We started watching this continuation of “The Troll,” hoping to discover what would cause a nice young computer geek to blow himself up on a bus. We also wondered which of the NCIS favorites might get killed, as suggested by the show’s publicists. If you have been reading the comments to this blog, you will know by now that Jie Sheng guessed it right today. He was the only one to figure out who would be killed and leaving the show.
We don’t want to ruin this second of three episodes that conclude season Twelve, so we won’t say too much. Suffice it to say that we believe this episode is reminiscent of all that is best of NCIS. The writing by Gina Lucita Monreal is stellar, and kept us at the edge of our seats until the very last second. The directing by James Whitmore Jr. is flawless. Last week’s episode was heart rending as we saw a boy radicalized by Internet chat rooms. Tonight’s episode was more of the same as Gibbs and crew deal with more children who grow up too fast. In our past careers, we both worked in the justice system to stop gangs from ensnaring children into drugs and violence. For the most part, gangs “trolled” the neighborhoods to find youth who were disenfranchised from their families. Now, and we say this to parents, the terrorist gangs are now the world, and as NCIS has portrayed so succinctly, they use every social media trick, “trolling” the Internet, for hearts and minds willing to commit terror acts in the name of twisted ideology. It is scary. The show depicts the darkness with realism and sadness.
Because of Gibbs’ loss of his wife and daughter, these kinds of episodes are really emotional, not so much for Mark Harmon the actor, but for those of us who are sucked into the drama of the episodes. We are impressed with the way this trilogy is coming together. We suggest that those of you who are recording these episodes, begin with The Troll and then, The Lost Boys, so that you get the benefit as the story develops. Next week, Neverland, completes the arc and is the final show of this season. What surprises will be in store for us?
Be Blessed, Diane and David Munson
It’s way out of the jurisdiction of NCIS. Why should they be involved?
Remember, the first episode of this trilogy, began with the death of a Navy Ensign. As is common in this day, NCIS works with NSA, DOD, FBI, and even the CIA as they pursue the terrorists who killed her and who continue toward their ultimate goal. While we watch the NCIS group conduct their investigation, the other agencies are often conducting parallel inquiries, with coordination conducted by representatives assigned to liaison functions.
I find it weird they don’t say that in the story. It’s clear the other global agencies addressing the threat are akin to the FBI.
Also, I wonder why Arabic and multi-skilled Bishop was not sent along to Cairo.
I was waiting for your blog post tonight. As I was watching tonight, it kept rolling through my mind is all of this really happening at this level. I knew that two of you would address the issue. How sad parts of our society have become in this age of technology.
Are you guys going to review the latest NCIS: New Orleans episodes?
There is a limit to what we can do. As we’ve stated in the past, we usually pick one of the two shows to critique and since we’ve started with this trilogy, we’ll finish the season next week with “Neverland.”
I will just say the NOLA episode is a teeny more Navy related.
NCIS matched the low in their ratings same as last week. I thought the last two weeks shows were a little better than that. I believe there are too many crime, terror drama shows especially on Monday and Tuesday nights and I think the three NCIS series are wearing the viewer out.
John make an interesting point about the number of crime shows. We’ve said before that we don’t like shows that are continued.
My wife, who is also a huge NCIS fan that is feeling let down by this seasons show, brought up an interesting thought about the slippage in the ratings.
That being the number of shows that have contained homosexuality this year. She feels that a large portion of the military and conservative viewers have had enough of liberal agenda being forced upon them. Many of those viewers support Israel and with Ziva gone there has been no connection to Israel in this years shows. Not even a mention of Mosad or Israel at all. She also brought out another point. Ned’s death was not the earth shattering event that the other NCIS actors are hinting to in twitter and in interviews. She thinks Gibbs will be the target and reported as dead in next weeks show to flush out the bad guy and will the big carry over into the next season before he reappears. Her opinion not mine.
John’s wife (via John) has suggested several options that might explain why NCIS’s ratings have been dropping this season. Any, or all of them might be factors. The impact of Zeva’s departure is still being felt.
I’ve no arguments what sexual orientation the characters may have. About the Israel part, that has always fascinated viewers, and not just in NCIS. And yes, I dont get why they remember Kate and not Ziva.
When does ncis season 4 begin?
With Gibbs getting shot, is there a continuation of this story line to a 4th episode?
Assuming you mean season 14 which begins in September, 2016. Filming begins in July. Gibbs was shot at the end of season 12, but he usually recovers. It was carried into the beginning of season 13. If he is ever killed in an episode, we’ll know the producers are ending the show.
Three new agents to replace Tony? The hand writing is on the wall for Bishops departure. Will she just go away or be the next female agent to die on the job? On another NCIS NO. Brodie Played by Zoe McLellan will not be back with cbs calling her departure a creative decision.