NCIS LA SEASON 8: THE FULL COLLECTION, EPISODES 1-24
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x01 "High Value Target" & 8x02 "Belly of the Beast" (two part season premiere)
"Undersecretary of Defence Corbin Duggan takes over the Office of Special Projects when they fail to find a mole, and one of the team is injured on a mission to Syria."
NCIS LA returned and it was - to rehash that phrase I've stated I'll surely use on a regular basis - "comfortingly familiar". That staple of crime dramas, the introductory cut scene involving the crime taking place, was followed up by NCIS LA's typical 2-3 minute scene of all the cast just bantering the subplot topic for the day. Such banter did produce many wonderful quotibles (and we even got to see Deeks' homeless outfit again, a role Eric Christian Olsen plays a little too convincingly), but the overlying issue with both episodes is I can't help but feel that they were misrepresented. I was under the impression from other posts about the upcoming premiere that the mole would take something of a centre stage and the story would drastically change the Office of Special Projects' future; while the latter is true, the former certainly isn't.
Because the show was drastically changed - potentially. The first episode left me with questions over whether Hetty would retire for good this time (seeing as the actress Linda Hunt is getting older and Hetty's airtime has therefore been cut down over the past couple seasons), only for her to claim to be the mole and sacrifice herself to Duggan in the second part. While Hetty is promptly arrested, the outcome of Duggan's purge of OSP staff is unanswered: Duggan wasn't likely to be satisfied by Hetty's sacrifice without continuing to dismantle everything else, and the rest of the team was in Syria avoiding him (oh, I mean, er, doing a mission).
And that's really the root of the problem: Sam, Callen, Deeks and Kensi ran off to Syria to focus on the mission and left Hetty, Nell, Eric and Granger to deal with Duggan. Which was never going to succeed, hence Hetty offered herself up to keep OSP intact. And while in Syria, Kensi received massive injuries in a helicopter crash that will land her in the ICU for the foreseeable future. In effect, what this premiere did was not actually raise the stakes, but spend two hours writing Kensi into a medically induced coma so that Daniela Ruah, who portrays her, can have a little time off to deal with her real-life pregnancy. It also revisited the whole "Hetty threatens to retire" and "Hetty goes to Washington under massive scrutiny" plotlines (suggesting perhaps that the writing team is running out of ideas for the characters), and finally, it's worth mentioning that the episode's conclusion itself was horribly sudden. Callen, Sam, Deeks and the injured Kensi brought the terrorist to a Navy marine base - and that was it. Job done? There was no real resolution here, which rather summed up the premiere overall.
VIEWERS: 9.44m (Incredible ratings given its position and the effect of overrunning sports coverage.)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.4 (Marginally above season 7's average - a decent opener)
VERDICT: A thoroughly underwhelming start for a show that needs to excel to succeed in the deathly Sunday at 8pm slot. Although the overnight viewers for the premiere were way above what I expected, on the face of the writing my hopes for a well-promoted season are rather dashed. 6/10
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x03 "The Queen's Gambit"
"OSP investigate an abduction case when a Marine kidnaps a man outside a mosque; Hetty awaits action against her in Washington and Deeks gets some bad news about Kensi."
"The Queen's Gambit", so named for Hetty's sacrifice in the previous episode, was just what it needed to be: an improvement, even if that improvement was minimal. The main plot of the episode, in which a Marine kidnaps a man to draw out his cousin, who was offering casting calls for acting jobs overseas and then drugging and trafficking the girls instead, evolved nicely, and lent itself to a bit of kick-assery from Nell, usually found in the Ops centre in front of a computer. Nell makes a nice bit-part field agent, and Renee Smith is going to have some fun while Ruah's character Kensi is in the ICU.
Speaking of which, I struggle to take Kensi's injuries seriously: though her condition deteriorated, the show has no intention of writing Kensi out completely, so it's only a matter of time before the near-permanent physical damage caused by the helicopter crash will be reversed and everything will be OK. I can't help but feel this "dynamic storyline" for Kensi and Deeks wasn't worth the hype. Props, however, to Eric Christian Olsen for his sensitive portrayal of Deeks' fragile emotional state.
Meanwhile, Hetty does the business in Washington. Duggan's mistake in bringing her back to his superiors saw him humiliated when she was released by SECNAV (the Secretary of the Navy) almost instantly. With Hetty on her way home the team can get back to business, but she has set a timer by offering her resignation in 6 months if the the real mole isn't uncovered, which means what should have been done in the premiere will hopefully just suffer a slight delay.
VIEWERS: 11.52m (A 2m jump upwards from the premiere's overnights. NCIS LA is making one hell of a case for itself in a slot everyone claimed would be its death knell)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.5 (Equals the premiere. Just above average in overnights will bring it well into safety when the +3's are taken into account)
VERDICT: A slight improvement on the premiere, and lots of kick-ass Nell. Sam and Callen's banter always lights up a scene. 7/10
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x04 "Black Market"
"A young Citizenship and Immigration Services agent and his friend are invited to a party, which turns deadly when the Homeland agent's drink is spiked with poison."
"Black Market" is a hard one to judge. The two pieces of the murder plot - the victim, a young man named Jessie Evans who worked for a branch of Homeland Security; and the killers, Chinese smugglers - felt very disconnected from each other, so that there's little more to say about the actual plot than that. I think the murder was perpetrated by a hitwoman for the triads, who were less than happy that some of their Homeland contacts were ripping off their smuggling business - but don't ask me how Evans was involved in a way that led to his murder. I really do not know.
At least some of the other elements of the episode were clearer. The subplot banter was as funny as it usually is, with Callen and Sam bantering over Callen's performance in an Iron Man marathon with no prior training, and Deeks and Nell quipping about Nell's questionable driving competency. Nell remained in the field with Deeks as Kensi remained in her coma - although her response to Hetty's request to squeeze her hand at the end of the episode suggests she will be emerging soon.
VIEWERS: 10.76m (On a down night for most shows, NCIS LA put up top viewer numbers)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.3 (Down two-tenths from last week; there's the downtick)
VERDICT: The murder plot was frustratingly unclear, and even the tease of Kensi's return and the banter between the other four characters simply didn't do much to raise the level of the writing. 6/10
After a string of abysmal episodes, season 8 has finally reminded me that the show overall can produce some top quality episodes. I still find the whole Carl Brown thing jarring (for those who don't know this mole storyline began in season 7 and ended with Brown's arrest) since somehow there's now a new mole. I also feel the writers left it unbelievably late to be now interviewing him for the name of his backer. Surely this would have been done ages ago? But then, hell if it wasn't a great subplot. LL Cool J playing intense and threatening is always a treat, and the actor who plays Carl Brown is fantastic.
Eric Christian Olsen reminds us once again that he is the king of acting the sensitive boyfriend. No matter how much I find Kensi's coma storyline a poorly rehashed trope, I'll always find Olsen's acting superb. And now Kensi is awake, albeit with some recovery to do since she has no feeling in her hands yet. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
However, the writers have finally reached out for a part-time replacement for Kensi, a character who should have been called in the previous episode, if you ask me. Anna Kolcheck, the daughter of frenemy arms dealer Arkady Kolcheck, has dropped by for a part-time job at OSP before she goes for a job at ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms). Bar Paly, who plays her, has excellent chemistry with Callen, so while it will throw about the pairings a little I'm more than happy to see her back. Plus, if she lands that ATF job there'll be opportunities for her to guest star in the future, too. I'm very happy with this.
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x05 "Ghost Gun"
"Hetty asks Sam to visit the previous mole, Carl Brown, in prison and find out who was backing him. While Deeks tends to Kensi, Anna Kolcheck returns to temporarily fill the void."
After a string of abysmal episodes, season 8 has finally reminded me that the show overall can produce some top quality episodes. I still find the whole Carl Brown thing jarring (for those who don't know this mole storyline began in season 7 and ended with Brown's arrest) since somehow there's now a new mole. I also feel the writers left it unbelievably late to be now interviewing him for the name of his backer. Surely this would have been done ages ago? But then, hell if it wasn't a great subplot. LL Cool J playing intense and threatening is always a treat, and the actor who plays Carl Brown is fantastic.
