as
the personal development of Kensi (and Deeks). The roller coaster of
quality continued with Provenance, which plunged the show to a low, mainly due
to the over the top characterisations of the guest cast.
There has often
been a tenuous link between the case, the US Navy/Marine Corps and NCIS
and a frequent line uttered in ops, is "and we're investigating this
because..?" In this instance, a piece of modern art, suspected to
have once hung over Saddam Hussein's bed was stolen from a house in LA
two years ago, is found in a photo when LAPD investigate reports of a
disturbance at a residential property. The occupants are also in the photo
and said painting is no longer on their wall. Hetty (referenced only) believed
the painting had been stolen to fund terrorist activity - that is the
link.
None of the team
seem to recollect that a piece of modern art named 'the cube', worth $40
million and consisting of two lines and a circle, and rumoured to belong to
Saddam Hussein, had been stolen. The team has always been very
knowledgeable about current affairs and with the theft happening in LA, Hetty
would have definitely voiced her suspicions to her team. This would be
instrumental in setting the tone for the episode (the team being
clueless) however this was set up in the pre-credit opening scene. The
couple who were in possession of the stolen painting are completely
unbelievable and over-act their roles, bringing a sense of the ridiculous to
the case. This continues with the other guest characters; Katherine
from the insurance company, Christina from the auction house and Kim at the art
exhibition.
It could be argued
that episode writer Jordana Lewis Jaffe is attempting a satire of the modern
art world. Kensi is dressed (by Katherine) in an odd outfit to speak with
Kim (a transgender art collector) and several minutes are devoted to a very
slow and deliberately pointed scene where Kim appreciates the art of a
blank canvas, and expresses a preference for one blank canvas over
another. The exaggerated characters and outfits go hand in hand with the
absurd art work. This really does very little, if anything to show the art
industry in a kind light. The one saving grace is a conversation Katherine
has with Sam after he states the art world (from his and our experience after
the Kensi / Kim blank canvas pageantry) is ridiculous. She confirms the
positive aspects of art: creativity, motor skills in children and art therapy
for vets with PTSD. It's a passing sentence that could and should have been
capitalised on. The same can be said about piece of art rumoured to
belong to Saddam Hussein - did it really leave Iraq and arrive in LA by legal
means? It was also very convenient that Christina from the auction house knew
that a Saudi family last had the painting and were going to use it to fund
the purchase of explosives. Very trusting of the bad guys.
In addition to the
plot issues, there are also character inconsistencies. The OTT
argumentative couple turn out to run an import/export business which allows
them to distribute fake prescription drugs on the black market. It is
impossible to see how the two are capable of running a business, let alone
manage the movement of large quantities of drugs. Deeks has reverted back to
his introductory status where LAPD have a seriously low opinion of him, and to
add salt to the wound, he gets his ass kicked by a female in the end
fight. Sam and Callen trust a complete stranger (Katherine) and let her
lead the case. And her deduction from a bottle of perfume to an auction house
makes no sense as it is not explained at all. Lastly there is a very
heavy-handed attempt to show Sam is intrigued by Katherine, namely through
numerous lingering looks between the pair and winking by Katherine. There
is nothing in Sam's character or past that suggests he would be interested in
someone living in such a fake world, or that he would be interested in a white woman.
The chemistry between them is just not there either.
There are a couple
of excellent scenes, hidden amongst the rest. The scene were Kensi is
changing in to her outfit with Deeks waiting is very natural and supplies
a gentle humour. Likewise with the other two scenes, firstly where Callen
says "really", when the bad guy he's chasing grabs a kitchen knife
when he has a gun. Callen certainly means business when he immediately picks up
a pan and whacks the guy with it. Shortly after Sam chases a girl absconding
with the painting. He literally picks her up from the stairwell and lifts her
back to the stairs he's on. Again it is the gentle humour that is well
executed, which brings a smile.
Taking a deep
breath - enjoyment of an episode is always subjective and hopefully this review
contains at least some of an objective viewpoint. Whatever the viewers
thought, it is very much apparent that the (regular) cast all had a blast
making this episode and for them at least, Nell words when giving the mission
briefing ring true "this is gonna be a fun case".
A Virtual Scrawl