NCIS Season 22, Episode 15, “Moonlit” is a strong return for the CBS series after its brief hiatus — even if its best character is a guest star. The episode has a relatively strong whodunit following a few underwhelming episodes, and also provides some key information in the Lily storyline that the writers have been teasing throughout the season. While the plot is self-contained, this is the kind of episode that can keep paying off in the future.
“Moonlit” refers to the fact that one of NCIS’ agents has been moonlighting as a private security officer, alongside a Naval Intelligence lieutenant who mysteriously ends up dead. In order to find the killer, the team has to dig into the other agent’s side job, which also creates a fair amount of workplace friction. Plus, Alden Parker gets some valuable face time with his dad. It may not be the most exciting episode on its own, yet it has a lot going for it.
NCIS Season 22, Episode 15 Brings Back a Familiar Character
Dale Sawyer Makes His First Appearance Since Season 20
The NCIS franchise is always happy to bring back characters; just ask LL Cool J about that. “Moonlit” is another episode that includes someone from the past. Special Agent Dale Sawyer, played by Zane Holtz from The Flight Attendant, hasn’t been seen on the show since Season 20, but he comes back making a strong impression. Holtz nails the right amount of smarminess to remind viewers why Sawyer isn’t anyone’s favorite, yet knows when to stop so that his character isn’t also insufferable to the viewer. That’s not an easy balancing act, since a large part of the episode relies on Sawyer’s back and forth with Nick Torres.
But Episode 15 doesn’t just use Sawyer for nostalgia’s sake or comic relief. He’s the character who has the strongest emotional arc in the hour, as Director Vance puts him on probation for taking a side job, and he sees the people he’s been working for in a different light. Sawyer is given space to mourn the death of his friend and colleague, Lieutenant Robert Mozey, and has a great scene where he opens up about still looking for himself. Some elements are predictable; with all the bragging he does about his expensive new track, viewers know that it won’t get through the episode intact. But in general, Sawyer has a complete individual story, making peace with his choices enough to rip up the business card given to him by wealthy businesswoman Kate Reynolds.
Sawyer’s character development also allows his frenemy relationship with Torres to grow, even as NCIS gets far too much mileage out of Torres referring to Sawyer as his “probie.” And it’s a pleasant surprise that Kate is played by Isabella Hofmann, best known for her role as Megan Russert on Homicide: Life on the Street. “Moonlit” avoids the cliche of having Kate be another greedy, corrupt businessperson who’s willing to kill for profit, and instead makes the relationship between her and her daughter Shayna.
The downside of that is the identity of the actual killer is underwhelming. It’s revealed to be Kate’s head of security Peter Braden, who killed his own wife Clara in what he claims was an accident, then murdered Mozey to keep him from exposing that, with the only explanation given that Peter and Clara were going through “a messy divorce.” And since Braden only has one significant scene — when the NCIS agents first meet him at Kate’s office — he doesn’t make for a very convincing villain.
NCIS Provides a Tragic Update About Alden Parker’s Mother
Parker Gets a Major Clue About Lily in the Process
The subplot in “Moonlit” is another piece in the puzzle known as Lily that NCIS started way back in the Season 21 finale “Reef Madness.” More than a dozen episodes later, Alden Parker finally gets somewhat of a clue about who Lily is, which also means the audience can finally feel like this storyline will get a resolution. The episode opens with Parker having asked Jimmy Palmer to draw a sketch of Lily, which Parker then shows to his father. The initial conversation doesn’t go well, since it also involves having to talk about Parker’s mother Eleanor — a sore subject for both father and son, but a great scene for actor Gary Cole.
Alden Parker: Maybe what you want should take a back seat to what I need.
But this argument doesn’t merely exist for drama’s sake. Parker’s father is motivated by it to eventually open up, and reveals to his son that his mother did not have a stroke, as Parker always believed. She had come home drunk with a young Alden in tow, which had started a huge fight between the spouses that ended in Eleanor leaving again. Only around an hour later, Eleanor drove her car into a tree off Route 9 and died in the crash. NCIS ends with Parker finding a news article about the wreck, and noticing a girl who looks an awful lot like Lily in the accompanying photo. Viewers still don’t know who she is, but they’re getting closer. And almost more importantly, they have even more context about Parker’s history and his relationship with his father.
NCIS Finds Its Balance Between Humor and Suspense
Season 22, Episode 15 Does What Many Other Episodes Don’t
NCIS Season 22, Episode 15 also deserves some credit for successfully being able to incorporate humor into its plotline. The show has had a more light procedural tone for a while, but episodes like Season 22, Episode 12, “Fun and Games” have struggled to make that humor fit with the rest of the story. The jokes normally stick out like a sore thumb. “Moonlit” has a few of those moments — namely Torres going back to the “probie” quip too many times — but it doesn’t feel like it’s trying so hard. The rivalry between Sawyer and Torres provides an immediate way to get one-liners in as a natural part of the investigation. They make sense because of course the characters would be making comments back and forth when they don’t like each other.
They even help drive the episode’s point home, as when they stop going after one another, that’s how viewers know that Sawyer has earned Torres’ respect. That scene will likely perplex NCIS viewers who noticed that unlike Sawyer, Torres did not destroy Kate’s business card, which implies he might consider working for her in the future. But there’s no sign that actor Wilmer Valderrama is going anywhere, and he and Holtz have built a double act that isn’t just funny, but in this episode it’s also poignant. “Moonlit” might not have the best villain, and it might not give all the answers fans want, but it offers a strong character arc for Sawyer, a great foil for Torres and some satisfying twists and turns along the way.