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| Bar Paly as Anna Kolcheck, arresting the murderer |
However, the writers have finally reached out for a part-time replacement for Kensi, a character who should have been called in the previous episode, if you ask me. Anna Kolcheck, the daughter of frenemy arms dealer Arkady Kolcheck, has dropped by for a part-time job at OSP before she goes for a job at ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms). Bar Paly, who plays her, has excellent chemistry with Callen, so while it will throw about the pairings a little I'm more than happy to see her back. Plus, if she lands that ATF job there'll be opportunities for her to guest star in the future, too. I'm very happy with this.
VIEWERS: 11.40m (Back up over 11m. Stupendous)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.7 (Season high)
VERDICT: Bringing Bar Paly back for a short while was an ingenious if belated move and it freed up all the other characters to advance other plots. 8.5/10
NCIS LA is starting to find its feet story-wise. Daniela Ruah's pregnancy may have shunted her character sideways for a while - a long while if this episode's 4-6 month prediction on physical therapy is to be believed - but that and the booking of Bar Paly for a recurring role in her place has opened up the partnerships creatively: she's paired off with Callen, Nell and Deeks so far and it makes for interesting new dynamics. Even Kensi's recovery storyline is getting more interesting, as she struggles to literally find her feet and pushes away even Deeks - who in the course of such rejection had a seldom but heartfelt chat about priorities with Granger.
There was no Hetty beyond mention of her continuing the search for the mole, but there wasn't room for it. Amid the Callen-Sam banter over American football tickets and Nell and Eric's burgeoning relationship, the main plot itself took up a lot of time. The Good Samaritan turned out to be an ex-Mossad agent in hiding, and in saving the Naval officer wound up on TV and was recognised by his old enemy who was now coming to kill him, by way of leveraging his daughter. Both were rescued, the daughter after a fun and frantic search through a yard of airtight barrels in which she had been hidden, and to top off the substance we were reminded about Callen's own experiences without a father when he suggested to Shakeed (the ex-Mossad agent) he go and be a father to his daughter. This is as twisty as these simplistic plots get, but it was all the better for it.
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x06 "Home Is Where The Heart Is"
"A Good Samaritan rescues a Lieutenant Commander from a home invasion, but his heroics set off a deadly chain of events."
NCIS LA is starting to find its feet story-wise. Daniela Ruah's pregnancy may have shunted her character sideways for a while - a long while if this episode's 4-6 month prediction on physical therapy is to be believed - but that and the booking of Bar Paly for a recurring role in her place has opened up the partnerships creatively: she's paired off with Callen, Nell and Deeks so far and it makes for interesting new dynamics. Even Kensi's recovery storyline is getting more interesting, as she struggles to literally find her feet and pushes away even Deeks - who in the course of such rejection had a seldom but heartfelt chat about priorities with Granger.
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| Sam rescues Shakeed's daughter |
VIEWERS: 9.78m (Hit by the World Series like everything else but not disastrous)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2 (Season low but this will go back up when the baseball ends)
VERDICT: Unpredictable and without a murder became more unusual than ever. Heavy on substance that advanced everyone's plotlines. 8/10
The script was flipped pretty early on in this episode that the NSA agents weren't being tracked by ISIS because they had intel on a terror cell trying to enter the US from Mexico, but one of the NSA agents in the group had stolen $17m from the bank of a cartel boss, and while Sam dealt with them Callen went undercover to gain the trust of the fourth member of the group, who could confirm which of them was the traitor.
It was all pretty normal stuff, although the fun of the Benuelos cartel's interrogation technique - throwing people into the ocean and luring sharks to make them talk - added a bit of spice. I haven't seen shark torture since that early Hawaii Five-0 reboot episode, and it always makes for something different.
Props to casting for hiring the creepy CIA chemical torturer from Castle's finale as the man in the mental hospital, and props to writing for Granger's upcoming Agent Orange infection storyline and their continually amazing characterisation of Deeks. This week he reveals to Kensi the engagement ring, but she refuses until she is better. Which might not be too long, perhaps halfway through the season. There was no Anna today and I do hope she's not gone to ATF yet; Bar Paly is still a great addition to the show in lieu of Daniela Ruah's downtime.
VIEWERS: 10.26m (Over 10m despite nearly an hour's delay!)
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x07 "Crazy Train"
"The latest victim is found in the stomach of a shark: the surviving NSA agents explain that ISIS are after them because they are tracking a cell that intends to cross the border from Mexico. However, everything is not as it first seems when a prominent cartel get involved, and Callen has to go undercover in a mental hospital."
The script was flipped pretty early on in this episode that the NSA agents weren't being tracked by ISIS because they had intel on a terror cell trying to enter the US from Mexico, but one of the NSA agents in the group had stolen $17m from the bank of a cartel boss, and while Sam dealt with them Callen went undercover to gain the trust of the fourth member of the group, who could confirm which of them was the traitor.
It was all pretty normal stuff, although the fun of the Benuelos cartel's interrogation technique - throwing people into the ocean and luring sharks to make them talk - added a bit of spice. I haven't seen shark torture since that early Hawaii Five-0 reboot episode, and it always makes for something different.
Props to casting for hiring the creepy CIA chemical torturer from Castle's finale as the man in the mental hospital, and props to writing for Granger's upcoming Agent Orange infection storyline and their continually amazing characterisation of Deeks. This week he reveals to Kensi the engagement ring, but she refuses until she is better. Which might not be too long, perhaps halfway through the season. There was no Anna today and I do hope she's not gone to ATF yet; Bar Paly is still a great addition to the show in lieu of Daniela Ruah's downtime.
VIEWERS: 10.26m (Over 10m despite nearly an hour's delay!)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.4 (Up two tenths from last week)
VERDICT: The quality of episode is stabilising after a shoddy open to the season. NCIS LA is now proving it can return to some good stuff without the flair of Anna Kolcheck. 8/10
In an episode that again lacked Bar Paly, Callen and Sam worked closely with a shy young Russian girl, Nadia, the hugely intelligent daughter of the electrocution victim, Yuri Volanev, to stop a rogue Chinese student from getting his hands on a classified civilian engineering project. Typical obstacles like a patsy were thrown into the mix: Scott Yung had turned a Pakistani student into helping him because the money he offered would be enough to help her family in Lahore. The bait-and-switch was pushed even harder than usual when Ganeev was identified as a patsy: every angle that the team had covered before - rescuing Nadia, not yet arresting Scott - was covered in a brutal interrogation.
I liked the storyline, and the subplots too. Kensi was feeling better this episode and had stopped jumping down Deeks' throat, while he took some time in the field as well by going undercover as Nell's surfer boyfriend. But the subtleties of the episode were there, too. Following on from the reveal that Granger had been damaged by Agent Orange, his speech was again impaired. Miguel Ferrer has a deep and gravely voice, and it can't be hard for him to put himself on the edge of understandable. But there was a distinct lack of Hetty - which I predicted for this season, but is in full swing a little harder than I expected. Sad times there.
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x08 "Parallel Resistors"
"An engineering student is electrocuted at a trivia night."
In an episode that again lacked Bar Paly, Callen and Sam worked closely with a shy young Russian girl, Nadia, the hugely intelligent daughter of the electrocution victim, Yuri Volanev, to stop a rogue Chinese student from getting his hands on a classified civilian engineering project. Typical obstacles like a patsy were thrown into the mix: Scott Yung had turned a Pakistani student into helping him because the money he offered would be enough to help her family in Lahore. The bait-and-switch was pushed even harder than usual when Ganeev was identified as a patsy: every angle that the team had covered before - rescuing Nadia, not yet arresting Scott - was covered in a brutal interrogation.
