Season 12 was a funny old season,
constrained by the conditions imposed by a global pandemic which at first
struggled to allow NCISLA to form that close, familial feel and personal
interactions between all characters. Gone were the bull pen scenes during the
opening, and there were no more bar scenes with the team unwinding at the end.
The show soldiered through and found it's stride again as the season
progressed, particularly with the Russian arc. The Russian's again being
prevalent in the finale, albeit on a much lighter note, with the team in a
reasonably happy place (just in case it wasn't renewed). RIP Ravil Isyanov
(Kirkin) who passed away in real life at the end of September.
There may not have been a
cliffhanger to build on during the season premiere but there were plenty of
threads tantalisingly left and ongoing storylines to ensure continuity, both of
which are character driven. Kensi and Deeks are continuing on their quest to
start a family. They've only been trying to conceive for a few years and during
that time have started the expensive IVF journey, which they moved on from and
are now exploring adoption. Callen is continuing his quest to follow up from
both Arkady's and Kilbride's direct comments that Hetty made and mentored him
from a young child, something of which he has no recollection and has
vehemently denied. Character changes are also afoot. Gone are both Nell and
Eric, off to seek a life away from OSP and to be honest, their presence was not
missed. Maybe this is due to how whacky and eccentric Eric had become in recent
seasons, and how Nell had regressed from a super-assertive and confident
analyst, to someone who constantly doubted her abilities. Instead for the most
part this week, Agent Fatima Namazi was in Ops, supporting Callen in his
request to illegally hack and post a video on Facebook. Hetty was also present
during the opener, sparring with the new permanent character of Retired Admiral
Kilbride who is now overseeing the Los
Angeles team. And of course there was the return of
the boomerang-like Joelle Taylor (Callen's ex) and Zacha Gagarin (Callen's
Russian asset). Subject 17 is most definitely all about Callen.
The episode opens with Callen
taking down the security system for the Archive Room. This sends an alert to
Hetty's cellphone - she is still in Ops and looks concerned, but takes no
action. Callen continues to pick the filing cabinet lock to access confidential
files, all with a title 'Subject' followed by a number. He stops at Subject 17,
scrutinising the data contained within, which references a Caucasian male, born
1976 (more on this later), whose family are deceased. Callen has clashed with
Hetty before about his past, initially early in season 3 when she reveals she
was his mother's CIA handler and most notably in season 4, Raven & The
Swans. Both provide crucial pieces of information which Callen either never
though applied to him or never made a connection. S03E04 Deadline, Hetty
revealed she got him out of the orphanage and into every foster home. He was a
challenging child and she was determined to find him a family, referenced in
Callen's flashback in the S12 finale. At the end of season 3, Callen realises
Hunter was an orphan, raised by Hetty but it isn't until S04E22 Raven & The
Swans that he discovers more agents recruited by Hetty were orphans (Sullivan,
Grace Stephens), with the latter's background more similar to his (the comment
from Grace that Hetty steered her on the right path when she was in trouble
with the law as a teenager). The led to a confrontation between Callen and
Hetty, yet there is no acknowledge from Hetty, or realisation from Callen, that
she's groomed Callen from childhood. It is the statement from Arkady in S12E14
The Noble Maidens, that Hetty's orphans programme was arguably tougher than the
Russian school, which Callen should know as he was one of them, coupled with
Kilbride stating that Callen was 'made' by Hetty, whereas the rest of the team
just work for her.
Finding the file which contains
his date of birth is the trigger for a variety of conversations and
confrontations, firstly with Sam, who tries to minimise the importance of it,
even though Callen points out his birthday - more of this later...Sam also
tries to dissuade Callen from going down that rabbit hole as he might not like
what he finds, and may get lost. This sounds like a precursor for later
episodes, particularly with Sam also referencing that Callen's had more hard
hitting life events in the last few years than most. Callen's mental health is
seldom mentioned, whereas all the others have been shown struggling. Hopefully
this will also play out later, undoubtedly with more drama and angst first, and
maybe a long over due session with long-time absent Operational Psychologist
Nate Getz. Callen clashes with Kilbride as he demands answers over the files
and Hetty, Kilbride threatening to end his career (and life!) if he continues
his insubordinate tone. It seems Kilbride will be tougher than Granger,
although it doesn't usually stop Callen and his authority issues. The final
confrontation is with Hetty and in a scene reminiscent of Raven & The
Swans, he forces Hetty to admit that he is Subject 17. An untimely interruption
from Fatima (in the style of Nell) halts the
conversation. Despite the case, Callen continues to mull on this newly found
information, still having no recollection of being subject to early childhood
screening (which he likened to his CIA intelligence tests), but a memory is
triggered of a test, apparently connected to dyslexia; the flashback showing
Callen was a young boy piecing together items to form the shape of a gun.
