Lost Soldier Down is NCISLA star Daniela Ruah (Kensi's) second outing as director and she was teamed up with another woman, episode writer Indira Wilson, to bring this week's offering to life. In Lost Soldier Down, the team investigate the apparent suicide of a Navy intelligence officer and uncover the mystery of why he had taken LSD before he jumped to his death, and why the USS Allegiance had an LCD problem.
How far would a father go to seek justice for his child? That is the ultimate question posed in Sundown, written by one of the newer writers, Lee A. Carlisle, when a father takes a busload of hostages, threatening to blow it up unless his daughter's war crimes are posthumously cleared and her death by suicide investigated. The father, Gary DeMayo gives the team until sundown to discover the truth, or he carries out his threat. His daughter, Corporal Kyra DeMayo was asleep on guard duty during an incursion which saw a cache of weapons stolen. Opioids were found in her system and she was other than honourably discharged. Kyra suffered a brain injury during the attack and committed suicide, shooting herself in a park.
Before this is revealed in Ops, getting shot is discussed by Fatima and Rountree in the bullpen. In a call out to the last episode, Fatima is still on crutches after being shot in the leg. She reveals it's not like the movies and wonders how Callen came back after being shot five times in one go. Rountree suggests it might be why he is sometimes cranky. Making light of such injuries and events is a coping mechanism, and Callen's shooting (in the backdoor pilot via NCIS 'Legend - part 2' S06E23) is hauled out every so often for black humour.
The theme of parenthood is frequently explored in NCIS: Los Angeles, often through the main characters in relation to their personal experiences and how they interact with guest characters and the case in question. In Sundown, this is brought to the fore, not only through DeMayo but also through Kensi and Deeks. At the start, the pair are waiting in the car apparently on a stakeout. Kensi is observing a couple entering a building, describing them as 'trouble' and 'over-achievers'. It quickly becomes apparent they are not on an NCIS mission; Kensi is plucking up the courage to attend an information meeting with Deeks to understand more about the journey to adoption. Of course an alert comes through from Ops, causing the couple to 'divide and conquer', with Kensi left to the meeting and Deeks to work the case. This circles back to questions originally raised by Deeks a number of seasons ago about how they would cope with parenthood if they were both working. Kensi continues to receive text updates from Ops which distract her and lead her to tell little white lies about a sick aunt who takes a turn for the worse. In the end she has to excuse herself to assist the team in the final showdown. Even at the end when Kensi and Deeks are together in the bull pen, they still have no answers of how they will cope. There is no discussion of one or the other giving up their career. Deeks simply says they'll figure it out, as that's what parents do. Once again though, Kensi changes the parameters by suggesting fostering, something Deeks had also been considering. There is a very 'matter of fact' scene between Callen and Deeks (who partner up to interview Corporal DeMayo's mother). They are driving to find a suspect and Callen asks Deeks how the adoption process is going. Deeks is also finding it tough. Callen's response is: 'Talking as a foster kid, I'll say one thing. I'd have killed to have parents like you and Kens.' It's the highest compliment Callen could pay the couple and his choice of the word 'kill' reveals the pain and depth of feeling associated with growing up in the system. There would have been minimal impact if he'd said that he'd loved to have had parents like Deeks and Kensi.
When the tasks are allocated at the start, Sam volunteers to go to the scene, citing his experience with grieving military families. Rountree is selected to accompany him, due to having taken a hostage negotiating course with the FBI. This sets up expectations that Rountree would take a leading role, however it is Sam who predictably takes the lead. There is slight tension between the pair and LAPD SWAT on the scene and of course the NCIS calls all turn out to be the right moves. Sam also has direct experience of parenthood, yet his attempts to connect with Gary DeMayo fail as the man is on a one track mission to clear his daughter's name. Their conversations via walkie talkie reveal more about DeMayo and his daughter. These are interspersed with Callen and Deeks talking with Mrs DeMayo. She touches on how therapy proved too expensive and comments on the VA backlogs. Yet it is the notebook suggested by her therapist which provides the clue which leads to the team exonerating her, even if it was not conducive to saving her life.
Fatima has currently assumed the role of both Nell and Eric in ops, and helps move the narrative along. For example she has concrete information that Corporal DeMayo's death was in fact suicide and talks this through with Kilbride who has to tease the information out of her. There is an inference that he is familiar with suicides, citing she most likely shot herself in the park to spare her parents dealing with finding her and the clear-up. She was first introduced as a specialist analyst and is most suited to Ops.