I liked the storyline, and the subplots too. Kensi was feeling better this episode and had stopped jumping down Deeks' throat, while he took some time in the field as well by going undercover as Nell's surfer boyfriend. But the subtleties of the episode were there, too. Following on from the reveal that Granger had been damaged by Agent Orange, his speech was again impaired. Miguel Ferrer has a deep and gravely voice, and it can't be hard for him to put himself on the edge of understandable. But there was a distinct lack of Hetty - which I predicted for this season, but is in full swing a little harder than I expected. Sad times there.
VIEWERS: 12.11m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.6
(Huge boosts in both areas after a Trump interview served as the lead-in)
(Huge boosts in both areas after a Trump interview served as the lead-in)
VERDICT: Subtly moved characters forward when it didn't advance them blatantly. Decent episode that just lacked a little urgency. 7.5/10
NCIS LA moved forward a number of plot arcs with a simple storyline of an American woman transpiring to be Russian, whose handler had previously been Callen's father, Garrison. The surprising return led to a number of revelations, but at least Garrison was clear he had no excuse for leaving Callen as a baby beyond he wanted Callen to be safe. On that note, now that we know Callen's real first name (Grisha), it's odd to hear Garrison call him it when everyone at OSP still knows him as G. Or Callen. Still on that note, it's hard after 8 seasons to keep up with Callen's complex past, but the recapping throughout the episode did enough to keep viewers in the loop.
Hetty was back, but as is the norm now barely featured. It's a real shame, and odd, considering that Granger seems to be in a very perilous position as he suffers from the effects of Agent Orange. His speech was even worse in "Glasnost", and while it's a great arc, NCIS LA might be crossing the line and making Granger a little too unintelligible.
Shout out to Deeks' continued patience with Kensi's off-on again treatment, although at least she's more on than off now whenever he comes to visit. Putting tech geek Eric in the field with Deeks was as funny as it was good writing; and just to loop back to Callen's mythology as a final point, he now has a half-sister? Will his story ever end? (What was going on with the casting, however? India de Beaufort now plays Callen's half-sister, despite both her parents being white?)
Oh, and props to Vyto Ruginis returning in his usual one-episode-per-season guest role as Arkady Kolcheck.
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x09 "Glasnost"
"An American woman is poisoned with polonium-210, and Callen's father returns to help solve the case."
NCIS LA moved forward a number of plot arcs with a simple storyline of an American woman transpiring to be Russian, whose handler had previously been Callen's father, Garrison. The surprising return led to a number of revelations, but at least Garrison was clear he had no excuse for leaving Callen as a baby beyond he wanted Callen to be safe. On that note, now that we know Callen's real first name (Grisha), it's odd to hear Garrison call him it when everyone at OSP still knows him as G. Or Callen. Still on that note, it's hard after 8 seasons to keep up with Callen's complex past, but the recapping throughout the episode did enough to keep viewers in the loop.
Shout out to Deeks' continued patience with Kensi's off-on again treatment, although at least she's more on than off now whenever he comes to visit. Putting tech geek Eric in the field with Deeks was as funny as it was good writing; and just to loop back to Callen's mythology as a final point, he now has a half-sister? Will his story ever end? (What was going on with the casting, however? India de Beaufort now plays Callen's half-sister, despite both her parents being white?)
Oh, and props to Vyto Ruginis returning in his usual one-episode-per-season guest role as Arkady Kolcheck.
VIEWERS: 10.43m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.5
(Adjusted down from 1.6, but 1.5 is still fabulous news for NCIS LA and CBS)
(Adjusted down from 1.6, but 1.5 is still fabulous news for NCIS LA and CBS)
VERDICT: Arkady was back, Callen's past became a little bit clearer while still shocking us and the overall dynamics were more interesting. Now NCIS LA is settling into the season, its quality is improving. 8/10
NCIS LA has finally circled back to its mole arc in time for its tenth episode: the woman, Natalie Grant, who turned the incarcerated Carl Brown, was chased by not-police all the way to Callen's front door before she ditched her attempts to turn herself in and fled. And that led to the rest of the story: that the people for whom Natalie and Carl had been spying didn't trust them anymore, and Natalie wanted to keep her life by handing herself into law enforcement. In the end she didn't, but OSP found a new lead just in time by circling back to another plot: Granger's Agent Orange issue. The once again unintelligible Director had visited a bar a few episodes back after his diagnosis, where he was approached by a good-looking woman who was here revealed to have an involvement with the mole. In a way, this connecting of the dots in such a broad and potentially unassuming way reminds me of Castle's season 7 and 8 focuses on LokSat and Castle's kidnap - although NCIS LA is doing better at sticking to characters than Castle did.
Deeks and Eric partnered up again (Eric thinking he's a boss because he's done a bit of field work is hilarious), and Hetty got the most airtime she's had since season 6 and it was a welcome breath of fresh air (more Hetty please!), but Kensi's recovery has taken a rapid turn. Last episode she was struggling to walk or lift anything - now she's running? This reeks of desperation to return her to the team which could have been avoided by not writing her into such severe injuries. Poor writing.
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x10 "Sirens"
"OSP finally get a fresh lead in the hunt for the mole when a gunfight erupts outside Callen's home."
NCIS LA has finally circled back to its mole arc in time for its tenth episode: the woman, Natalie Grant, who turned the incarcerated Carl Brown, was chased by not-police all the way to Callen's front door before she ditched her attempts to turn herself in and fled. And that led to the rest of the story: that the people for whom Natalie and Carl had been spying didn't trust them anymore, and Natalie wanted to keep her life by handing herself into law enforcement. In the end she didn't, but OSP found a new lead just in time by circling back to another plot: Granger's Agent Orange issue. The once again unintelligible Director had visited a bar a few episodes back after his diagnosis, where he was approached by a good-looking woman who was here revealed to have an involvement with the mole. In a way, this connecting of the dots in such a broad and potentially unassuming way reminds me of Castle's season 7 and 8 focuses on LokSat and Castle's kidnap - although NCIS LA is doing better at sticking to characters than Castle did.
Deeks and Eric partnered up again (Eric thinking he's a boss because he's done a bit of field work is hilarious), and Hetty got the most airtime she's had since season 6 and it was a welcome breath of fresh air (more Hetty please!), but Kensi's recovery has taken a rapid turn. Last episode she was struggling to walk or lift anything - now she's running? This reeks of desperation to return her to the team which could have been avoided by not writing her into such severe injuries. Poor writing.
VIEWERS: 11.39m (Back up over 11m. Nice)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.5 (Equal)
VERDICT: Kensi's unimaginably speedy recovery was a rather big smudge on a very well-thought-out painting. Nomadic Callen set to begin a new search for yet another home? 8/10
Anna Kolcheck appeared at the start of the season and gave a hand to OSP after Kensi's injury, but after a couple of episodes disappeared without any explanation. I presumed that her ATF application had been successful, but there hadn't been any mention. Until "Tidings We Bring", where Anna, still waiting for the results of her ATF background check, checked back in with OSP by baking them a cake, before offering to lend a hand while they searched for a kidnapped Navy officer.
She was pushed romantically with Callen, culminating in him inviting her to Christmas dinner, but they weren't the only relationship potential here: Eric and Nell's increasing closeness was expanded on after Eric's disappointment that her acceptance into a Mentoring Programme meant she would miss their Dickens night. The pair cooked up some cute British accents, though.
The main murder was decent enough: the kidnapped Navy officer was only the leverage, as her reporter boyfriend had a file containing the names of many important worldwide figures who laundered money through Panama banks. The premise was a little wasted on the Christmas episode as nothing came of it, but it was a good distraction from the festive celebrations.
Lastly, Kensi's reappearance at the end led to a hilarious dream fight sequence where she battled it out with an Anna who was gleeful at having temporarily taken over her position. That being a dream, I really did not see coming.
VERDICT: It's always fun when Anna shows up; add some festive flair and some sexual tension, mix it with a decent plot premise and you get a decent Christmas episode. 8/10
I felt it in season 7, and I've been saying it throughout season 8: NCIS LA, while still a decent show, is in a bit of a creative rut. Episode structure, character development, as time has passed - as with any show - its quality has decreased. The Sunday at 8pm slot has rejuvenated the show's ratings, but nothing, until now, has actually given me hope that NCIS LA can rejuvenate its writing quite as brilliantly. The Callen and Anna relationship can do just that. A proper relationship for Callen - and by which I mean one that gets considerable airtime - has never been explored by the writers.
