As the title indicates, NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 16, “Bugs” revolves around the character of Bugs — and provides some very valuable information about him. This episode deviates from the “case of the week” format to focus strictly on the CBS prequel’s mythology, and set up the remaining episodes of the season. That’s great given that so much needs to be tied up, but it also makes it less entertaining in a few places.
“Bugs” focuses on Jamison Boyd AKA Bugs, who is alleged to be the sniper known as Sandman and whom Vera Strickland has become fixated on. When Bugs suddenly claims he wants to tell her everything, she jumps at the opportunity. But savvy TV crime drama fans know that’s a big red flag, and the episode tracks all of the fallout. It’s not the most interesting or compelling NCIS: Origins episode, yet it moves everything in the right direction for the finale.
NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 16 Reveals a Massive Bugs Twist
Audiences Will Have to Reconsider What They Know
NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 16 doesn’t have a traditional “case of the week” to follow, and that’s both a strength and a weakness. It spends the overwhelming majority of its screen time on Bugs: what does he want, why does he suddenly refuse to talk to Vera, what else does he know? There’s a subplot about a Marine reservist’s missing wallet, but that gets very little screen time and also ties into the Bugs story, so viewers who are not as invested in the Bugs mystery or in Vera as a character will find this episode to be less exciting.
But for folks who have been following along, this episode reveals a lot. Essentially, everything the team (and therefore the audience) knew about Bugs is wrong. He didn’t kill his girlfriend Melanie Hewitt and he is not Sandman; he was the spotter for the real Sandman. Melanie wasn’t sleeping with Dustin Cruz; she was trying to warn Cruz about the “mission” that Bugs and his still-unknown partner were up to. As a result, the partner then shot her directly in front of Bugs, who took the fall so the real shooter could finish Operation Sundown. All of this is not quite as dramatic as the writers want it to be — as soon as it’s affirmed that Bugs isn’t Sandman, the audience knows that Bugs will be shot and killed by the end of the episode. That ending is easy to predict. Yet there’s an awful lot to chew on.
Bugs: She died trying to stop it from happening. I didn’t shoot her. He did.
The second meaning of the title refers to three listening devices (also known as “bugs”) that Vera finds within NIS headquarters. Mike Franks immediately suspects Roger, the ex-agent whose gambling debt led him to turn sides in NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 4, “All’s Not Lost.” Yet Roger pleads ignorance, so everyone can start guessing who else has been working for the enemy. And that’s what makes this episode click. It could have benefited from another, small self-contained case to provide some contrast and variety, but what happens does fill in a lot of the big picture.
NCIS: Origins Hints at Further Tension Within the NIS Team
Could Wheeler Be On His Way Out Before Season 1 Ends?
There’s plenty of room to debate who planted the listening devices. Cliff Wheeler points out that it must be someone with regular access to the Naval base, so viewers will naturally look at all of the supporting characters. It would seem unlikely to be one of the main NIS team members, as that would prevent them from returning for NCIS: Origins Season 2. But those who are more replaceable are fair game — which only casts a little more shade on Wheeler himself. In “Killer Instinct,” a drunken Wheeler unloads to Kowalski about his problems both at home and at work, including the state of the unit.
This scene might just exist for comic relief and to remind viewers that actor Michael Harney is still a valuable member of the show, since Kowalski hasn’t had a lot of screen time since his feature episode “Touchstones.” The fact that a drunken Wheeler somehow thinks Roger is the real Sandman is definitely meant to be played for laughs. But there’s a grain of truth to it. Between dealing with his son’s behavior problems, and feeling responsible for the drama occurring on his watch, it would be easy to see Wheeler leaving in the next few episodes. He could fall on his sword for everyone else if there’s trouble because of the mole, he could quit to spend more time with his family, or he could be the mole, as he’s also pretty easy to write out. Hopefully that doesn’t happen because actor Patrick Fischler has been fun to watch — but one way or another, Wheeler has a lot headed his direction.
There’s also continued tension surrounding Franks and his attitude change. His breakup with Tish is referenced again in this episode, and he has a shorter fuse than usual, particularly when he and Gibbs visit Roger in prison. Actor Kyle Schmid is almost on the verge of overdoing Franks’ anger toward Roger — which suggests that at some point, Franks also needs some kind of reckoning and not just people asking how he’s doing. And tension inside a previously close-knit team is a go-to for TV crime drama writers.
NCIS: Origins Lays the Groundwork for a Big Season 1 Finale
Season 1, Episode 16 Is Just the Beginning
Between all of the reveals in the Bugs storyline and the way the characters interact, “Bugs” is less of a standalone episode and more a giant chunk of setup for Episodes 17 and 18. CBS has already released official synopses that prove the Sandman story will stretch across both of the remaining hours. That means Episode 16 on its own has very little rewatch value, but it does get the audience anxious and excited for whatever comes next.
The way that the season has been structured, viewers knew that the series was going to circle back to Operation Sundown. It has to, because if NCIS: Origins began as a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ origin story, then the creative team has to finish that specific story by the end of the season. Fans will want a sense of completeness and closure as regards this initial story arc about Gibbs mourning his family’s deaths and finding his team, and then the writers can go on with a new arc next season. “Bugs” provides the dramatic twist of the real Sandman still being at large to create a manhunt-style plotline, yet it also provides personal stakes for the team beyond just Gibbs. NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 16 checks off all the necessary boxes to send the prequel out on a high.
