NCIS: Hawai’i returned from its extended hiatus with a dark episode that was also emotional for viewers. “Broken” opened with a bunch of Marines playing volleyball on a beach — who all quickly collapsed, bleeding from the ears. That made it clear that some sort of supersonic device had been used against them, bringing Jane Tennant’s NCIS team in for their latest investigation that led to an experimental weapons project. It took a lot booby traps, specialized ear plugs and Earnie getting captured by the suspect, but eventually Tennant and her crew caught the responsible party. But contrary to everyone’s fears, the suspect didn’t have a high and mighty evil plan. All he wanted to do was kill his former fiancé’s new boyfriend and convince her to come back to him. That theme of unrequited love opened a door for some character exploration amongst the main cast — not all of it good.
Brace yourselves, NCIS: Hawai’i fans—this one hit different. In a gut-wrenching episode packed with emotional landmines and unspoken tension, relationships were tested, alliances wavered, and fans were left wondering if things will ever be the same again. Let’s unpack this powerful episode, analyze what really went down, and explore how it could shift the dynamic of the entire team.
Was Maggie Using Tennant All Along? Special Agent Tennant follows a franchise precedent for great female characters, but in “Broken,” her job was in jeopardy. The recent revelation that Tennant’s long-time mentor and friend Maggie Shaw was working undercover for the Chinese MSS was taking a personal toll on her, but it was an even bigger deal to the U.S. government. So while her team was busy, Tennant spent most of the episode sitting through an inquiry to decide if her intelligence clearance had been compromised.
The inquiry determined that Tennant could keep her job; however, it didn’t do anything to quell her inner turmoil. The fact that Maggie might have only been using her for access to classified information made Tennant question their entire relationship. At the end of the episode she quoted what her divorce therapist had told her years before: “The way that a relationship ends doesn’t discount what happened before.” While it was clear that Tennant knew that to be true, it was also clear that she’s not over Maggie yet.
Why Is Ernie Such A Debbie Downer? While Ernie was trapped with their suspect, he tried to talk his captor down. “Broken” revealed that Earnie had been divorced once too, and he convinced the man that he couldn’t make someone choose an unrequited love. In an effort to appease the suspect, Ernie also said that that love was like an echo — meaning that it will come back from somewhere — and that worked to keep him alive long enough for the team to breach his location and rescue him.
Later in the episode, though, he made it clear that he didn’t believe anything he’d said. Ernie stated his real stance when he told Lucy that “Love is pain.” It’s clear that something terrible happened to him in the past, and it will be interesting to see if he can overcome that in his current relationship with his HPD girlfriend.
This episode flipped the emotional script in a way few procedural dramas dare to do. With deep character work, painful truths, and powerful performances, it reminded us why we fell in love with this team in the first place—even if they’re not quite whole right now. The emotional weight may have been heavy, but that’s exactly what made it brilliant.