I would like to see Anna shifted to main cast status, but that's highly unlikely. Fortunately, her ATF position (and now her relationship with Callen) will allow her to slip in and out of plotlines whenever the writers feel like having her. And in finding that critical combination, they've found a way to explore new ground at a point where the show was feeling a little repetitive.
Also, it's time to bring Nate home. In the most uniquely puzzling character tNCIS LA is now at a point where it could use that unpredictability to its advantage, even having Nate recur and drawing out arcs for everyone with his work would benefit the show, especially in the short-term. There may even be room, what with Granger's deteriorating health and Hetty's regular absences.
reatment I've seen on a TV show, Operational Psychologist Nate Getz has gone from a main cast member in season 1, to departing after the second episode of season 2; since then he has made 9 appearances in the intervening 6 seasons. That time gap has seen him become a proficient deep cover agent, so whenever he returns you never know what you'll get: the psychologist or the deep cover agent. And usually his appearances make for very good episodes (although some, like today, were just casual cameos); since
That's pretty much what I've come away from this episode with: Anna needs to become a main cast member and Nate needs to return in a more regular (probably recurring) capacity. Because alongside a murder plot that didn't shout fresh, I couldn't think of anything but how these two are a benefit to a show that has gotten much too fond of itself.
VERDICT: NCIS LA has stumbled upon a way to reboot its show, but with an already bloated cast and a winning formula you can expect it to prioritise ratings over quality writing. 8/10
The mole storyline has been very hit and miss. It began around season 6, where it supposedly concluded with the arrest of Carl Brown. Then it was threaded throughout season 7 and now, in season 8, it is coming to a head. Finally. Because not only has it been a very inconsistent storyline (there really was no reason to make it an arc after Carl Brown's arrest anyway), but it has drawn out another arc of the show: every time something goes bad, Hetty will inevitably threaten to retire. It feels like every year Hetty does this now.
Thankfully, this first of a two-part (hopefully) conclusion was a phenomenal entry, and in some ways worth the wait. The woman OSP had identified as linked to the mole, who met Granger in the bar earlier in the season, was introduced right at the start, beaten, and Granger arrested. Then when Deeks went to try and speak to him, Detective Whiting (who in season 7 ran an Internal Affairs investigation into the death of his partner years ago) returned with "new evidence" and arrested Deeks. (Interestingly, for those who don't know, Deeks is genuinely guilty of this crime, but obviously as the audience we don't want Whiting to know that and Deeks had a good reason.) Then Sam was detained by the Drug Enforcement Agency after a corpse and cocaine was found in his car. Callen made an escape, but later ATF caught him, having found a body at his home.
The whole episode was about setting up the framing of four OSP heavy hitters, while Hetty dealt with politics from Washington and Kensi, Eric and Nell tried fruitlessly to fight back, but it didn't matter that there was little other substance: the intrigue of seeing all our characters brought into the custody of multiple federal agencies was fantastic, high-intensity stuff. It was also a good way to bring Kensi back into the fold as the only available agent - and what about that cliffhanger that the mole is working for the CIA?
The premise did have its flaws. For example, isn't Anna - Callen's girlfriend - supposed to be ATF? Where was she when her boyfriend was getting arrested on trumped-up charges? Failing Anna, where was Talia del Campo, another ATF ally? One of them needs to show up in the next episode or it would be a huge oversight. But regardless, for now, this was a stupendous, mind-blowing episode.
Oh, and did I mention the last time we saw Granger he had been stabbed and was bleeding out in a prison hallway?
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x11 "Tidings We Bring"
"A Navy officer is kidnapped while Christmas shopping; OSP struggle to work out if the target was her or her reporter boyfriend."
Anna Kolcheck appeared at the start of the season and gave a hand to OSP after Kensi's injury, but after a couple of episodes disappeared without any explanation. I presumed that her ATF application had been successful, but there hadn't been any mention. Until "Tidings We Bring", where Anna, still waiting for the results of her ATF background check, checked back in with OSP by baking them a cake, before offering to lend a hand while they searched for a kidnapped Navy officer.
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| OSP celebrate at HQ |
The main murder was decent enough: the kidnapped Navy officer was only the leverage, as her reporter boyfriend had a file containing the names of many important worldwide figures who laundered money through Panama banks. The premise was a little wasted on the Christmas episode as nothing came of it, but it was a good distraction from the festive celebrations.
Lastly, Kensi's reappearance at the end led to a hilarious dream fight sequence where she battled it out with an Anna who was gleeful at having temporarily taken over her position. That being a dream, I really did not see coming.
VIEWERS: 10.37m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.4
(Both tick slightly down)
(Both tick slightly down)
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x12 "Kulinda"
"Sam goes undercover in a security firm named Kulinda, when one of its staff is killed."
I felt it in season 7, and I've been saying it throughout season 8: NCIS LA, while still a decent show, is in a bit of a creative rut. Episode structure, character development, as time has passed - as with any show - its quality has decreased. The Sunday at 8pm slot has rejuvenated the show's ratings, but nothing, until now, has actually given me hope that NCIS LA can rejuvenate its writing quite as brilliantly. The Callen and Anna relationship can do just that. A proper relationship for Callen - and by which I mean one that gets considerable airtime - has never been explored by the writers.
I would like to see Anna shifted to main cast status, but that's highly unlikely. Fortunately, her ATF position (and now her relationship with Callen) will allow her to slip in and out of plotlines whenever the writers feel like having her. And in finding that critical combination, they've found a way to explore new ground at a point where the show was feeling a little repetitive.
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| Callen and Anna (first kiss?) |
reatment I've seen on a TV show, Operational Psychologist Nate Getz has gone from a main cast member in season 1, to departing after the second episode of season 2; since then he has made 9 appearances in the intervening 6 seasons. That time gap has seen him become a proficient deep cover agent, so whenever he returns you never know what you'll get: the psychologist or the deep cover agent. And usually his appearances make for very good episodes (although some, like today, were just casual cameos); since
That's pretty much what I've come away from this episode with: Anna needs to become a main cast member and Nate needs to return in a more regular (probably recurring) capacity. Because alongside a murder plot that didn't shout fresh, I couldn't think of anything but how these two are a benefit to a show that has gotten much too fond of itself.
VIEWERS: 10.35m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.3
(Golden Globes hit the ratings a little)
(Golden Globes hit the ratings a little)
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x13 "Hot Water"
"The mole targets OSP."
The mole storyline has been very hit and miss. It began around season 6, where it supposedly concluded with the arrest of Carl Brown. Then it was threaded throughout season 7 and now, in season 8, it is coming to a head. Finally. Because not only has it been a very inconsistent storyline (there really was no reason to make it an arc after Carl Brown's arrest anyway), but it has drawn out another arc of the show: every time something goes bad, Hetty will inevitably threaten to retire. It feels like every year Hetty does this now.
Thankfully, this first of a two-part (hopefully) conclusion was a phenomenal entry, and in some ways worth the wait. The woman OSP had identified as linked to the mole, who met Granger in the bar earlier in the season, was introduced right at the start, beaten, and Granger arrested. Then when Deeks went to try and speak to him, Detective Whiting (who in season 7 ran an Internal Affairs investigation into the death of his partner years ago) returned with "new evidence" and arrested Deeks. (Interestingly, for those who don't know, Deeks is genuinely guilty of this crime, but obviously as the audience we don't want Whiting to know that and Deeks had a good reason.) Then Sam was detained by the Drug Enforcement Agency after a corpse and cocaine was found in his car. Callen made an escape, but later ATF caught him, having found a body at his home.