There are limited guest characters in Sundown even though there are several hostages on the bus. This lack of focus means no empathy is built with them. Their fear of being shot or blown up is not shown. Instead the focus remains solely on Gary and to a lesser extent, his wife. Rountree may not be called on for his FBI negotiating skills (a slight on the FBI?) but Sam does give him the chance to shine as a journalist sent onto the bus to hear Gary's side. For a former FBI undercover agent he is rather nervous yet listens to Gary, giving him false hope that his story will be revealed to the world. There are also interactions between husband and wife when Mrs DeMayo is brought to the scene. The bottom line is of such conversations underlines that Gary is not a bad man, the failings of the military and judicial systems has triggered this extreme reaction. He eventually lets the prisoners go, and is willing to only take his own life when it seems time has run out.
The closing scene takes place in the boatshed, which apparently has wide doors which open to reveal a balcony overlooking the marina. Kilbride aptly voices viewers thoughts that he didn't even know this (balcony) was out there. He ties up the case by confirming Corporal DeMayo has been cleared, posthumously promoted, awarded a medal, given a funeral with full honours with backpay reinstated. Sam, Callen and Kilbride reflect on the question of how far a parent would go if someone hurt their child. Sam admits he can't stop thinking about that dilemma, although past experience (Talion, S7E24) shows restraint when he had the chance to kill Tahir Kaled after taking his son Aiden hostage. Sam is an honourable man and also eventually saw reason when he hunted down Kaled after he murdered his wife. Sam is a trained SEAL with high morals and self control. Gary is an ordinary man who admitted if he had to, he would do it all over again.
Divided We Fall tells the rare story of the team failing catastrophically in their mission. Failure is not an outcome associated with the NCIS Office of Special Projects which makes this episode all the more interesting. There are plenty of occasions where missions go sideways - it's that unpredictability and intensity which often keeps the interest, however the outcome is usually positive. After all they rescued Mosley's son, even though all bar Kensi nearly lost their lives in the process. The team is not perfect and not infallible so to actually see them fail and the after effects of that failure, is a novelty.
The episode begins with Callen and Sam approaching a woman (Laura Song) and urgently requesting she accompanies them to a safe house as she may be compromised. Meanwhile Kensi and Deeks pick up Laura's teenager daughter Lily and bring her to the boatshed, while Fatima and Rountree set up in the safe house to undertake surveillance. When Callen states that Kilbride will arrive in an hour, Laura's replies that until then, her life is in their hands.
"One hour later" and Kilbride walks in to a disaster zone. Laura is dead and Callen and Sam are sitting against the wall looking battered.
The remainder of the episode takes place after another time jump. The team have been separated for 36 hours and are interviewed by the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) Inspector General Akhil Ali. This allows the team to fill in the events of that crucial hour from their own perspective, with each member overlapping with the former to provide a full narrative. These interviews/flashbacks allow Laura to be developed as a rounded character and for empathy to be built as she engages with Sam and Callen on a personal level. She’s a mother who believes her daughter is better off without her, she was drawn into the world of espionage by Kilbride at the age of 17 and knows Hetty. She is strong, confident and defiant, adamant that even though she acknowledges every spy has their expiry date, she repeatedly ask for a gun, refuses to die while locked away in the panic room and selflessly sacrifices herself to save Fatima. Her actions and words indicate that she'd rather fight for her freedom that be locked in and trapped, even if a few of her actions are odd with this - until Kilbride tells his tale... He concocted the story that Laura's cover was blown so he could (via the team) secure her for interview to see if she had been turned by the Chinese and was now a double agent. He found his answer when he saw her walking into the lobby with the ‘bad guys’, chastising them for failing to take out four agents. Kilbride confronts and kills her.
This knowledge allows the episode to be seen in a different light upon a second viewing. Deeks states that Kilbride has many layers like an onion (and each one will make you cry), which is an apt reflection of Divided We Fall (although maybe not the crying element). This is an intricately constructed and multilayered case. The one on one conversations Laura had with Callen and Sam now take on a different meaning. She knows Hetty and it can be implied she knows of her orphans and by extension, about Callen. By asking how long he’s known Hetty and relating that to her own story of being dragged into the game so young, she has aligned herself with him. With Sam she speaks about her teenage daughter and the pair talk about parenting. She struggles with the mother/daughter relationship, believing Lily is better off without her and asks about Sam's daughter’s relationship with her mother. Did she know in advance that Sam’s wife was killed?
Kilbride admitted to ONI Ali that Laura is the best operative he’s ever known and he kept the real reason away from the team for fear she would see through their charade. Laura Song now becomes a highly manipulative double agent, playing two experienced agents who had little chance of seeing through her facade, thanks to Kilbride. The other takeaway here is Kilbride’s lack of trust - he clearly has no faith in the team. He acknowledges they are good but not the best (although he tells Lily they are the best, with Deeks naively believing him until Kensi bursts his bubble). It almost picking up where Hetty left off in terms of manipulation and secret keeping, even picking Laura for a life of spy craft during her teenage years. Perhaps this explains his comments to Callen in the season opener (Subject 17), and in last season’s finale.
