NCIS Season 22, Episode 12, “Fun and Games” is little more than a quirky diversion for fans. The episode leans heavily on the CBS show’s sense of humor, which doesn’t always work — until making a tonal pivot in the fourth act that rings hollow. It’s not a terrible way to spend an hour; it’s just a disjointed and forgettable one.
“Fun and Games” takes its title from the fact that the victim is a member of Kasie Hines’ gaming group. The remainder of the group thus go from potential suspects to potential victims themselves, with plenty of geek stereotypes and bad jokes therein. What makes the episode better is the return of an NCIS alum who will be very familiar to CBS viewers. But like Season 22, Episode 10, “Baker’s Man,” this feels like a plot that’s just filling time in the network TV season.
NCIS Season 22, Episode 12 Is an Average Kasie-Centric Story
Audiences Don’t Learn Much That They Don’t Already Know
Kasie Hines takes center stage in “Fun and Games,” as her friend and college classmate Victor Chan is the murder victim. Obviously, the intent is to give Kasie a personal stake in the crime and provide the fans some further insight into her history. There are some reveals as fans learn how Kasie met all of her friends and get to see around her apartment. Yet there’s nothing that would qualify as eye-opening in regards to her character. There’s a fourth-act plot twist involving her mentor, but the only way audiences will look at Kasie any differently is when they scratch their heads because she’s suddenly forgotten how criminal procedure works.
When Alden Parker, Jessica Knight and Nick Torres search the apartment to see if anything happened there — which is a basic step in the investigative process, since everyone involved had been there the night before — Kasie isn’t just nervous but defensive. More than that, she immediately begins touching things in an effort to clean up, which any forensic scientist would know is also touching possible evidence. And why is she so woried? She mentions that there are certain things she doesn’t want seen, but all NCIS shows is a creepy clown head in her bedroom. That’s weird, but it’s not enough to justify Kasie’s behavior. The same character who turned the tables in Season 20 seems totally lost here — too much so to say it’s just because things are personal.
Jessica Knight (to Kasie): You know we have to treat this like any other investigation?
NCIS has routinely done episodes where someone close to a main character is involved in a case of the week — and this is not one of the better versions of that story. There’s more than one comparison to “Baker’s Man,” which involved Parker’s love interest being abducted by a drug dealer. This time, it’s someone Kasie already knows; the only difference is that they’re already dead. Elements of the plot have a very “only on TV” feel to them, such as when Parker and Torres show up at the literal last second to save Kasie’s mentor from being shot or when Victor’s killer explains his motivations in a convenient monologue. And revolving a fair portion of the episodes around a fictional collectible card game may elicit some groans from anyone who’s not into CCGs or gaming. This isn’t deep enough of an episode to truly spotlight Kasie, but it’s not serious enough to be an engaging whodunit, either.
NCIS Gets a Boost From a Returning Cast Member
Meredith Eaton & Shari Belafonte Add Personality to Episode 12
The best part of NCIS Season 22, Episode 12 is its guest stars. Meredith Eaton reappears as CDC expert Carol Wilson, returning for the first time since 2022. However, frequent CBS viewers are more likely to recognize Eaton for her starring role as Matilda “Matty” Webber in the MacGyver reboot that ended after five seasons. She brings plenty of personality whenever Carol appears on-screen — which admittedly isn’t enough. However, it’s still wonderful to see her in any capacity.
Actor, model and singer Shari Belafonte guest stars as Professor Annabel Davis, the mentor to Kasie and her friend group. Belafonte has a lengthy resume going back to the late 1970s, though to current audiences she’s best known for recurring as TMS staffer Julia in Apple TV’s hit series The Morning Show. Belafonte exudes that parental warmth that NCIS viewers expect from someone who’s supposed to be a teaching figure, and then has to shift gears quickly in her final scene, when Kasie reveals that Davis is guilty of the crimes she’s been accused of. That moment of indignance Davis has — claiming that she was doing a public service by falsifying evidence — is not quite as intense as it should be. But Belafonte certainly makes an impression.
The other members of Kasie’s friend group are unremarkable characters who all play with various “nerd” or “geek” stereotypes. And the other main character in the episode, Victor’s boss Ed Fletcher, never seems like a serious suspect even when all the evidence appears to point to him. Yet Eaton’s snappy wit and the easy charm of Belafonte make their performances stand out from the pack, and give the episode some extra pop. If “Fun and Games” had leaned more into its character development than setups and punchlines, it may have been a stronger episode.
McGee’s Subplot Goes Nowhere in NCIS Season 22, Episode 12
Another Attempt at Humor Has Little Payoff
“Fun and Games” really doesn’t need a comedic subplot, since the tone of the main storyline is so lighthearted, but it has one anyway. The events of NCIS Season 22, Episode 9, “Humbug” are referenced as Timothy McGee finds out his latest book has been leaked since Jessica Knight turned over a copy of the manuscript. Jokes about McGee being solicited by new literary agents give way to the Department of Defense taking an interest in the book. But there’s zero tension about this, because the DOD agent who briefly appears is overacting, making it hard to feel like McGee is actually in trouble. That’s reaffirmed at episode’s end, when McGee tells the team that the Secretary of the Navy is just a fan of his work. In essence, this plotline is a big “Just kidding!”
In between the two points, there are numerous jokes about the content of the novel, as it circulates around the NCIS team. But viewers are already aware of McGee’s tendency to base his fictional characters on his colleagues, so all of these quips feel like old hat. The primary gag is how “steamy” the book is, and those jokes are just downright corny, such as when Knight jokes that she had to take a shower after reading a certain section. When NCIS tries too hard wth its humor, the results are obvious, and this is definitely one of those episodes. “Fun and Games” isn’t necessarily that fun. It gets points for effort and for its casting, but this is one hour that viewers won’t remember by the time the season ends.