The whole episode was about setting up the framing of four OSP heavy hitters, while Hetty dealt with politics from Washington and Kensi, Eric and Nell tried fruitlessly to fight back, but it didn't matter that there was little other substance: the intrigue of seeing all our characters brought into the custody of multiple federal agencies was fantastic, high-intensity stuff. It was also a good way to bring Kensi back into the fold as the only available agent - and what about that cliffhanger that the mole is working for the CIA?
The premise did have its flaws. For example, isn't Anna - Callen's girlfriend - supposed to be ATF? Where was she when her boyfriend was getting arrested on trumped-up charges? Failing Anna, where was Talia del Campo, another ATF ally? One of them needs to show up in the next episode or it would be a huge oversight. But regardless, for now, this was a stupendous, mind-blowing episode.
Oh, and did I mention the last time we saw Granger he had been stabbed and was bleeding out in a prison hallway?
VIEWERS: 8.57m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0
(NFL stole the show, leading to severe downticks for some of the earlier primetime shows)
(NFL stole the show, leading to severe downticks for some of the earlier primetime shows)
VERDICT: I'll breathe once this arc is over because this was just breathtaking. 9/10
It didn't seem odd to me that with the entire OSP team in very convenient custody, Hetty would make a play to have Carl Brown broken out of prison and brought to her as bait - but it really should have done. Because Hetty had a plan all along: get Carl Brown as bait, draw in the rest of the mole group, cleverly play her way into safety and then blow up the building they're all in. First move: make sure all of her agents are safe, hence Callen, Deeks, Granger and Sam being arrested on trumped-up charges. Then she ordered Kensi, Nell and Eric to stay at the OSP base.
Only that didn't quite work. Kensi worked her way into the LAPD and ATF to give Deeks and Callen earpieces, and was then kidnapped by the mole - Sullivan. The man she met when recovering in rehab! I knew the moment he turned up something was dicey but until then he never crossed my mind as a baddie. This is how you do reveals!
With Kensi's kidnap, LAPD Detective Whiting decides to reluctantly help Deeks in exchange for him admitting he killed his old LAPD partner; Callen breaks out of the ATF and Sam ... reasons his way out? I guess the script needed some condensing. They eventually find Hetty and her exploded warehouse. The moles - CIA agents Sharov (not a surprise he's a baddie) and Sabatino (quite a surprise he's a baddie) - along with Carl Brown were caught in the blast; Brown was shot dead after he shot Whiting in the neck (she remains in critical condition), and Sabatino was the only one to escape alive besides Hetty.
Meanwhile, Sullivan explains to Kensi that OSP interrupted a CIA op in Syria in the episode 8x02, and Kensi, thinking he was the Taliban, shot his leg and caused him to need an amputation. Going into the cliffhanger ending, Sullivan - whose real name is Ferris - prepares to take a saw to Kensi's leg in retaliation.
So I guess this is a three-parter!
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x14 "Under Siege"
"The OSP team attempt to escape custody as the search for the mole reaches a critical stage."
It didn't seem odd to me that with the entire OSP team in very convenient custody, Hetty would make a play to have Carl Brown broken out of prison and brought to her as bait - but it really should have done. Because Hetty had a plan all along: get Carl Brown as bait, draw in the rest of the mole group, cleverly play her way into safety and then blow up the building they're all in. First move: make sure all of her agents are safe, hence Callen, Deeks, Granger and Sam being arrested on trumped-up charges. Then she ordered Kensi, Nell and Eric to stay at the OSP base.
Only that didn't quite work. Kensi worked her way into the LAPD and ATF to give Deeks and Callen earpieces, and was then kidnapped by the mole - Sullivan. The man she met when recovering in rehab! I knew the moment he turned up something was dicey but until then he never crossed my mind as a baddie. This is how you do reveals!
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| Three of the moles L-R: CIA Agent Randall Sharov, Carl Brown, CIA Agent Vostanik Sabatino. They watch on as Hetty "traps" herself in a metal cage. |
Meanwhile, Sullivan explains to Kensi that OSP interrupted a CIA op in Syria in the episode 8x02, and Kensi, thinking he was the Taliban, shot his leg and caused him to need an amputation. Going into the cliffhanger ending, Sullivan - whose real name is Ferris - prepares to take a saw to Kensi's leg in retaliation.
So I guess this is a three-parter!
VIEWERS: 11.29m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.4
(A huge increase following a down week last week. Four tenths of a point is a huge rise.)
(A huge increase following a down week last week. Four tenths of a point is a huge rise.)
VERDICT: I'm not sure I completely followed how the CIA part played into the pre-season 8 mole arc (if it did at all), but the rest of the episode was as high-octane as before. Stunning reveals and cliffhanger. 9/10
I can tell you in advance that this is the best episode of the week. It might be one of the best episodes of this entire TV season. Not for its individual writing - there was nothing overly exceptional about that; in fact writing-wise it was a very lowkey episode - but for how this neatly wrapped up a storyline that secretly began FOUR. SEASONS. AGO. (And even if it wasn't planned four seasons ago, which it probably wasn't, I literally don't care. The fact that it all fits like a glove makes it perfect.)
When Kensi and Granger went to Afghanistan in season 5 to kill "The White Ghost", a CIA mole if I remember rightly, he was in the hands of the Taliban. And in season 8, CIA Agent Ferris, who had kidnapped Kensi in the previous episode, 8x14, revealed he was actually disguised as Taliban in Afghanistan in season 5 and had his leg amputated as a result of Kensi's sniping capabilities. Carl Brown was discovered in season 6 as a mole, then in season 7 it was strung out a little more as the team realised he hadn't been the only mole; then in season 8 it was revealed Sabatino had implanted malware in an email two years ago; latterly, Sharov, Sabatino, Brown and Ferris - among others - all transpired to be CIA moles, only Ferris wanted revenge for losing his leg.
And then it was revealed Joelle - Callen's on-off girlfriend through seasons 5-7 - was another part of the charade, a CIA agent forced to keep an eye on him by forging a romantic relationship.
This entire episode basically turned every NCIS LA recurring character into a bad guy, or a double agent. They salvaged Sabatino by having him transpire to be a double agent trying to bring down the corrupt CIA agents, and Joelle made a poignant point that Callen will have done this so many times to other people that he'd be hypocritical not to forgive her for her betrayal. But this was a mindfuck of the best kind.
And Kensi, of course, did not lose her leg.
What an episode.
Wow.
VERDICT: The writers must be patting themselves on the back knowing what they just pulled off. When I've calmed down I'll look at this more objectively - but while I'm in the period of "wow", I can only summarise this by saying that this was the single most amazing way to wrap up a lowkey four-season arc that people didn't even realise was a thing. Perfect 10/10
How do you get back into the usual routine after such a mind-blowing arc conclusion? The answer is apparently by thinly spreading the show's main character mythology - Callen's family past and present - between a storyline that didn't really serve any of the main characters. Callen went off gallivanting with his father, Garrison (who had kidnapped Pacey Smith, his ... grand-daughter's ... boyfriend? ... who transpired to be an LAPD confidential informant), and to be honest, I'm rather confused how this arc is still going. I'm sure there was some sort of Romani blood feud involved in Callen's past, and he had a sister who died and now there's another one who's alive and apparently has a kid ... I dunno. While I like Garrison, Callen's family life has become so complex I've basically no idea what's going on anymore.
The main meat of the episode was very lowkey - and that's how you follow up a mind-blowing arc conclusion. There was only one small gunfight at the end, and the "chase" scenes were limited to strolling after an elderly couple scamming retired veterans in a retirement home, their target being a man who had secretly hidden an illegal, gold Double Eagle coin valued at $7.5m.
Meanwhile, Nate made a second lowkey appearance of the season by passing Kensi in her psych eval. He even hung around later as Nell and Eric had something of a heart-to-heart, both admitting they also turned to Nate for psychological help to deal with the ramifications of their actions as OSP keyboard warriors. Will something happen between them soon? It's definitely getting close.
Finally, Granger (unseen) flees the hospital, leaving Hetty a note saying he has unfinished business. That's going to be the end of him then - but at least he had a slightly more upbeat goodbye than being killed off - and the tribute to Miguel Ferrer at the end, to the tune of "Knocking on Heaven's Door" was a tearjerker.