The interviews reveal how events unfolded but also show how the agents perform their jobs. Sam and Callen are the epitome of professional, dedicated to protecting Laura. They repeatedly refuse her request for a gun, providing the ONI Inspector Ali with legitimate reasons for their decisions. When Ali challenges the only discrepancy in Sam and Callen’s story (whether Laura was drinking scotch or bourbon), Sam quite rightly questions if it really matters? It’s the newer and younger agents who’s behaviour during their surveillance is surprising. These scenes typically make personal conversations easy whilst maintaining observations, yet Rountree and Fatima spent most of their time NOT looking at the monitors. Instead they were on their cells and playing a magnet game. Thankfully these actions had no impact on events and they acted as expected when they temporarily rescued Laura. With Fatima shot in the leg, Laura insists the agent reaches safety first, then closes the elevator hatch. This seemingly selfless act kept the agents safe and gives the appearance of her capture and death (a gunshot is heard shortly after). If Sam or Callen had been injured and in the elevator, they would have insisted Laura was hauled through the hatch. Certainly Callen left Sam to fight off the attack while he moved Laura to safety, although Sam did question why Callen abandoned him...(which was out of character).
Kensi and Deeks’ situation was much less intense, taking Lily to the boatshed to keep her safe, thus allowing for a touch of lightness and humour at times. Again there is a personal element which builds empathy between Lily and the agents. She reveals her dad died when she was 11, something to which Kensi can relate. It is Deeks and his knack of understanding deep human emotions who suspects something is hinky. He tried to call Sam to say that Laura continued to be an operative after her dad died in a car crash. Laura lost it when husband died but when she returned to work (to her cover job as an art dealer, in actuality as a spy),she became better. The scene cuts to Deeks’ interview and his heartfelt speech where he opened up on his thoughts of dying in line of duty and how people deal with trauma differently. If Kensi died, he didn’t think he could remain operational and raise an 11 year old. It made him question why Laura chose to do just that, enough to make him try and call Sam.
Kilbride is indirectly responsible. It was his idea to withhold information from the agents and to lie about securing her in a safe house as her cover may be blown. His plot inadvertently put the agents in danger, although he had no foresight that Laura’s allies would breach and rescue her. The Chinese extraction team were tipped off as they found sustained breach of the ONI safe house security systems and knew as soon as Laura walked through the door. Kilbride may not trust the team or have faith in their abilities but at least he tells ONI Inspector Ali that the report he writes will exonerate the team. The agents accept and admit responsibility for their failure and Laura’s death, and Kilbride witnesses their utter dejection when he calls them to ops for another case and they trudge up the stairs. When he pauses by the door to his office, observing them, he contemplates but still does not take the opportunity to reveal the truth. The closing scene shows the final piece of the puzzle, which Kilbride withheld from Ali. In Laura’s dying moments, she reveals that she’s the one who actually manipulated him since she was 17. She chose him as the perfect mark, a broken family man looking for a second chance. His killing her has some parallels to Hetty killing Akhos, as to a certain extent, both were parent figures, and Kilbride clearly thought of her with affection, having her photo in his portfolio case. This image of Kilbride as broken contrasts with the jovial comments Deeks and Kensi make at the start, about Kilbride having a son and what he would be like as a father, and recalls earlier episodes where he share with Sam that he has an estranged son.
The in-depth characterisation of the episode’s guests serve to engage the viewer and to build empathy, mostly though the connections and parallels made between Laura and the agents. The ONI inspector flirts with Fatima and clearly has a crush on her from her acting days, and deeply respecting her religious devotion. He is given a trait of touching his tie when he’s nervous, an action he repeats numerous times throughout the various interviews. The familiarity between Fatima and Rountree now sees Fatima calling him ‘Tree’ and it is details such as these which help make this episode special. It is dramatic and intense through the interweaving of the interrogation and action, mixing past and present. The understated acting and direction lends a seriousness and severity to the operation which only emphasises the feeling of helplessness and dejection the team feel afterwards. Overall, the different style of storytelling adopted by writer Andrew Bartels and visualised by director Terence Nightingall, elevates this to not only the best so far in season 13, but one of the best episodes in the series to date.
There is always something more engaging
about an episode which opens in the middle of a case, particularly if the team
are involved. "Indentured" sees a group of ATF agents embroiled in a
heavy gunfight they are losing, their lead agent calling over the airwaves for
help from any law enforcement officers who may be nearby. Sam and Callen hear
and their response is all the more serious as they clearly know each other.
