Once again the run of solid
episodes for the mid to second half of the season has been interrupted. Last
week was the odd characterisation of Sam and over-the-top FBI guest
character. This week, although the case
is actually relevant, the characters are still a little off, as are the
partnerships.
The biggest issue with A Murder of
Crows is the splitting up of the Kensi / Deeks partnership for the second week
running. Kensi is again paired with Fatima and unlike last week where Deeks broke his toe
(which has miraculously healed in record time), there is no reason given as to why
he is not partnering his wife in the field. The chain of command is very hazy. No one is
running ops as both Hetty and Nell are absent and Callen has not given any
orders about a partner switch. In reality actor Eric Christian Olsen is taking
temporary leaves of absence to work on TV shows with his production company.
The compromise is that Deeks is still in (most episodes) but his availability
and the filming schedule dictates his scenes are limited, whether in time or in
location. Sometimes this is an opportunity to freshen up an episode, to change the
dynamics (Deeks and Callen have partnered successfully several times in recent
seasons). Unfortunately A Murder of
Crows is the second episode in a row where there is a the lack of Kensi/Deeks
scenes due to them not partnering up in the field.
Instead, Kensi is with Fatima and naturally their relationship and chemistry is
very different. Ignoring the fact Kensi
and Deeks are husband and wife, the pair share a very easy-going relationship,
their banter bounces seamlessly off each other, much like Sam and Callen (more
of that later). Kensi’s partnership with
Fatima involves a lot of sensible talking and
mentoring. It is reassuring to see Kensi
impart her knowledge and experience to a junior agent and it will be an
interesting comparison to how Sam will train his protégé (presumably Devin
Rountree). It is also refreshing to see that Fatima
readily admits she’s struggling with work/life balance and that she is not
ashamed or embarrassed about the issues. She is not bottling up emotions which
makes her positively normal in
comparison to the rest of the team. Countering Fatima ’s
seriousness is Kensi’s jovial demeanour. It is almost as though she compensating
for the lack of Deeks in her scenes. Deeks of course has plenty of opportunity to
be his normal, talkative and quick-witted self.
His scenes are bookended with him and Eric, in what is now a truly blossoming
bromance. Sometimes Deeks’ advice on Eric’s speech came across as patronising -
but then sometimes Eric comes across as an idiot! On the whole they always end up in a good
place, like their hug last week, and Deeks’ encouragement to Eric on his speech
this week.
The case of the week was actually
naval related. Not only that but it involved staff from other NCIS branches. The team investigate missing NCIS Special
Agent after a attempt is made on the
life of his former partner, ex-NCIS Technical Operator Rhea Moretti. The team explore
the possibility he’s been selling classified information or whether he has been
kidnapped or killed. The team flip back and forth in their opinions and overall
the episode is a positive reinforcement of NCIS. It is a straight forward case
with little tension and certainly no dark tones which makes it rather bland. The
team certainly have more respect for their own then when working with any other
alphabet agency. That being said, Moretti is an awful character. The former
agent is now a wanna-be comedian, dying badly on stage. Her bullish, blunt
attitude is downright rude, something realised by Kensi/Deeks whereas Fatima said she like her. Maybe it’s generational? She was relentless in her quick comments, always
having an answer and it seems she was there to work as a foil for Deeks, as
they shared the most scenes. Her know-it-all attitude did not work and it was an
absolute delight to see Deeks make verbal comebacks that shut her up. The
question of why a tech operator was sent undercover is an unknown and at least
this serves to normalises Eric’s occasional foray in the field. As a former NCIS Tech Operator, she makes Eric
look positively normal. The is a general move to portray young female characters
as sassy, mouthy and with attitude. This does not make them strong women. It
makes them rude and obnoxious and Eric normally suffers the brunt of this in
Ops.
Dotted throughout the team’s
investigation and various interactions with Moretti, there is still some
curious behaviour from Sam towards Callen. This is not as pronounced as last
week; Sam is not overly rude and is still not interested in Callen’s personal
life. If certain comments were said with
a cheeky smile or a wicked glint in Sam’s eyes, it would give their scenes a
different slant. Callen seems to almost be in the honeymoon phase of his
relationship with Anna Kolcheck, looking to buy property together although
there might be some rumblings of discord; he was not enthused when he recounted
to Sam that Anna, the tough, independent former ATF agent wants the all
American apple-pie life. It is not a stretch that Anna wants the white picket
fence idyllic home or that Callen feels ready to put down roots. The question
is how will Anna occupy her days? Back with a Federal Agency or baking cakes
and hosting dinner parties The latter is
certainly not in character for either Anna or Callen. Interestingly it was a
nice call-back to the fact Kensi can’t cook, when she suggested cooking classes
to Fatima .
This was an improvement on last
week’s episode, which admittedly didn’t take much. There was potential in the
plot that wasn’t realised and instead focused on humour from Moretti that was
not to the taste of many. The biggest
disappointment came from the lack of energy injected when Kensi and Deeks are
together replaced by the pedestrian conversations between Fatima and Kensi. Fatima , whilst she is capable in the field, she is better
suited to Ops, replacing Nell as an analyst and supporting Eric. The highlight
of A Murder of Crows were two particularly sweet scene transitions, the first
being from a picture of a house on the screen in Ops, which becomes the house Sam
and Callen pull up outside. The second is much later, when Callen peeks through
a broken window pane and spies the missing NCIS agent unconscious and the
camera moves through the crack and into the scene. The next episode is Code of
Conduct, the earlier than planned season finale (due to COVID-19) written and
directed by Frank Military. His episodes rarely disappoint.