The moment every NCIS Tiva fan has been waiting for has arrived after 20 years. If we thought Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva’s (Cote de Pablo) engagement in Episode 4 was going to be the peak of their relationship in NCIS: Tony & Ziva, then Episode 7 certainly pulls the rug out from under us. Even though it doesn’t include a ring, the episode involves something these two characters were never able to really do: talk about their feelings for one another. And it all kicks off with a child psychologist.
Tony’s Storyline Feels Abrupt and Underdeveloped in ‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ Episode 7
The scene in Episode 7 where Tony finally looks within himself and identifies his feelings is picture-perfect. The child psychologist, Archie (James Lance), realizes that Tony’s agitated behavior around him suggests that he needs to get something off his chest but doesn’t have the mental tools to do so. Subsequently, Archie employs methods he usually saves for his child patients, and through a game of chess (the therapy of play), he is able to coax Tony’s feelings out. Considering Tony’s childlike demeanor, it’s a wonder that no one ever thought about bringing him to a child psychologist before, but the way this scene turned out was beautifully fitting
However, only two episodes ago, we saw Tony lying about his emotions and mental well-being to both Ziva and her therapist, Dr. Lance (Terence Maynard), during the five-year flashback. Since Episode 6 mainly revolved around Tali’s (Isla Gie) story, this is the first time we return to Tony’s emotional arc after that particular flashback. So, it feels like Tony just jumped from denial to emotional intelligence after one conversation, even if we know that they were technically five years apart. With the way the progression is presented in the spin-off, Tony’s arc suddenly takes a significant turn with very little preamble to set us up for it. We may have seen him grieve Henry’s (James D’Arcy) death, but there wasn’t any real hint of emotional development regarding Tiva’s storyline.
The Dual Timelines Are Falling Flat in ‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’
Tony’s arc is where the pitfalls of the dual timeline approach in Tony & Ziva appear. Since there is a decent time gap between the last time we saw the couple on the flagship show and now in their spin-off, the use of flashbacks is definitely important in how the team expands on these two characters’ stories and their evolved characterizations. But it can also result in moments like these, where the two ends of Tony’s emotional development spectrum are placed virtually next to each other, even though we know, chronologically, they are years apart. Without the meaty narrative beats in between that set up Tony’s transformative scene, it only serves to undermine the impact of his revelation.
In the past timeline, we’re still at the point when they are engaged, so we don’t even know why they broke up yet, let alone the work that Tony does to get to the point of being comfortable sharing his feelings. With only three episodes remaining in the first season of Tony & Ziva and a central espionage mystery to still wrap up, the show needs to prioritize fleshing out the narrative beats that get Tony to this point in his character development. Subsequently, the past needs to be resolved so we can finally understand the backstory and undercurrents of emotions that tie into Tiva’s current dynamic and thus Tony’s part in it.
‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ Needs To Develop Tony and Ziva’s Arcs Equally
But what’s confusing about Tony’s underdeveloped storyline is that the spin-off managed to do justice to Ziva’s arc while using the dual timeline effectively. Over the span of the first few episodes, Tony & Ziva fleshed out Ziva’s PTSD during the five years and placed the scenes thoughtfully next to her therapy sessions, where she addresses her growth in baby steps. The entire process felt earned and was paced delicately, allowing Pablo’s performance to shine while Ziva’s characterization felt more dynamic than it had ever been in NCIS. Meanwhile, even though Weatherly gives us a provocative performance during Tony’s grieving scenes and the more vulnerable ones during the two different therapy sessions, the proximity of the transformation simply doesn’t translate as anything other than jarring.
Clearly, just because Tony voiced his feelings doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have more emotional growth left. But before Tony & Ziva jumps into the rest of his development, it needs to focus on the past timeline and give more context to the Episode 7 moment of transformation. Unfortunately, just replacing an adult psychologist with a child psychologist isn’t enough to fully justify Tony’s growing emotional intelligence, even if the scene by itself couldn’t have been executed more perfectly. It was definitely about time that Tony verbally registered his feelings for Ziva and faced his own fears, but the story still deserves more screen time to compensate for its abruptness.