Unfortunately, the bad guys overwhelm the ATF, and without mercy, the lead
agent is shot dead. Sam and Callen arrive at the warehouse too late. Their
involvement in the case was to support ATF in taking down a white supremacist
arms dealer, but the inside man was made before this could occur, and so the
case is taken over by NCIS. The killer, Lukas Meyer is known and the
investigation is to find Meyer and stop the weapons sale. This
opening is reminiscent of S09E23, “A Line in the Sand” where the NCIS team were
under heavy fire and coincidentally, both episodes are written by Frank Military.
As is mostly the case with episodes penned by
Military, there is intense drama, a focus on character and a darkness which
creeps around the edges. Military was also responsible creating and
playing last season’s villain Kessler (S12E05, “Raising the Dead” and so this
episode is the perfect place for the threat of Kessler to
resurface. Kessler’s girlfriend’s decomposed body has been
identified after washing up on the
There is much going on in this episode which takes
the team in several directions simultaneously, maintaining interest and
creating layers within the narrative. Kilbride takes Sam as a partner, dropping
Callen out of the picture as he’s not former military, as Kilbride wants the
trust of Ret. US Army General Collins, who was due to buy hundreds of AK47s
from Meyer and has connections with a right wing militia group. He also wants
to ensure that if Collins is innocent, that he can continue to run for senator
without a blemish to his character, thus protecting the integrity of the
election process. Callen teams up with Rountree whilst Kensi and Fatima go
undercover at a rehab centre, to gain the trust of Meyer’s girlfriend Mia.
Deeks tails Collins although how he can remain inconspicuous when driving a
bright red truck is a mystery. Maybe the bad guys are colour blind?
There is also the revelation that Kilbride has a personal connection with
Collins, leading to the team mistrusting Kilbride, and causing confrontations
between Sam and Kilbride. The theme of trust is part of the
overarching framework of the show (usually with Callen), and it makes a
pleasant change that Sam is at the forefront this time, and for someone other
than Callen to butt heads with someone in a position of higher
authority.
The issue of trust runs both ways and in a twist it
turns out that Kilbride is another one who does not trust easily. When the team
arrive to storm the warehouse, ATF are already in position, and Kilbride walks
out with Collins in handcuffs. Trust has to be earned and it is in
short supply between Kilbride and the agents. In a scene more familiar between
Callen, Sam and Hetty, Kilbride engages with the partners by offering them a
single malt to discuss that very topic. In answer to Callen’s questions, he
hasn’t heard from Hetty and doesn’t know if she’s safe. He also reveals that he
is now running the Office of Special Projects. It is unknown if this is
temporary or permanent, or what role Hetty will have if she ever returns.
It has been a very long time since the Office of
Special Projects, a team which (used) to specialise in undercover operations,
actually went undercover. It’s an element which has been sorely missed and
makes an impressive comeback. Deeks has fun with Kensi, creating a shared back
story although there is a missing (cut) scene as
The story then moves on to one of moral ambiguity,
covered by Deeks and Kensi at work and later at home in bed. Deeks is the voice
of conscience, asking Kensi if she thinks she gave Mia the idea and the courage
to kill Meyer. At this point he sounds a little accusatory which is ironic
given his past actions. Mia later sends a video message to Kensi’s undercover
cell phone which the couple watch in bed. Again Deeks offers Kensi the chance
to pursue Mia, however she decides to wait until morning before calling in the
lead. Kensi is at peace with her decision which means Deeks is too,
and the episode closes with saying ‘sweet dreams, my little velociraptor’. The
screen turns black and there is a gentle baby dinosaur growl.
Daniela Ruah (Kensi) absolutely owns this episode
with her undercover performance. She was extremely convincing and
manipulating - for the greater good. Undercover operations have been in short
supply for the last three or four seasons, with characters maybe assuming a
role for a minute or so. Hopefully this is the start of a return to how the
team used to work missions. The use of slow motion captures the horror of the
gunfight, and is utilised towards the end when Kilbride walks with Collins in
cuffs, emphasising which side Kilbride is on. It has sometimes been used ineffectively,
for too long a gun battle sequence, but the direction here is spot on. Overall
this was a thoroughly enjoyable episode and season 13 is definitely off to a
solid start.
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
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
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
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.
A mediocre freshman sitcom that was renewed by CBS largely based on the clout of its legendary producer, Chuck Lorre, finds the opportunity to redeem itself in the surprisingly serious and dramatic Season 2 premiere.
