NCIS:
Season twelve has the promise of a fresh start, notably with an opening credit sequence that includes newest recruits Devin Rountree and Fatima Namazi. An undefined period of time has passed and questions which were a hangover from last season are answered early on in the episode. Intelligence Analyst Nell Jones, was last seen attempting to resign, with Hetty persuading her to take an extended period of leave to look after her seriously ill mother. The episode opens with her returning to an empty HQ having been summoned by Hetty, who of course is absent. It turns out she’s calling in a favour whilst in an undisclosed war zone and under attack, requesting Nell manages the team’s investigation of a missing Russian bomber ‘The Bear’, which has disappeared on a training mission after flying close to US airspace. The scene also covers off Nell’s personal situation as Hetty offers her condolences after the passing of her mother, which again opens the door for Nell to return to NCIS and to potentially step in to Hetty’s shoes on a more permanent basis. The team is also happy to defer to Nell; there is no resistance from Callen for example, who was (somewhat reluctantly) moving towards assuming the role of Operations Manager. The identity of Hetty’s replacement within NCIS is still not confirmed and will continue to play out in future episodes.
Devin Rountree’s entrance to the
bullpen enables Kensi and Deeks to correct Nell’s greeting from FBI to NCIS
Special Agent, as he’s completed the FLETC training and joined the team
permanently. In the same scene, Nell asks after Eric’s whereabouts. Clearly their
reversion to a more casual relationship has led to a non-communication
situation. In a reference to last season’s ‘Kill Beale Vol. 1’, Eric has taken
an extended vacation to
Of course the presence of Russians can only mean one thing; the return of everyone’s favourite former KGB Agent, Arkady Kolcheck. His scenes are as chaotically amusing as always, and he meets Kensi and Deeks in the neutral location of their bar, another familiar setting. It seems his shaved hair and vodka drinking will assist him in triathlon training...His interaction with Kensi and Deeks means there is no opportunity to refer to his daughter Anna’s relationship with Callen; the episode remains firmly focused on the case in hand. Another bonus of an episode featuring Russians is that Callen gets to introduce himself using is Russian name (omitting his American surname), as he attempts to connect with the airmen who’ve barricaded themselves in the bomber, using his mother tongue.
The humour continues with various
sets of partner banter. There is the return of Homeless Artie who interacts
with Rountree during a stakeout. The latter seems unsure what to make of Deeks’
oddball routine. Callen and Sam spark off each other, with Sam treating him
like a slightly irresponsible younger brother. A fond ‘love you’ between them both underlines
their tight bond and the closeness of their relationship. Even
There is no life or death cliff-hanger
to resolve and instead, a fair amount of exposition to set the scene for
various characters, both of which contribute to the slower pacing of ‘The Bear’.
The episode focuses more on the
investigative side, with the team attempting to locate the plane. There is some
action, when Callen and Sam are under fire from the plane’s tail gun, most of
the team are caught in a gunfight between the Russian group who left the plane,
and of course there is the obligatory explosion at the end. It seems the
compromise for Callen to persuade the two remaining Russian airmen to leave the
plane, was to allow them to blow it up. There were some interesting talking
points as the team brainstormed ideas as to why the plane had disappeared, and
what the end game might be. Despite ‘The
Bear’ being a cold war relic, the possibilities and repercussions of it carrying
and deploying a nuclear bomb are explored and discarded in favour of the airmen
themselves being the weapon, disappearing as sleeper agents inside the
The episode’s ending came across as a touch abrupt, with Callen apparently making friends with the Russians from the plane and planning to take them for fish tacos. ‘The Bear’ never fully explained which of the Russian’s drugged the pilot or confirmed whether one of them wanted to defect and why, or if one of them just went mad or rogue. At the end of the day, these details are unimportant. What is key is the welcome return of such a familiar show, and with a team who are now like family. ‘The Bear’ was a much needed return to a pre-COVID-19 reality, an hour’s worth of escapism entertainment.
A Virtual Scrawl