The writers of tonight’s episode deliver a case of a questionable death in a decompression chamber and a mixture of Valentine’s Day references. Several nice things occur in tonight’s episode. Abbey spreads cards and flowers to her teammates and we are treated to more of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. We have missed his gutsy courage in difficult times. The rest of the team, Tony, McGee, Ellie, Abbey, and Ducky all play a critical role in a more balanced way than we’ve seen. The final results are solving the brutal case with some twists and turns.

David especially enjoyed the plot because a sleazy lawyer is exposed as being totally corrupt. So justice is achieved, which many times is lacking in life. Law enforcement is always frustrated when a witness ‘lawyers up’ and refuses to be interviewed. It happened on tonight’s episode, but in the end, the NCIS agents achieve victory over the depraved lawyer. It was interesting for David to see the ultimate motive for the death was to prevent the victim from exposing a cocaine smuggling scheme, which used technology that had failed for it’s intended Defense Department use.

We don’t want to discuss the episode too much for the sake of those who will watch it later. We also want to know what viewers think of this week’s disclosure by the producers of NCIS, that they are looking to introduce as Tony’s replacement, a female federal agent named Tess, and described as “quick-witted, sarcastic, shrewd,” and “two parts bulldog, one part sweet kitten.” Apparently, she is being transferred from New York’s Counter-Terrorism Unit. She will be introduced in Season 13 before Michael leaves the show. What will be the effect of the addition of a second female, and a tough one at that? What will happen to Ellie’s character?

We will see how Gibbs and McGee handle melding the team without Tony. Avid viewers can look forward to two more episodes this month. “React” airs on February 16 and will feature Joe Spano as Senior FBI Agent T.C. Fornell as the NCIS team helps the FBI solve a kidnapping case. Then on February 23, Scottie Thompson returns in Loose Cannon” along with Jon Cryer, who plays Doctor Cyril Taft. So there are some dynamic shows coming up to enjoy.

Be Blessed, Diane and David Munson