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You follows in the footsteps of the previous episode, Russia, Russia, Russia and ironically features many more Russians, than the actual Russia x 3 episode! Last time, Callen was accused by DOJ Agent Carlson of being a Russian asset, the team concocted a plan which resulted in Russian defector Kapitan Gonchgarov fighting for his life, after being poisoned by Russian socialite Zasha Gagarin. The episode concluded with a shady looking Callen, resplendent in dark hoodie, threatening Zasha in a dark alley and for all intents and purposes, appearing to be the Russian asset he was earlier accused of being. Rather than directly continuing with this tantalizing plot, another Russian angle is followed, namely that of Callen’s AWOL girlfriend, Anna Kolcheck. The ‘previously on NCIS: Los Angeles’ reminded viewers that Anna remained in Cuba with Callen’s ex-girlfriend Joelle, after the mission to infiltrate Katya Mironova (AKA Kate Miller’s) inner circle went sideways. Once again the cold open features Callen, this time focusing on the black SUV and it’s Russian occupants surveilling Callen, who’s reading a newspaper in a cafe. Since Callen almost caught his tail at the start of the last episode, it is obvious he’s now setting his own trap, and a moment of distraction and their subject has disappeared.
But while the focus is on Callen, writer Lee A. Carlisle manages to make this very much a team episode, bringing in the different personal struggles the original field agents are experiencing. Nell has miraculously materialised after her disappearance her colleagues ignored. Again no explanation is given as to where she has been or why - she is clearly following in Hetty’s footsteps! And talking of Hetty, she may not actually be seen in this episode but her presence is clearly felt as she sends Nell a coded message, leading the team to a warehouse and warning them they’re in danger from events which will unfold that day. Since the day started with Callen apprehending, then releasing the Russian (Maksim Myshkin) who’s been tailing him, the logical conclusion is this unspecified danger is connected. Hetty of course, is never wrong and the team separate, with Roundhouse tailing Myshkin while Callen digs deeper, and Deeks joining Sam to investigate the warehouse.
Kensi has always been a strong character both mentally and physically. As the only female field agent for many seasons she has endured more than her fair share of trauma. But as a woman she is now dealing with her desire and inability to fall pregnant naturally. This already preys on her mind and her and Deeks have now embarked on their IVF journey, starting with hormone therapy in the form of injections. This is an emotive subject for many women and when Kensi later confides in Nell, she lays out the obstacles she will have to face, including mood swings. She has just started an emotional rollercoaster ride which is already affecting her job which makes it a perfectly legitimate storyline, and so much better than sweeping the IVF journey into a) they start to b) Kensi falls pregnant. Deeks supports her and there is a throwback to the season 3 crossover to Hawaii 5-0 and needles, when he reluctantly injects Kensi. The gentle humour is replaced with seriousness when Kensi’s dizziness means she remains in Ops rather than risk not having her husband’s back in the field. It is reassuring she is comfortable enough with her body signals to know the side effects have passed and she rejoins the team in time for the epic gunfight.
Likewise, Sam’s personal life is also shown. He is facing new parenting challenges with his daughter Kamran. He’s kept her out of the academy and learning remotely, living with her father on his boat. Although Sam just wants to keep her safe, his rules and actions are a little controlling and Kam almost rebels until her boyfriend Logan, talks sense into her. Again there are references to comments and characters in previous episodes. Kam compares Sam’s snoring to that of Otis the sea lion and Logan asks permission to come onboard the boat. Several episodes ago Sam told Callen off for (deliberately) just venturing on deck and not asking permission. Kam has already demonstrated she is strong and determined, and quite rightly gently knocks down Logan when he refers to her as a princess that needs saving. The biggest challenge for Sam will be to accept his teenage daughter is developing different aspirations, and he leaves the scene of the gunfight early, to speak with her.
Sam and Deeks’ partnership at the warehouse allows them to further develop their relationship and respect, with Sam explicitly commenting on this. Deeks may have Kensi’s hormone therapy on his mind but he reads Sam’s worries and he opens up about his parenting concerns with Kamran. In typical Deeks style, there is a wordy story with a moral which Sam takes on board. Later, they bounce off each other whilst analyzing what DOJ Agent Carlson does not say, when she supersedes the CIAs jurisdiction at the warehouse. Carlson’s reference to them as the “SEAL” and the “hyphenate” was a fun shout out to the previous episode.