VIEWERS: 9.46m
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x15 "Payback"
"OSP race to find Kensi before Sullivan can hurt her."
I can tell you in advance that this is the best episode of the week. It might be one of the best episodes of this entire TV season. Not for its individual writing - there was nothing overly exceptional about that; in fact writing-wise it was a very lowkey episode - but for how this neatly wrapped up a storyline that secretly began FOUR. SEASONS. AGO. (And even if it wasn't planned four seasons ago, which it probably wasn't, I literally don't care. The fact that it all fits like a glove makes it perfect.)
And then it was revealed Joelle - Callen's on-off girlfriend through seasons 5-7 - was another part of the charade, a CIA agent forced to keep an eye on him by forging a romantic relationship.
This entire episode basically turned every NCIS LA recurring character into a bad guy, or a double agent. They salvaged Sabatino by having him transpire to be a double agent trying to bring down the corrupt CIA agents, and Joelle made a poignant point that Callen will have done this so many times to other people that he'd be hypocritical not to forgive her for her betrayal. But this was a mindfuck of the best kind.
And Kensi, of course, did not lose her leg.
What an episode.
Wow.
VIEWERS: 8.48m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x16 "Old Tricks"
"Kensi and Deeks go undercover in a retirement home to find who killed a naval lieutenant. Meanwhile, Garrison returns."
How do you get back into the usual routine after such a mind-blowing arc conclusion? The answer is apparently by thinly spreading the show's main character mythology - Callen's family past and present - between a storyline that didn't really serve any of the main characters. Callen went off gallivanting with his father, Garrison (who had kidnapped Pacey Smith, his ... grand-daughter's ... boyfriend? ... who transpired to be an LAPD confidential informant), and to be honest, I'm rather confused how this arc is still going. I'm sure there was some sort of Romani blood feud involved in Callen's past, and he had a sister who died and now there's another one who's alive and apparently has a kid ... I dunno. While I like Garrison, Callen's family life has become so complex I've basically no idea what's going on anymore.
The main meat of the episode was very lowkey - and that's how you follow up a mind-blowing arc conclusion. There was only one small gunfight at the end, and the "chase" scenes were limited to strolling after an elderly couple scamming retired veterans in a retirement home, their target being a man who had secretly hidden an illegal, gold Double Eagle coin valued at $7.5m.
Meanwhile, Nate made a second lowkey appearance of the season by passing Kensi in her psych eval. He even hung around later as Nell and Eric had something of a heart-to-heart, both admitting they also turned to Nate for psychological help to deal with the ramifications of their actions as OSP keyboard warriors. Will something happen between them soon? It's definitely getting close.
Finally, Granger (unseen) flees the hospital, leaving Hetty a note saying he has unfinished business. That's going to be the end of him then - but at least he had a slightly more upbeat goodbye than being killed off - and the tribute to Miguel Ferrer at the end, to the tune of "Knocking on Heaven's Door" was a tearjerker.
VIEWERS: 9.46m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.3
VERDICT: A bit all over the place and missed the usual dynamics. An episode that didn't know where to focus. 7/10
NCIS LA bounced back from its jumbled episode last week with one that had a much stronger central plot and a very minor sideplot.
The main strand was Sam's undercover operation to identify King and destroy his operation; using a dealer he blackmails into cooperating, Sam meets with King and his henchwoman, only to be clued into the operation and discover that the woman is actually King. Clever disguise. I liked this format, the deceptiveness of King operating in every scenario as the right-hand woman: that's how you avoid being the focus and staying silently clued into every detail of your operation.
I feel like King was a great adversary and would have preferred if she had stayed alive and been turned into an arc, but NCIS LA already had a failsafe in its second plot strand. Callen and Anna, after being interrupted by Hetty, are assigned to fly to Arizona and collect Asakim, the terrorist who shot Kensi in Syria, who has promised to give information on a terrorist group. They have to move him soon because people are coming for him. Sabatino? The real CIA? Or terrorists? Who knows at this point, but it's an intriguing extension of the Syria mess way down the line.
In the episode's flyaway comments, Deeks is informed that Detective Whiting, the IAB officer who had been trying to prove he killed his partner (who was shot during the mole operation), had woken up in ICU. The worry on Deeks's face ... I do wish we'd seen Whiting this episode, but I suppose she'll be back in the future. Deeks's past isn't fully behind him yet.
And how cute are Callen and Anna? Every time I see Anna I'm pleased, and this whole Callen relationship is even better - especially since Anna is so understanding of his closed-off nature and genuinely happy to give him whatever time he need. But Hetty catching them in the act was pure gold.
VIEWERS: 9.26m
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x17 "Queen Pin"
"Sam goes undercover to find an elusive drug lord who goes by the codename 'King'."
NCIS LA bounced back from its jumbled episode last week with one that had a much stronger central plot and a very minor sideplot.
The main strand was Sam's undercover operation to identify King and destroy his operation; using a dealer he blackmails into cooperating, Sam meets with King and his henchwoman, only to be clued into the operation and discover that the woman is actually King. Clever disguise. I liked this format, the deceptiveness of King operating in every scenario as the right-hand woman: that's how you avoid being the focus and staying silently clued into every detail of your operation.
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| Anna gives Hetty the thumbs up after being assigned to work a prisoner transport with Callen |
In the episode's flyaway comments, Deeks is informed that Detective Whiting, the IAB officer who had been trying to prove he killed his partner (who was shot during the mole operation), had woken up in ICU. The worry on Deeks's face ... I do wish we'd seen Whiting this episode, but I suppose she'll be back in the future. Deeks's past isn't fully behind him yet.
And how cute are Callen and Anna? Every time I see Anna I'm pleased, and this whole Callen relationship is even better - especially since Anna is so understanding of his closed-off nature and genuinely happy to give him whatever time he need. But Hetty catching them in the act was pure gold.
VIEWERS: 9.26m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1
VERDICT: An excellent episode, a good marker of what NCIS LA can do. 8.5/10
The last time I physically cheered a show must have been the final scene of Conviction where Hayes stopped Sam from getting fired by kissing him and suggesting he claim sexual harassment - and I like physically cheering for shows. And that's what I did today, when, FINALLY, Eric and Nell had a proper relationship kiss - right after Eric shot the fleeing car and caused a badass explosion. It was building up all episode, starting right when couples' therapy began and Eric revealed to Nell the moment he "fell in love with her". You could just see the slight frown from Nell as she tried to figure out if he was being genuine or creating a cover story, so I'm glad she worked it out and it was her who went for the kiss first, as she's been the holdout.
But really, the plot wasn't anything special. I'm not sure I could even explain it really: something to do with a terrorist group wanting hard drives that contain a list of IRS agents, since they fear some IRS agents have gone undercover in their group after it got tax breaks, and the couple Eric and Nell were tracking had hacked that list under duress. That duress was in the form of the woman's sister, giving Sam and Anna something to do.
Anna's partnership with Sam, odd as it is, was fun, and she filled in for Callen while he dealt with his own mini sideplot: Hetty sent him to an address which he later found out was Joelle's home address, her real address, where she has a husband and a six-year-old son. What the hell? Talk about a shock! She also remained unapologetic for the way she used him, and claimed to know nothing of Sabatino's location (this mole arc isn't over yet). Whether this gave G the closure Hetty hoped I don't know, but it was very good nonetheless.
In the final notable part of the episode: Dave Flynn was back! Dave was one of the characters in the NCIS: Red backdoor pilot that CBS never picked up. He was the tech guy and was drafted in to cover OSP while Eric and Nell went undercover (while I don't buy Scott Grimes as a tech geek, it was fantastic to see him nonetheless!)
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x18 "Getaway"
"Eric and Nell are sent undercover at a couple's retreat."
