Critic’s Score: 4 / 5.0
4
Once you open an episode of NCIS with Vance locked in his workplace, coated in blood, and a useless physique on his flooring, you understand issues are about to get wild.
NCIS Season 22 Episode 2 throws us straight right into a diplomatic assembly with Venezuela that shortly spirals into chaos.
Vance’s covert operation with Diego Rojas, a Venezuelan agent taking part in each side, takes a disastrous flip when Rojas collapses and dies in his workplace.
From that second on, it’s a mad scramble to cowl up the physique and clear up the thriller earlier than your entire state of affairs blows up of their faces.
Naturally, Torres, McGee, Jess, and even Jimmy — who appears to have joined in simply to keep away from being the odd man out — get swept into Vance’s off-the-books operation.
Watching them frantically attempt to deal with a useless physique with out drawing any consideration is strictly the type of chaos we love about this crew (and it was humorous as hell).
After which there’s Torres, who, in the midst of all of the insanity, continues to be trying to find a tie, injecting simply the correct quantity of comedic aid into the stress.
You may all the time rely on him to deliver amusing, particularly with Parker’s laid-back affect on the crew’s dynamics.
Talking of Parker, his quick-witted allure is in full drive as he brushes off the reporters together with his common humor, effortlessly conserving the press distracted whereas the crew snuck round breaking protocol.
At one level, he even deadpans, “Discretion is my center identify,” and you may’t assist however snort, realizing full nicely that nothing occurring behind the scenes is even remotely discreet.
A Twisted Merry-Go-Spherical
However let’s not neglect the true elephant within the room: Jimmy and Jess.
After all of the buildup on NCIS Season 22 Episode 1 — Jimmy nervously cleansing her desk and eagerly anticipating her return — you’d suppose we’d lastly get that glad reunion.
As an alternative, we’re left hanging, with barely a second between them and no particulars from Jess. It’s not like Torres and McGee weren’t inquisitive about what was happening between them, both.
However I assume we’re all going to have to attend. It’s just like the writers are dangling this relationship in entrance of us, solely to maintain us in suspense just a bit longer.
Nonetheless, it’s maddening to not have at the very least an inkling as to what went down on Jess’s first day again within the workplace.
However as a substitute of a reunion between Jimmy and Jess, we bought a shock one between Vance and Lena.
Vance’s long-distance girlfriend from Berlin confirmed up as a NATO consultant, a lot to his shock — and everybody else’s.
After all, she had her personal agenda.
Not solely was she there to take issues to the subsequent stage with Vance, however she was additionally deep in an undercover operation investigating a Hezbollah-linked diamond smuggling ring.
As if the crew wasn’t already juggling sufficient, they instantly discovered themselves with two our bodies to cope with.
In spite of everything the hassle they put into discreetly dealing with Rojas’s physique to keep away from a world catastrophe — and a gaggle of reporters — a second corpse magically appeared in his lodge room.
This time, it was courtesy of Lena and her secret agent, Vega. And the sufferer? A hitman, who was apparently despatched to kill Rojas, although I’m not fairly clear on that as a result of wasn’t Rojas poisoned?
Both method, the entire thing was a multitude.
Issues bought even worse when a nosy reporter confirmed up — who, shock, shock, wasn’t a reporter in any respect however a Hezbollah terrorist attempting to sabotage the talks between Venezuela and the U.S. by kidnapping Lena.
It was a tense second, however, as soon as once more, in true Parker vogue, he distracted the press — this time with a historical past lesson on U.S.-Venezuelan relations — so McGee and Jess may save Lena and everyone may stay fortunately ever after.
And across the twisted Washington merry-go-round, we went.
Wasn’t that the identify of an previous syndicated political column that ran method again within the 50s and 60s?
I guess Drew Pearson would’ve had a discipline day with all of the political intrigue and cover-ups on this episode.
“Overseas our bodies” certainly — particularly when it seems the Venezuelan Admiral murdered Rojas as a result of he was sleeping with the Admiral’s spouse.
In A Gadda Da Vida
Now, about that dialog between Vance and Parker.
Anybody moving into Parker’s cozy greenhouse lounge would really feel proper at residence. It’s as welcoming as Parker himself, which might be why Vance felt comfy sufficient to wish to examine notes about their near-death experiences.
Parker didn’t give an excessive amount of element about his Lily visions from NCIS Season 21 Episode 10, and I believe that he gained’t be opening up about any of that anytime quickly.
Vance, nevertheless, did open up and stated that point had develop into an important factor in his life — as in time to stay a significant life.
He was, in fact, speaking about Lena.
And regardless of all of the drama, he determined to maneuver issues up a notch along with her, one thing she already had in thoughts earlier than she even bought to D.C.
They each need the identical factor, and along with her shifting to New York, it gained’t be all work and no play for Director Vance any longer.
It makes me marvel if Vance is on his method out, which might give McGee one other alternative to maneuver up.
It’s not out of the query. These near-death experiences change you, and Vance is aware of that there’s extra to life than simply NCIS.
And talking of unresolved issues — Jess and Jimmy?
Both make them occur or transfer on as a result of this lengthy, drawn-out will-they-won’t-they-after-they-broke-up storyline is getting previous quick, even when it’s solely been one episode again.
Sure, I’ll admit, I’ve no persistence.
Truthfully, possibly the true romance needs to be between Parker and Jess — they’ve bought higher chemistry anyway (and Jess by no means would’ve questioned protocol as Jimmy did). Yeah, I stated it. Shoot me.
So, what did you concentrate on this twisted merry-go-round episode of NCIS? Hit the feedback and share your ideas.
Watch NCIS On-line
