Over its long run of 22 years, NCIS has undoubtedly faced and overcome many changes to its structure and cast, all while maintaining its inherent appeal. However, the latest season of NCIS may be its weakest yet, and this is more painfully obvious next to its newest prequel spin-off, NCIS: Origins.
What Origins consistently does well and what NCIS Season 22 was lacking was the introduction and maintaining of stakes that matter within the weekly cases and personal lives of the team members. The original show loses its balance between humor and gravity, leaning far too much towards the former so we don’t feel the weight of the emotions, death, and grief at the crux of the crimes committed each week. That being said, the Season 22 finale sets up the perfect way to re-introduce genuine stakes to the show, and Origins provides the perfect scaffold for NCIS to rely on to see those stakes through.
Why Was ‘NCIS’ Season 22 Its Weakest One Yet?
NCIS has always managed to strike that balance between comedy and darkness, where the dynamics between team members offered fun and laughter, while the grim cases and the grim reactions of loved ones sobered up the atmosphere. Within each investigation, whether it be season-long or episodic, there is a race-against-the-clock to hunt down the offender, where tension is ripe and humor is only a brief reprieve. However, in Season 22, comedy overpowers the atmosphere, undermining most of the tension. Poorly-timed quips and one-liners disrupt the flow of potentially hard-hitting storylines, giving the show more of a sitcom feel rather than a crime drama.
Many storylines were more frivolous than usual, from Nick Torres’ (Wilmer Valderrama) dating profile being dissected in the office to Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) selling coffee beans to take down another dad on the PTA of his daughter’s school. These arcs by themselves would work well in the show, but when they are frequently brought up during the case, especially on the field, it feels almost disrespectful to the murder victims and their loved ones. On top of this, some cases took absurd turns, like when Torres and Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) got fake-married or when McGee had to wear a ridiculous disguise, including in-your-face side-burns, during an undercover operation. NCIS’s humor used to be sly, witty remarks and a truckload of sarcasm, not these goofy scenes that elicit a guffaw instead of a chuckle. The evolution of the show’s comedy could work if they get their timing right, but we need to stop interrupting cases.
It’s not only the levity that is undermining the show’s stakes, as the show also doesn’t follow through on the more serious storylines. Even at the beginning of the season, we wondered how NCIS would navigate Knight’s new position as a REACT agent. The question was resolved during the premiere, as she immediately returned to the team, and barely addressed her break-up with Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen). Additionally, McGee’s obsessive, all-consuming investigation into the NCIS mole led to literally nothing. He poured his mental health and career prospects down the drain for his lead to not pan out. When NCIS isn’t following through on the arcs they set up, how are we supposed to have a stake in the storylines?
‘NCIS’ Should Be Inspired by Its Darker Spin-Off ‘NCIS: Origins’ That Follows Gibbs’ Early Years
Origins first aired while NCIS Season 22 was running, which is usual practice when introducing a new spin-off to the franchise. It was also easier to compare the episodes side-by-side and there was a glaring difference. Origins set up its stakes right from the beginning, which in itself is a feat for a prequel in which we know where the main characters, specifically Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon, Austin Stowell), end up in the original show. It talked about how this is a story Gibbs doesn’t tell and that it is about Lala (Mariel Molino), immediately capturing our interest as we wondered how this mysterious woman would make such a huge impact on an already world-weary Gibbs. NCIS does this with the mole storyline, but it eventually peters out while Origins ends on a strong, high-stakes note.
Much of Origins’ success with maintaining our investment in the arc, as well as sustaining the overall tension and suspense, is due to the darker, grittier atmosphere. By no means does NCIS have to transform into an equally dark show, but it can be inspired by the spin-off and implement a grittier edge all while keeping its humorous sparkle. If anything, this would probably return the series to its form from its heyday, where comedy and depth were doled out in equal, entertaining parts. Considering there is already a plan to borrow Origins’ structure of character-forward episodes in NCIS Season 23, also drawing upon the storytelling elements of the spin-off should be the natural next step, where meaningful stakes are taken seriously and followed through.
‘NCIS’ Season 23 Needs To Introduce Stakes That Matter
Taking all that into consideration, NCIS Season 23 has an invaluable opportunity to carry out genuine stakes through a storyline they set up in the Season 22 finale. The most grounded sub-plot during the season was that of Alden Parker (Gary Cole). He experienced hallucinations related to his mother’s death and, by the end of his personal arc, a criminal from his past, who was also revealed as the Nexus cartel leader, killed his father. Throughout the season, his storyline didn’t carry the weight it should have due to the more frivolous aforementioned elements in the show, but that final note certainly left a gut-punch. Season 23 needs to pull on this thread of a potential personal vendetta to raise the stakes of the show again — stakes that are emotionally charged and purposeful.
Additionally, this needs to spread out to the weekly cases. Agents cannot be talking about their personal lives on the field, or resorting to ridiculous operations to achieve their goal. NCIS worked because it shone a light on a field of justice that not many people knew of: crimes in the military and naval sector. Telling these stories of murder victims and their grieving loved ones should contain nuance, distress, and sincerity. Fun can exist in the office, but when you’re on the field dealing with human loss, NCIS needs to feel real again.
