Critic’s Ranking: 4 / 5.0
4
When Donna Mills visitor stars on NCIS, you recognize the drama is about to get actual.
The legendary actress, greatest recognized for her iconic position as Abby Ewing on Knots Touchdown, brings her signature aptitude to NCIS Season 22 Episode 3.
With a contact of traditional TV magic, Mills suits proper right into a lineup of unforgettable visitor stars like Robert Wagner and Lily Tomlin.
As one of many unique queens of TV drama, Mills has all the time been glamorous, ruthless, and by no means afraid to shake issues up.
Abby didn’t simply play the sport; she wrote the foundations and broke them each time it suited her.
Now, as Wanda Prescott, a high-society antiques collector with a mysterious previous, Mills brings that very same magnetic power to NCIS.
If there’s one factor we will depend on, it’s that when Donna Mills steps onto the display, she’s not right here to mix in — she’s right here to personal the second.
A Spooky Case for Halloween
Being a Halloween episode, NCIS serves up mixture of suspense, laughs, and a contact of vacation creepiness.
Parker is all-in for Halloween enjoyable, however when trick-or-treaters pop up in the course of the investigation, he doesn’t get almost the fun Jess does.
It provides a light-hearted vibe amidst the strain, setting the stage for a traditional NCIS thriller.
So, about Hal: Hal is lifeless, however the true thriller is whether or not his home belongs to him or to Bryce Prescott, a Navy SEAL who insists it’s his.
McGee and Torres, loyal as ever, are inclined to consider Bryce at his phrase — they’re all about holding that “outdated” crew spirit alive.
Parker, in the meantime, is cautious and needs proof.
It’s an attention-grabbing dynamic, with Torres and McGee clearly respecting Parker but additionally holding onto Gibbs’s old-school type.
If McGee had been to finally step into the lead position, would he carry again the traditional Gibbs vibe? It’s one thing price watching.
Donna Mills Brings a Contact of Glamour to the Haunted Lodge
Right here’s the place the NCIS Halloween enjoyable ramps up.
The investigation leads them to a supposed haunted lodge referred to as Prescott’s Folly, and Parker will get a kick out of it, particularly with Torres and Jess spooked about visiting.
Donna Mills performs Wanda with an air of secrecy, however sadly, the character doesn’t fairly carry the excessive drama of Abby Ewing.
Nonetheless, she’s fabulous, dressed to the nines, and provides a contact of sophistication to the haunted vibe.
Parker, ever the joker, savors watching Torres and Jess squirm about going inside, including a little bit snark when he and McGee stroll to the “security” of their automobile: “Is that this a terrific job or what?”
His means to steadiness humor with severe moments — like when the trick-or-treaters confirmed up — retains the episode’s tone on level.
When Jess and Torres discover themselves in a room filled with creepy dolls and model heads, Parker’s amused commentary is priceless, including levity to an in any other case unsettling state of affairs.
McGee’s Dilemma
However a haunted lodge wasn’t the one “haunting” this hour. One thing’s haunting McGee, too.
He’s clearly nonetheless feeling the sting of being handed over for the deputy director position, an comprehensible disappointment he reluctantly shared with Parker.
Whereas Parker is glad McGee’s nonetheless with the crew, McGee’s temper suggests the snub impacts him greater than he’d prefer to admit.
There’s no rift between him and Parker, however McGee’s loyalty to Gibbs’s legacy could be including a layer of frustration.
It’s nearly as if he believes issues might need turned out otherwise if Gibbs had nonetheless been round.
The frustration is actual sufficient that McGee’s even digging into LaRoche. Not factor, even when we knew it will occur anyway. However he’s doing it alone, and that’s the issue.
That is most likely why he was so “all about enterprise” at Prescott’s home when Jimmy, Torres, and Jess had been having some enjoyable banter about Jimmy’s “ME” costume.
The truth that he determined to deal with LaRoche as a substitute of testing Ducky’s with the remainder of the crew exhibits that he’s heading down a harmful path.
As a result of, you recognize, some other time, he would’ve been proper there immediately.
There may be particular bother on the horizon for McGee and the remainder of the crew.
Ducky’s
After a yr, it’s not stunning that Ducky’s outdated workplace is lastly getting repurposed. However this isn’t only a easy makeover.
Everybody had an concept of what it ought to change into, and in true Vance trend, he discovered a strategy to fulfill all of them, unveiling a multi-purpose room dubbed Ducky’s that everybody can take pleasure in.
It’s a becoming, considerate tribute that honors Ducky’s legacy whereas holding the house practical for the crew.
Now, let’s discuss Parker.
Personally, I believed he ought to’ve held again on making ideas (take a cue from Jess, who correctly saved her opinions to herself).
Curiously sufficient, after Vance revealed Ducky’s to the crew, Jess and Parker gravitated towards sitting collectively within the “commissary” part.
It acquired me considering: even after three years post-Gibbs, is there nonetheless an unstated divide throughout the crew?
If there’s any potential “ringleader” of that divide, it might simply be McGee — and Torres might not be far behind.
Right here’s why: Torres’s fixation on Jess and Jimmy’s relationship has been elevating my eyebrows. Certain, he’s shut with each of them, however his latest curiosity appears like greater than informal curiosity.
After which, there’s that second within the haunted lodge when Torres confides in Jess that he’s able to get again into the “love” sport. That’s when the lightbulb went off –- it appears he could be fascinated with Jess.
Which might be a full catastrophe.
Jess and Torres share a strong working relationship and friendship, however romantic chemistry? Not a lot.
And critically, would Torres cross that line and go after Jimmy’s woman?
That awkward second on the crime scene when Torres introduced up the gymnasium concept to Jimmy felt method misplaced, nearly as if he was testing the waters or feeling Jimmy out.
All of it hints at a deeper battle brewing. And if Torres went so far as discussing his emotions with Jimmy instantly — that’d be a large number on an entire new degree.
There’s a connection between Jess and Torres, certain, but it surely’s platonic. Pursuing one thing extra might danger their friendship, Jimmy’s emotions, and the whole crew dynamic. Right here’s hoping the present doesn’t tread down that path.
Now, the place there is chemistry — and I’ve mentioned it earlier than — is between Parker and Jess.
Ever since they had been trapped collectively on that ship final season, their bond has been plain.
They’re each a part of the “new crew,” unburdened by the outdated NCIS legacy, so that they see eye-to-eye in a method the others don’t.
If there’s anybody Parker would confide in concerning the thriller of Lily, it’s Jess.
Little question, their closeness is simply going to deepen, however whether or not it turns into a “factor” is anybody’s guess.
It’d undoubtedly stir issues up — and whereas that’d be attention-grabbing to observe, I’m unsure anybody actually needs to see their working relationship flip right into a full-blown romance.
Over to you TV Fanatics! What did you concentrate on “The Hassle with Hal?”
Do you suppose McGee is heading for bother? Is Torres about to cross a harmful line? Hit the feedback and share your ideas!
Watch NCIS On-line