Joelle Taylor is intrinsically tied in with the lives of both Callen and Anna, more so with the latter. Even last season, Anna was working with Joelle, hunting down Darius Reznikov among others and turning up unexpectedly to warn Callen he was in town and a likely threat (S11E15 The Circle). She also persuaded Anna to take part in the op to get close to Katya in prison. It makes sense that Katya has also focused her wrath on Jo. Anna’s elaborate lie to cover her disappearance was to give herself space to think, formulate a plan and to keep Callen safe. This is very much in keeping with her character - remember she snuck back into the States last season (without telling Jo), to warn Callen about Darius. What is curious is that she did not think of the consequences - that Callen might visit her, given their separation. Her radio silence is another way of keeping Callen at arm’s length, similar to when she ordered him to stay away when she was in jail. She wants to keep him safe, (after all Callen would definitely involve himself if he knew the details), but Anna is not easing his deeply ingrained trust and abandonment issues. The pain is more deeply felt when Anna takes a call from her father, whereas Callen deliberately avoided contact with his family due to the potential threat from the tail, for which Anna was also responsible - to make sure no harm befell him. Unfortunately she failed to remember he’s a highly skilled agent who easily spots tails. This is made worse by the sheer incompetence of Myshkin, the FSB agent tasked with following Callen. He failed to spot the agent was playing him, was caught and spewed out ridiculous excuses - which at least made Callen chuckle. Anna also admits she once had a personal relationship with Myshkin. These are big stumbling blocks to overcome, if they decide to continue their romance. A risk to this is Anna’s life, as Myshkin and his team turn on Anna when their orders change, using Anna as bait to draw Katya out so they can assassinate her. There are hints that all might work out; Anna’s smirk when Callen puts her in handcuffs and in the interrogation room, they have an unspoken moment when she passes Callen her cell.
After her (deliberately) failed attempt to turn herself in, Russia now want their rogue agent dead. This leads in to what is arguably the best scene in the episode. During the hand off, and ensuing gunfight between NCIS and the FSB agents, Katya has orchestrated the warehouse tannoy to blast Frankie Valli’s ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, which morphs into a studio version. The upbeat tempo of the chorus works fantastically with the gun fire from all sides and lends to the energy of the scene. All four original field agents are present, albeit not in the same shot, adding to the team feel of the episode.
The episode closes out with Callen receiving a package containing Joelle’s severed finger, and a voice message on a burn phone; Katya wants Anna in exchange for Joelle. This will be picked up in the next episode ‘Red Rover, Red Rover’, which is a children’s game where one team calls for one person on the other side to try and break through their ranks. Can’t Take My Eyes of You is not a bad episode, but it does pale in comparison to Russia, Russia, Russia. The blending of the personal and professional works for all characters and the dialogue is on point. Maybe it’s the volume of characters, with Fatima, Rountree and Nell all present, and no explanation provided as to why Nell was previous absent. There are also questions around Anna and her actions. The explanations are not overly plausible, particularly with her underselling Callen’s capabilities (spotting tails) and his feelings for her (visiting her only to find no trace of Anna or the charity). The FSB agents also seem to be second rate, certainly not of the level usually portrayed. There is also no reference to the huge cliff-hanger from Russia, Russia, Russia. Is Callen undercover as a double agent? And does this have any connection to Katya? More is promised next time and Red Rover, Red Rover is tantalizingly written by Andrew Bartels, who has a successful backlog of Callen, Anna and Joelle centered episodes.
It seems like an age since the last episode of NCISLA was broadcast. The gap is actually a week less than last year - maybe living in the COVID-19 era just makes it seem longer? The last episode, A Fait Accompli ended with Sam’s daughter Kamran being abducted and The Frogman’s Daughter utilises the ‘previously on NCIS Los Angeles’ as a reminder. The cold opening shows Kamran Hanna in some kind of unofficial jail, with more youths held in other cells. Post credits, the story picks up the following morning, with Sam at work and being unable to make contact with his daughter.
The Frogman’s Daughter is written by Jordana Lewis Jaffe and Indira Gibson Wilson. Wilson is married to former NCISLA writer and producer Joey Wilson and has twice played Sam’s wife, before she was given proper form and a voice with actress Aunjanue Ellis. Jaffe’s episodes are now synonymous with over the top guest characters, often tipping into becoming outrageous caricatures...and not of the positive type (unless that type of humour floats your boat). Thankfully here, the exaggerated characters are kept to a minimum. The cafe worker/protester is a little odd in her demeanour, Fatima is portrayed as shallow and unsympathetic and the DHS Agent is named Megan Merkel (an inside joke as the actress Tiffany Smith actually played Meghan Markle in the 2019 film, Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal).