In
contrast, Deeks and Kensi are looking to adopt, now their baby-making plans
have hit a dead end. Foreshadowing Callen and Hetty's story, Kensi asks Hetty
to be their reference for adoption, and offer which she declines, citing how
different the parenting world is, and suggests she can ask SECNAV or the NCIS
Director instead, as they would carry more clout. In actuality, and in the
forthcoming light of Hetty's 'orphan' programme, it certainly makes sense that
she distances herself from endorsing Kensi and Deeks journey to adopt. The
damage caused could be irreparable not only to her relationship with Callen,
but to the future family of two of her agents. Of course this is a topic which
permeates the episode. Huge, all encompassing subjects such as wedding planning
and family planning do have a tendency to take over the lives of those
concerned, and Kensi and Deeks are no exception. And as per season 6, they are
'all in' - apparently in all aspects of their relationship. There are feelings
of de ja vu with this storyline, however as with Callen's past resurfacing,
both are unfinished and the twists and turns which follow both narratives will
clearly impact the personal and professional for all characters involved.
The case
itself sees the return of Joelle and all of the associated drama that her
storylines always entail. It seems she has parted ways with the CIA and is on
her own private mission of revenge to kill Katya in retribution for her losing
her leg and her finger. This ensures that Katya remains in the forefront as a
continuing enemy of the team, ripe for either a long overdue physical return or
for future mentions. Unfortunately there is a glaringly inaccurate comment
stating Joelle lost her family because of Katya. Erm, no. Remember when Callen
and Sam faked her death due to the 'syndicate' back in S09E09 Fool Me Twice?
And once it was safe for her to return to her family, she chose to walk away
and remain dead to them (S10E03 The Prince). Jo was last see last season,
embittered by her desire for revenge with Callen unable to reach her through
kindness. She is now fully out of control, governed by her emotions and making
rash mistakes; she's tailed to the boatshed and later runs off in to the
warehouse where she's captured. Callen too is more emotional, having to deal
with the subject 17 revelations however he turns to an emotionless state. He
coldly threatens to tell Jo's family she's still alive and at the end, it is
clear he would have followed through on his threat. He also continues to use
Zasha. She may not longer be his Russian asset with her cover now blown, but he
orders her to Syria
to tail Hetty, knowing she has little choice. Clearly Hetty's training has paid
dividends.
There are
a number of witty one liners from all the cast, together with highly amusing
actions. Sam pushes Joelle through the interrogation room hatch into the water.
After helping her out of the water in the marina, Sam and Callen fist bump. The
whole team are highly amused with Sam's reaction after Fatima drives his shot
up Hellcat through a building door, with Fatima and Rountree discreetly fist
bumping. Deeks is his usual self and jigs around waiting to be proved right
about Joelle having Zacha's car towed in the parking lot. Kilbride also has his
acerbic comments, particularly when asking Callen if there's a dating site
called Women Who Kill, or if Callen just has the world's worst luck with the
ladies. The overall tone of the episode is pretty serious, with Callen's quest
for information and the team's interaction and elements of light-heartedness
prevent Subject 17 from being bogged down and feeling too heavy.
Subject
17 is a great season opener. It continues with storylines and threads from
previous seasons and is very much character driven and sets up future episodes
nicely. The two glaring issues are connected with character continuity. Firstly
and already mentioned is that Katya had nothing to do with Joelle losing her
family. The second one is Callen's date of birth. His DOB was visible on the
fake death certificate Hetty showed the Comescus in S02E24 Familia - born in
1970. S05E04 Reznikov, N and Deeks shows Callen photo of him from 1980, whereby
Callen says he was ten years old. In season 6 Chernoff, K, Arkady and Hetty
state that Callen's father was sent to the Gulag in 1974. There are also
various date and age references in connection with Callen's dead sister and her
gravestone. BUT the DOB on the paperwork for Subject 17 and verablised by
Callen, is August 1976. Why oh why? On a side note, how was Callen's DOB known
when he was an orphan and didn't even know his first name? Any argument that
his father told him is DOB is redundant as the huge difference in age cannot be
accounted for. At the end of the day it currently has no impact on the
narrative or Callen's past. It is just an extremely disappointing character
error.
Apologies to Kensi and Deeks fans
for the rather biased review, but this episode was very much Callen centred.
