3x22 - "Jeopardy" (My POV)
Original Release Date: 2nd May 2006
I do not speak English fluently, sorry for any mistakes.
SOURCE PHOTOS: Screenshots
Ziva and Tony arrive at the NCIS evidence garage with a drug dealer who has tested their patience for the last three hours. Ziva attempts to negotiate with her coworker: I will pay you to take him upstairs. Name your price. However, Tony reminds her: My rock beat your scissors.
As she guides the dealer toward the elevator, he asks: What is the problem? She responds: You are insulting, you are crude and most of all you are extremely annoying. The dealer replies: I am annoying? He is the one rambling on and on about Top Gun, giving me a freaking migraine. He continues to complain, which exasperates the young woman. She then approaches him, getting close to his face and shouts: Enough!
What is funny in this scene is that Ziva and Tony complain that they have been exhausted by the drug dealer talking for hours. This explains Zivaâs hyperbole about using a muzzle to silence him.
However, the dealer reverses the situation: He complains that Ziva does not use English expressions correctly and that Tony has exhausted him by talking nonstop about Top Gun. Both sides perceive the other as the source of the problem, within a situation of fatigue and tension.
When Ziva asks the dealer to enter the elevator, he refuses. It becomes clear that she will have to struggle with him to make him go inside.A few moments later, as the elevator doors open on the upper floor, the man is found lying on the ground, lifeless. Ziva is kneeling beside him.
In the previous episode, Abby tells Gibbs: Did you know that only five of the two and a half million deaths every year occur in elevators? It is ironic because, in this episode, a man dies in an elevator.
Ziva is sitting alone at her desk, while a security perimeter is set up around the elevator, where the team is busy doing their work. Ducky calls Tony and asks: How is she holding up? He replies: Oh, I do not know. I have not talked to her yet. Gibbs intervenes immediately: I told him not to. Right now, she is a suspect, not an investigator. Tim and then Tony try to speak up to defend her, but their efforts are in vain.
- Ducky: Come on, I mean, there is no sign of any physical altercation.
- Gibbs: With her training there would not be.
- Ducky: A reading based on visible physical evidence.
- Gibbs: A reading based on Zivaâs capabilities.
SOURCE PHOTOS: Screenshots
The boss questions Ziva unofficially, and she explains what happened.
- Ziva: I asked him several times to step into the elevator. He would not cooperate. And that is when I struck him.
They are interrupted by Abby, who starts taking pictures of them: Can you believe I am about to go to my first crime scene?
One may wonder whether Abby somewhat lacks empathy toward her colleague, who is now being accused of a dealer's death. Her excitement sharply contrasts with the seriousness of Ziva's situation.
- Ziva: Look, I know this looks bad. [...] It appears there is only one way to fix this. I have seen it in your American movies. This is where I resign.
- Gibbs: Next time you hand me your badge, be prepared to lose it.
What surprises me in this scene is that she still has her service weapon with her, even though she was sit to her desk and had plenty of time to put it away in her desk drawer. Unless she had already planned her action in her scene with Gibbs and was considering doing it.
When she hands her weapon and badge to Gibbs, given her impulsive nature, I would expect her to leave immediately without even giving him time to respond. However, she stays and seems to wait for his reaction.
I wonder whether she was testing Gibbs, by seeing how he would react to her resignation and whether he would stop her or let her go.
At her desk, Ziva is bored and does not know how to pass the time. She stands up, sits back down, and grumbles, which annoys Tony and Tim.
- Tony: Hey. Will you stop doing that? You are making me nervous.
- Ziva: How long can it possibly take?
- Tony: Well, I do not know. It is an autopsy, not an oil change.
Interesting detail: In Episode 9, where Tony is accused of murder, there is a scene in which he asks and answers his own questions in his cell, even though Gibbs is present. Here, Ziva does the same thing but in the squad room, in the presence of Tony and McGee.
While Ziva types at her keyboard, without looking up from the screen, she says aloud: If you have a question, ask it. Tony replies with a smile: I am afraid you will put the Vulcan death grip on me. He moves closer.
DiNozzo tries to create a diversion and make Ziva smile, but to no avail. He tries to bring her back into their usual dynamic. Except that she refuses it. Usually, even when irritated, she ends up responding.
He is interrupted by Gibbs, who announces that the director Shepard has been kidnapped by the deceased's brother and that they have only two hours to meet his demands. Ziva wants to go into the field to help, but Gibbs refuses and tells her to make phone calls instead.
SOURCE PHOTOS: Screenshots
While Ziva follows Gibbsâ orders and does desk work, Tim moves closer.
- Tim: You all right?
- Ziva: I am doing desk work.
- Tim: Could be worse.
- Ziva: What part of 'desk work' don't you understand?
- Tim: I know what you are going through.
- Ziva: Really? Are you making pointless phone calls?
- Tim: That is not what I mean. When I shot that cop, I felt like everyone doubted me. But after a while ...
- Ziva: Are you trying to make me feel better?
- Tim: Is it not working?
- Ziva: It is not necessary. [...] Hey. Nobody ever doubted you.
Even though Ziva does not say thank you, McGee understands that she is touched and appreciates his gesture. In reality, she had doubted him. At the time, she believed he was lying, and it was Gibbs and Tony who had to insist that Tim could never have done such a thing.
Later, the young woman decides to visit Ducky, but he immediately redirects her toward the exit, saying: I cannot discuss with you, my dear. I do not mean to be rude. You probably should not be down here.
The fact that he does not even refuse to talk to her hurts her a lot. It is not personal coldness: He is protecting the investigation and probably Ziva herself. But she experiences it as a total rejection.
By the way, I am surprised that he takes her by the waist to guide her, and even more so that she allows it. Ziva becomes somewhat agitated: I should not be here. I should not be in the field. Can you please, please tell me where I should be? Everyone is avoiding me. I mean, I am being treated like a leper. She is angry, frustrated, and hurt by the isolation.
They are quickly interrupted by Gibbs, who sends her back to her desk.
What is also interesting is the non-verbal communication between them. Ducky places his hands on Zivaâs shoulders, which can be seen as a calming gesture, suggesting support and reassurance. Ziva leans slightly on his elbows, as if momentarily relying on his presence and guidance.
When Gibbs arrives and orders Ziva back to her desk, she briefly touches Duckyâs arm at the elbow as she leaves. This could be interpreted as a subtle sign of acknowledgment or gratitude.
SOURCE PHOTOS: Screenshots
Finally, Gibbs calls on Ziva when the NCIS team must go to an airfield to deliver to the deceasedâs brother what he demands. Everything ends well: The director comes out unharmed, and Ducky concludes that the dealerâs death was caused by a brain aneurysm present since birth.
Episode rating on IMDB: 7.9/10