Sam has had more than his fair share of pain, caused by Tahir Khaled and culminating in the murder of his wife Michelle, and it is natural that Sam would overreact when he can’t reach Kam. The opening showed her predicament and her alertness, and the episode promises an intense ride which it never fully delivered. There is a distinct lack of urgency, particularly during the first half of the episode, and concern for Kam’s safety is not shared by the team. Fatima makes throwaway comments about texting and shared that when she was Kam’s age, she just did not want to talk to her father. The scene falls flat and her lack of empathy and inability to read Sam shows an immaturity and shallowness which counters the agent she was when she was introduced to the team. She later warns Rountree to avoid ops, where she left Sam trying to persuade Eric to invade his daughter’s privacy and use government resources to locate her. Surely the new agents are aware of Sam’s history? Eric refusing to help Sam when he witnessed Michelle’s painful death firsthand, was odd. There may have been no evidence but Sam’s gut instinct is rarely wrong. It took Rountree to assess the situation and realise they have to trust Sam. He also stepped up and did his best to fill a Callen-sized gap, temporarily partnering with Sam, talking sense into Sam when he loses his temper with Kamran’s secret boyfriend in the boatshed, appealing to Sam’s empathetic nature.
Kensi and Deeks began their journey to parenthood, with Kensi prescribed hormone therapy. The storyline furthers their relationship but feels totally out of place, particularly when several times, Deeks tries to encourage Kensi to talk about her feelings. She made it clear she needed to process the IVF news, prepare her mindset for the working day and would talk with Deeks later. Such attempts at conversation show a lack of concern at Sam’s predicament although mid-episode he does comment about bringing a child into such a world. Despite evidence Kam has been kidnapped, his comments fall flat and do not have the same seriousness of impact as they did during a similar conversation in The Seventh Child (S07E19).
Callen’s absence is felt keenly and is one of the reasons the episode feels off. Sam shouldn’t be going through this angst without his partner by his side. Half way through, Eric mentions that Callen’s on his way back from his trip, which prepares for his reappearance shortly after. This is a late reminder that season 12 has adopted a serialised narrative and at least Sam takes the time to ask about his trip (a story for another time). It would have made more sense if a line had been written for Sam earlier, for example that he’d called Callen who was leaving Santa Cruz immediately. His return brought renewed urgency to the case, chasing down suspects, and facilitating a higher level of understanding - in the bullpen, Sam questions his parenting skills, reflecting on Kam as a little girl and being her only protector.
A decent proportion of the episode is dedicated Kamran’s imprisonment. In the cold open, she is already assessing her predicament, asking questions of her fellow inmates and exploring her cell for opportunities. There is no shortage of evidence that she is her father’s (the frogman’s) daughter. Under the cover of tortuous flashing lights and loud metal music, Kam exploits the weakness she identified around the sink and chips away to create an escape route. Instead of leaving to seek help, she steals keys from her captors office and returns to rescue the others. Even after being recaptured and hosed, Kam plays dead to entice the bad guys closer so she can attack them.
The premise of the episode is a common one for NCISLA: how well you really know someone. The established field agents have all experienced this, whether it be Kensi in season one, hiding her profession when a friend came to town, to Deeks killing his former partner, through to Callen and Joelle. It’s much more hard hitting when it involves Sam and his teenage daughter, and how easily she hid her secret life. This lends to the repetitive (and now weary) comments about age which permeate every episode this season. Fatima’s naively insulting comments to Sam were the start and culminated when the teen protester at the cafe accused Kensi and Deeks of being over 40. Kamran’s secret life as a protest organiser allows a political agenda which is tackled by Rountree and the DHS Agent. A peaceful protest for equality and racial injustice has attracted the attention of militia groups and agitators who are travelling to LA to purely incite violence, and Homeland Security has drafted help from as many federal agencies as possible. Peaceful protests and the presence of law enforcement already seems like a recipe for disaster, especially when the agitators and the fact Kam’s peaceful protesters has a breakaway faction who believe the only way their voices will be heard is through violence, are added to the mix. Rountree’s argument that the protest could just be peaceful, is thrown to the wall when the DHS confirm a person of interest was found at a previous rally with a rucksack full of C4. It’s a progressive move, featuring such topical issues but there is little real substance when the message is reinforced that the law is there to support the peaceful protesters; the violence stemming from external agitators and a minority of violent protesters.
The Frogman’s Daughter is a slow builder of an episode, hampered by Fatima and Eric failing to grasp the severity of Sam’s concerns over his daughter’s welfare, particularly exemplified by their out of place conversation in Ops, instigated by Fatima about Eric's yellow lensed glasses. This was not helped by the lack of urgency emanating from Kensi and Deeks. The hormone treatment was bad timing (could it ever be good?) but to watch this episode as a standalone, you would not realise that Eric, Kensi and Deeks were all heavily involved in rescuing Aiden from Tahir Khaled and the frantic race against time to find Sam’s wife Michelle. Also puzzling is the ongoing case of the missing Nell Jones, AWOL for two consecutive episodes and not referenced at all. Maybe she really has morphed into Hetty..? Another curious element are the Hanna household rules, mentioned for the first time in twelve seasons and rather reminiscent of Gibbs’ rules, from the mothership, NCIS. The episode improved as it progressed, ably assisted with Kamran’s scenes, demonstrating the missed potential. She is engaging, determined and resourceful; a force to be reckoned with in a few years time. The return of Callen also lifted the episode, providing some gentle banter. The most light-hearted moments were saved for the final scenes, between the reunited Sam and Kamran, who drops her brother into trouble for helping her buy a car, and her father ribbing her for losing her voice when challenged on her secret boyfriend.
