There are some jobs you just can’t leave behind, no matter how much fun you intend to have. Working at NCIS is one of them (as is editing TV Fanatic, if I’m being honest). While NCIS Season 22 Episode 16 only lightly teased that Parker is continuing his investigation into Lily, overall, it was pretty fun. Since one of the subjects was work-life balance, I had a few thoughts about NCIS and how they could keep things fresh. I wonder if you’ll agree. Before we get to that point, I have a bone to pick about the opening scene where people were making out in their car in the parking lot while a building was up in flames behind them.
First of all, a weird man knocked on their window, and the girl, who was obviously very into her current situation, just shushed him so he walked off. Does she not watch true-crime TV? The last thing I’d be able to do is just go back to making out after Mr. Creepy came out of the fog like something out a horror movie. Then Dan pounded on their window to call the fire department, alerting them to the actual horrors in their peripheral vision. So, if my first question was why they weren’t freaked out about Father Time, then my second is what happened to Dan’s cell phone? We know the victim’s phone was burned in the fire, but I don’t recall anybody talking about Dan’s cell phone. They thought he left his lighter behind, but they never mentioned his cell phone, from what I remember.
Jennifer’s phone contained clues to their final conversations, which were unpleasant, but also highly ordinary if you’ve done any dating in the last 30 years. People argue by text all the time; it hardly means they’re going to kill their significant other. But Dan was hiding other secrets, too, which was also shocking since he was being investigated for murder. At this rate, Dan might win Boyfriend of the Year. The ladies will be lining up to date him. How he made up with Jennifer was pretty awesome. It was a full-blown apology with flowers and a necklace.
And why didn’t he tell NCIS about his momentary absence from the scene when it would have proven he wasn’t the killer? Because he was protecting a friend who made a mistake, went to prison, and was getting his life together. Dan had a record, too, from protecting his girlfriend from a stalker (come ON), and if anyone found out the two were in touch, his buddy would have been sent back to prison. Like I said, boyfriend of the year material. The first person questioned in these cases is often either the killer they overlooked or not the killer at all, and Dan fell into the second category. The real culprit was a fireman who would have been ideal for Chicago Fire as one of those annoyances who tries to take down the house out of jealousy.
Jess didn’t seem that into him anyway, but it would have been fun to see her go on a date. But as the episode revealed, dating and having a personal life isn’t easy when your profession literally hinges on life-or-death decisions. I enjoyed Robin’s attempt to get Jess and Kasie out of the office for a change, to free their minds of the things they see every day. The thing is, she doesn’t understand what keeps them so motivated.
She’s been having a hard time with Nick because he always wants to talk about work, and she’s just not interested. Maybe, if NCIS agents had a policy like every other show on TV, they wouldn’t have this problem. Isn’t it against policy to discuss cases with civilians, even sisters and girlfriends? Making things even more odd, Jess and Kasie spent their night trying to hide that they were working from Robin before pulling her into the investigation.
It was cute that her knowledge about chakras fueled their fire (great phrase given their pottery night, right?), but that seems like a huge no-no. Once the whole team came together again, she was suddenly privy to the case files and lent a hand in solving the case. That’s so inappropriate. It gave her a better understanding of what they do, but it was a narrative choice that didn’t fit what we know of this ethical team. As the format stands, we only get bits and pieces of the agents’ daily lives through work. It’s like we work with them, so all we know of the characters is through the office. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s been 22 seasons. Maybe showing a day in the life when they’re not in the office once in a while might be fun.
It seems that they would have a lot of downtime. How often are people picking off Navy folks? And if they work super long hours one week, do things cool down the next?
