Across 14 seasons, NCIS: Los Angeles delivered plenty of danger, but few episodes left a lasting mark like the Season 4 finale, “Descent.” The episode pushed the series into darker emotional territory, focusing less on action and more on the psychological cost of the job.
Captured during a mission gone wrong, Sam Hanna and Marty Deeks are separated and interrogated. While the details are restrained, the emotional impact is unmistakable—especially when Sam is forced to listen, powerless, as Deeks suffers. Seeing the usually unbreakable Sam show fear and vulnerability for his partner stunned viewers and reshaped how fans saw both men.
The aftermath lingered for seasons. Deeks carried visible trauma, while Sam’s protectiveness deepened into something closer to brotherhood. “Descent” mattered not for shock, but for proving that even the strongest bonds are forged through pain—and survive it.