Experienced episode writer and
master of darkness Frank Military wrote himself into his latest episode as a
sick sociopath who’s obsessed with Kensi.
In ‘Raising the Dead’ he plays David Kessler who Kensi originally
arrested in 2008, the case bringing her to the attention of Hetty and into the
Office of Special Projects. Military has
written a number of Kensi-centric episodes, most notably Spoils of War (S5), An
Unlocked Mind (S7), The Silo (S9) and Better Angels (S10), some focusing on her
strengths, others seeking to delve into how men seek power over women.
The cold open sees law enforcement
pursuing two escaped convicts, Kessler and Randy Sinclair, a former CIA operative
who plotted to assassinate the president. Kessler splits from Sinclair and is
caught, a move which seems and is deliberate. Sinclair is a dangerous man and Kessler
tells the Secret Service he will only reveal Sinclair’s location to Kensi.
At the start of the episode Kensi is in a
positive frame of mind. Her previous
reticence about making an offer on a house has been replaced with a mindset
that if they’re going into debt, they may as well make it worthwhile and also
embark on fertility treatment. It is Deeks’ turn to offer words of caution, attempting
to place a limit on how far into debt they should venture. It was good to see
Deeks back in the bull pen, even if it was to just to pack up his belongings.
It also ensured he was in the right place when Kensi was called into Ops to
receive a call on a secure line.
Here on start the mind games. Deeks
is aware that Kessler is obsessed with Kensi (he sent her Christmas cards each
year - reminiscent of Janvier and Callen). Deeks, against protocol but very
much in character, remains on comms via his earwig and also makes his way into ops.
Deeks has killed for a woman in danger, water boarded a cleric to try and
rescue Kensi and of course her passion for her career almost caused him to end
their relationship. In Raising the Dead, he placed Fatima (who is running this
case in Ops) in an awkward position when he refused to leave. Her lack of authority,
and Deeks’ of respect resulted in
Kensi fights her own internal
battles as she faces Kessler. He is a
creepy freak, arrogant and in love with himself. In his cell, Kensi first sees
him topless and doing press ups. His reveals his mission is to hunt Kensi down,
have sex with her and kill her. Despite Kensi’s best efforts, he holds the
power in most of their conversations.
His mind games eat away at her - from Kessler’s deduction that she’s
married to his appraisal of her body shape determining she’s doesn’t have kids;
her micro-expression giving away this source of pain. At one point he says ‘touché’
which of course is Deeks’ ‘thing, and clearly hits a nerve. His personal and
blunt comments reveal Kensi’s poker face and negotiating skills need some work!
Sam and Rountree are in the field to assist
the FBI in tracking Sinclair. They quickly split from the FBI after receiving
patronising and arrogant comments from FBI Agent Rudolph, leading Sam and
Rountree to discuss racism. The triggering comment was Rudolph calling them ‘urban’
and how to interpret this. Does urban mean they’re from LA or does it infer
they’re from the ‘hood? Rountree lets the comments wash over him, choosing not
to react and preferring to be the bigger man.
He didn’t even comment when Rudolph stated that FBI agents have special
tracker training; Rountree of course being former FBI and Sam, a former SEAL. The
message is to move forward and be better than them.
There is very little Nell in this
episode which leaves
The thread running through the
season to date is Deeks’ position at OSP. Earlier scenes show he is reluctant
to leave the team - he still wears his earwig and is finally packing up his personal
belongings. Nell’s only appearance of
the episode is to tell Deeks his position is officially terminated and he’s too
old to attend FLETC and cannot become an NCIS agent. Hetty has tried everything
and it is difficult to see how this scenario will be resolved and he rejoins
the team. For the time being he is essentially restricted to the bar.
This knowledge and the sadness and
confusion generated, signals the start of the case’s conclusion and the unravelling
of Kessler’s fascinating master plan. He
is clever and has connections in
Raising the Dead follows the higher
standards set last week and again feels like a normal episode. The plot runs
smoothly and at a decent pace with the team working three different angles, in
three different locations. This separation is integral to the case and does not
feel forced. The main frustration is how Kessler succeeds in getting inside
Kensi’s head. Whether she admits it or not, Kessler has the power throughout
most of their interactions. He is
suitably creepy and manipulative, perverted and deranged, and his threat to Kensi
should play out later in the season.