Tonight’s show was filled with powerful emotions and stands as one of our favorites this season. It was a night of nostalgia and tender feelings. While trying to solve the murder of a Marine, who in the end was trying to help a weaker person, we are exposed to Gibbs’ dealing with his dad’s aging. This has been a year when David has quietly listened to his dad’s complaints about losing his driver’s license.

David particularly enjoyed the lighthearted banter between McGee and DiNozzo about the proper role of the junior partner. When Gibbs ordered that McGee had the “point,” David immediately shot back with, “That’s a rookie’s dream come true—to be in charge.”

The rookie always gets stuck with washing the car, working the night shift, or doing surveillance while the senior partner is home sleeping. David recalls when as a rookie, he phoned the office to report he’d found a witness who could provide great testimony. Back then, stenographers took down sworn statements. When David requested that a stenographer be placed on standby while he brought in the witness, his senior partner told him none were available and David needed to take a holographic statement. He was instructed to stop in the boss’ office and request a holograph machine. Dutifully, David arrived at the office with witness in tow and requested a holograph machine. The whole office burst into laughter. You see, a holographic statement is a handwritten statement, and there is no such thing as a holographic machine. McGee is not the first rookie to be harassed.

The writers use a fabulous technique to push forward the suspense about why Jack Gibbs is desperate for his son Leroy to meet his WWII “angel.” The scenes are told in flashback and are filmed in black and white. The drama reveals Gibbs’ father as a US Army Air Corps fighter pilot who becomes lost while flying “Golden Angel.” Diane’s father served in WWII in the same service. David’s uncle also fought in WWII, in the Pacific. They inspired us to write our latest thriller, “Stolen Legacy,” which releases today. It’s interesting to us how tonight’s episode intersects with our lives. In our new novel, we use a similar method in bringing WWII alive to our readers as Federal Agent Eva Montanna races to discover who is targeting her Grandpa Marty. Has she made an enemy who dares to hurt her family or is Marty’s secret past in the Dutch Resistance the reason. Check out this link for more info:   https://www.dianeanddavidmunson.com/books/stolen-legacy.shtml

On a final note, NCIS has announced Emily Wickersham will join the show as Ellie Bishop, a new agent. We’ll see if the dynamics of a fresh character can make up for the loss of Ziva. We started reading in different sources all this past week that Ziva could return. Cote de Pablo is quoted as saying something similar. Is it all a ruse?

Be Blessed,  Diane and David