The last time I physically cheered a show must have been the final scene of Conviction where Hayes stopped Sam from getting fired by kissing him and suggesting he claim sexual harassment - and I like physically cheering for shows. And that's what I did today, when, FINALLY, Eric and Nell had a proper relationship kiss - right after Eric shot the fleeing car and caused a badass explosion. It was building up all episode, starting right when couples' therapy began and Eric revealed to Nell the moment he "fell in love with her". You could just see the slight frown from Nell as she tried to figure out if he was being genuine or creating a cover story, so I'm glad she worked it out and it was her who went for the kiss first, as she's been the holdout.
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| Nell goes in for a kiss with Eric |
Anna's partnership with Sam, odd as it is, was fun, and she filled in for Callen while he dealt with his own mini sideplot: Hetty sent him to an address which he later found out was Joelle's home address, her real address, where she has a husband and a six-year-old son. What the hell? Talk about a shock! She also remained unapologetic for the way she used him, and claimed to know nothing of Sabatino's location (this mole arc isn't over yet). Whether this gave G the closure Hetty hoped I don't know, but it was very good nonetheless.
In the final notable part of the episode: Dave Flynn was back! Dave was one of the characters in the NCIS: Red backdoor pilot that CBS never picked up. He was the tech guy and was drafted in to cover OSP while Eric and Nell went undercover (while I don't buy Scott Grimes as a tech geek, it was fantastic to see him nonetheless!)
VIEWERS: 8.99m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2
VERDICT: So much substantive character stuff in an episode that saw Eric and Nell take centre stage, and guest stars from Dave and Anna. One of the most complete NCIS LA episodes of the season. 9/10
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x19 "767"
"Sam and Callen investigate the theft of a programme with Navy secrets as the thief tries to fly out to Japan."
Plane-centric episodes are bread-and-butter for procedural TV shows because they represent a fun 40-minute shift from a show's typical format. But they are difficult to make unique: a feeling I've had from seeing previous plane-centric episodes (two of which I can recall off-hand from two of my favourite shows Castle and Person of Interest). But NCIS LA, to its credit, moved to tell the story more directly.
By that I mean that almost as soon as the main meat of the episode's action began, the entire plane knew something was going on. Gun battles (an odd thing to engage in on a highly pressurised plane thousands of feet in the air) raging in cargo holds weren't missed by passengers, nor were air marshals getting shot and carried from one end of the plane to the other; the typical ending, however, of a standoff between good guy and villain was assured. But, for the repetitiveness of that, the resolution was unique: having the pilot swerve the plane to destabilise the bad guy long enough for Callen and Sam to subdue him.
The funniest part of the episode was Kensi and Deeks meeting with a contact of Sam's, an expert in film set prop bombs, who took to winding up Deeks simply because he could. It was hilarious.
But for all of that, nothing quite topped that final scene: Callen, Sam and Hetty sat in OSP with a whiskey, and Hetty reflecting on OSP's turbulent year. Amid other horrors, they've dealt with Kensi getting shot and ending up in a coma, a rogue CIA group trying to bring them down and Granger dying. It's been a bad year. Hopefully, things can only improve.
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| Callen is bemused at sitting in economy class |
The funniest part of the episode was Kensi and Deeks meeting with a contact of Sam's, an expert in film set prop bombs, who took to winding up Deeks simply because he could. It was hilarious.
But for all of that, nothing quite topped that final scene: Callen, Sam and Hetty sat in OSP with a whiskey, and Hetty reflecting on OSP's turbulent year. Amid other horrors, they've dealt with Kensi getting shot and ending up in a coma, a rogue CIA group trying to bring them down and Granger dying. It's been a bad year. Hopefully, things can only improve.
VIEWERS: 11.17m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.6
VERDICT: NCIS LA proved that rehashed premises can be freshened up if even a little thought gets put into them. 8.5/10
This was truly one of the oddest episodes of NCIS LA that I've seen. The investigation was kicked off when the estranged husband of a woman who works in the graphics design department of a defence contractor was shot at in the nightclub where he works as a bartender, but beyond that the investigation was fuelled by back-and-forth accusations between husband and wife. Husband, Victor Larmont, believes wife Rebecca is selling military secrets because she works late and accidentally sent him a text telling him to "meet outside" at 1 A.M.; wife Rebecca believes he's disrupting her due to a frustration that he isn't getting the amount of spousal support he feels he deserves.
The baseless accusations bounced from one spouse to the other, with various investigative sidebars which included Kensi and Deeks going undercover in the nightclub as a dancer and toilet attendant respectively, and Callen and Sam investigating a Cuban doctor who is currently the boyfriend of Rebecca Larmont.
It was utterly, utterly odd - but it turned out Victor was partially correct. Rebecca, an avid bird-watcher, would fill her cubicle with bird drawings, but those drawings would be manipulated by Alonso Raul (the Cuban doctor boyfriend), so that they hid military schematics which he intended to sell on.
The plot worked, as did the hilarious subplot of Kensi and Deeks warring over which sex talks the most on average, but this was just a (refreshingly interesting and bemusing) storyline that left me going "What on Earth ...?"
VIEWERS: 9.51m
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x20 "From Havana with Love"
"NCIS investigate claims from an estranged husband that his wife is selling military secrets."
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| NCIS discover military schematics hidden in Rebecca's bird drawings |
The baseless accusations bounced from one spouse to the other, with various investigative sidebars which included Kensi and Deeks going undercover in the nightclub as a dancer and toilet attendant respectively, and Callen and Sam investigating a Cuban doctor who is currently the boyfriend of Rebecca Larmont.
It was utterly, utterly odd - but it turned out Victor was partially correct. Rebecca, an avid bird-watcher, would fill her cubicle with bird drawings, but those drawings would be manipulated by Alonso Raul (the Cuban doctor boyfriend), so that they hid military schematics which he intended to sell on.
The plot worked, as did the hilarious subplot of Kensi and Deeks warring over which sex talks the most on average, but this was just a (refreshingly interesting and bemusing) storyline that left me going "What on Earth ...?"
VIEWERS: 9.51m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1
VERDICT: I cannot begin to fathom what was going through Joe Sachs' mind when he wrote this script. A messy divorce? Either way, this was such an odd episode I'm going to cop out and give it N.A./10
The first part of the first two-parter that will ring out NCIS LA's eighth season thrust the audience into Hetty's past, conjuring her old Vietnam unit with some great guest stars, including Carl Lumbly (Alias) and James Remar (Dexter), and bringing back the character of AJ Chegwedden. In doing so, Hetty received a greater amount of screen time than usual, and was gladly not tied to her desk like she usually is.
The homeless vet, Langston (Lumbly), transpired to be among the unit who rescued agents from Vietnam (among those rescued was Owen Granger), and along with Sterling Bridges (Remar) and Chegwedden, antagonised Sam and Callen whilst they figured out what the pawnbroker, Yaniv, to whom Langston had sold a gold bar of ransom money, was up to. And that turned out to be hunting down where Langston had hidden the rest, leaving the NCIS team with the need to retrieve the stolen $40m worth of gold bars in part two.
There were some good emotional beats too, but they were frustratingly not followed up on. This started with Eric's light PTSD following his car-exploding heroics three episodes earlier, but Sam's advice had no bearing on Eric's few appearances later in the episode. Also, whilst visiting the pawn shop Deeks found a wedding veil and suggested it to Kensi, who admitted sadly she had wanted to ask Granger to walk her down the aisle. Both scenes were very well acted, but they lacked any follow up, which was unfortunate when the episode, under 40 mins long, had a few minutes of extra run time it could have played with.
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x21 "Battle Scars"
"When a homeless vet kidnaps an officer at the VA, a link is made to Hetty's past in Vietnam."
The first part of the first two-parter that will ring out NCIS LA's eighth season thrust the audience into Hetty's past, conjuring her old Vietnam unit with some great guest stars, including Carl Lumbly (Alias) and James Remar (Dexter), and bringing back the character of AJ Chegwedden. In doing so, Hetty received a greater amount of screen time than usual, and was gladly not tied to her desk like she usually is.
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| Callen & Sam find Chegwedden & Bridges at their suspect's house |
There were some good emotional beats too, but they were frustratingly not followed up on. This started with Eric's light PTSD following his car-exploding heroics three episodes earlier, but Sam's advice had no bearing on Eric's few appearances later in the episode. Also, whilst visiting the pawn shop Deeks found a wedding veil and suggested it to Kensi, who admitted sadly she had wanted to ask Granger to walk her down the aisle. Both scenes were very well acted, but they lacked any follow up, which was unfortunate when the episode, under 40 mins long, had a few minutes of extra run time it could have played with.
VIEWERS: 9.44m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0
VERDICT: An average start to the first two-parter that will end the season. Missed out on closure for its scattered emotional moments. 7/10
The first part of this two-parter promised a rather crazy hunt for $40,000,000-worth of stolen gold bars that served as ransom money for the elite extraction unit that included the 3 tag-alongs, Granger and Hetty, but the second part failed to deliver. Instead of a rather serious hunt for what is quite a serious breach of national security (and what could technically, if discovered by anyone outside of the good and bad guys that make up the two sides of this plot, blow the lid on the US's unorthodox and probably illegal activities), everyone just ambled from scene to scene so casually it was as if they were just waiting forty minutes to do the arrest bit.
The only part of the episode that didn't hit these low notes was Deeks and Whiting's meeting, their first since Deeks confessed he killed his ex-partner to Whiting who had been trying to pin the murder on him for over a year. Now Whiting and Deeks are locked in a sort of mutually assured destruction, but one that's a little more in Whiting's favour as she has Deeks agree to help her with suspected corruption in the force. I'm glad for this arc; Whiting probably won't be back until season 9 now, but I like her character and this could get very interesting.
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x22 "Golden Days"
"OSP search for the stolen gold, but Chegwedden, Bridges and Langston continually defy their orders."
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| Detective Whiting "blackmails" Deeks |
The only part of the episode that didn't hit these low notes was Deeks and Whiting's meeting, their first since Deeks confessed he killed his ex-partner to Whiting who had been trying to pin the murder on him for over a year. Now Whiting and Deeks are locked in a sort of mutually assured destruction, but one that's a little more in Whiting's favour as she has Deeks agree to help her with suspected corruption in the force. I'm glad for this arc; Whiting probably won't be back until season 9 now, but I like her character and this could get very interesting.
VIEWERS: 9.08m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0
VERDICT: The actors did their best but only Eric Christian Olsen as Marty Deeks could lift the script from the paper 6.5/10
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x23 "Uncaged"
"A Navy SEAL is murdered, but his death is only a distraction for an old foe to kidnap Sam's wife and escape from custody."
Going into this I didn't think I'd enjoy myself: the long-standing arc that was Tahir Khaled and Sam rescuing his sister from his tyrannical rule in Sudan wasn't a very interesting storyline over the past few seasons, and Tahir's return didn't fill me with any confidence. I'm still frustrated - Khaled's inevitable escape from what was a very fun multiple car surveillance scene means he'll be popping up sometime in the future to bore me once again - but for this episode the execution was much cleaner.
Perhaps that's because all of the focus was on Michelle Hanna, who was locked in an airtight room filled with only 8 hours' worth of oxygen. A live stream to OSP was actually very interesting - you don't often see kidnappings that would give a live stream to those trying to find the kidnap victim in case they could be traced. The storyline needed Michelle's live stream to be untraceable so it was, although I remain sceptical, possibly due to my limited knowledge of tracing video links, that OSP wouldn't have located her way before Michelle's 8 hours were up.
And they were up. I wasn't sure if they'd go down the route of killing off Sam's wife, but they did. It was a sad scene and very atypical for the show, but beautifully edited to keep us guessing right to the very end. LL Cool J did a great job selling Sam's pain, and this is going to lead us terrifically into the season finale.
VIEWERS: 9.06m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0
VERDICT: Better than predicted with a heartbreaking ending. Should add an extra dimension to the finale and to season 9 as well. 8.5/10
The season finale of NCIS LA was as brutal as the episode previous in which Tahir Khaled killed Michelle Hanna; in this, Sam Hanna gave Callen and then Sabatino the slip in order to not only exact his revenge, but retrieve Michelle's body, hijacked by Tahir in transit to the morgue. And Sam managed both, the former achieved when Tahir blew himself up with his suicide vest, and the latter achieved shortly afterwards. The episode was intense; Sam unleashed was unpredictable, heartbreaking and terrifying. LL Cool J pulled off the intensity perfectly; I now no longer want to anger LL Cool J.
Besides the excellent plot, this episode does win some other awards:
Going into this I didn't think I'd enjoy myself: the long-standing arc that was Tahir Khaled and Sam rescuing his sister from his tyrannical rule in Sudan wasn't a very interesting storyline over the past few seasons, and Tahir's return didn't fill me with any confidence. I'm still frustrated - Khaled's inevitable escape from what was a very fun multiple car surveillance scene means he'll be popping up sometime in the future to bore me once again - but for this episode the execution was much cleaner.
Perhaps that's because all of the focus was on Michelle Hanna, who was locked in an airtight room filled with only 8 hours' worth of oxygen. A live stream to OSP was actually very interesting - you don't often see kidnappings that would give a live stream to those trying to find the kidnap victim in case they could be traced. The storyline needed Michelle's live stream to be untraceable so it was, although I remain sceptical, possibly due to my limited knowledge of tracing video links, that OSP wouldn't have located her way before Michelle's 8 hours were up.And they were up. I wasn't sure if they'd go down the route of killing off Sam's wife, but they did. It was a sad scene and very atypical for the show, but beautifully edited to keep us guessing right to the very end. LL Cool J did a great job selling Sam's pain, and this is going to lead us terrifically into the season finale.
VIEWERS: 9.06m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0
VERDICT: Better than predicted with a heartbreaking ending. Should add an extra dimension to the finale and to season 9 as well. 8.5/10
NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x24 "Unleashed"
"Sam goes rogue to get revenge for Michelle's death."
The season finale of NCIS LA was as brutal as the episode previous in which Tahir Khaled killed Michelle Hanna; in this, Sam Hanna gave Callen and then Sabatino the slip in order to not only exact his revenge, but retrieve Michelle's body, hijacked by Tahir in transit to the morgue. And Sam managed both, the former achieved when Tahir blew himself up with his suicide vest, and the latter achieved shortly afterwards. The episode was intense; Sam unleashed was unpredictable, heartbreaking and terrifying. LL Cool J pulled off the intensity perfectly; I now no longer want to anger LL Cool J.
Besides the excellent plot, this episode does win some other awards:
- Longest Phone Call A Police Or Federal Agency Couldn't Trace - 102 seconds
- Best Improvised Because-I-Didn't-Have-The-Ring-On-Me Wedding Ring - a hand grenade pin
- Most Badass Proposal: Kensi casually borrowed a hand grenade from a cop, unpinned it, chucked the grenade in a bomb detonator thing and then got down on one knee and grabbed Deeks' hand.
Peak NCIS LA, and with Sam's sabbatical to spend time with his kids and grieve, we have a lead-in to season 9. Good stuff.
VIEWERS: 9.36m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2
VERDICT: At least one giant gaffe in the episode, but the rest was solid, intense and even funny when it could be. Good stuff. 8.5/10
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
WEEK SEVEN --- Deeks: "So we're really doing this? Two dudes on a bench. Deeks and Granger. Greeks and ..."
WEEK TWENTY-THREE --- Nell: "Welcome to NCIS Los Angeles. We be crazy."
WEEK TWENTY-SIX --- Eric (about Nate): "Miss that guy. Don't see him often enough."
WEEK TWENTY-SEVEN --- Callen and Anna (singing to wind up their terrorist passenger): "You're the one that I want! Oooh ooh ooh! COME ON ASAKIM!"
WEEK TWENTY-EIGHT --- Lincoln Stern: "That's not what Sam said. Don't like to contradict Sam."
WEEK TWENTY-EIGHT --- Lincoln Stern: "That's not what Sam said. Don't like to contradict Sam."
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