#slsrs

My initial gut reaction is that this was an episode that had roughly two great scenes, and that most of what came in between them was filler.

Is my view harsh? Perhaps.

Am I Densi-biased (because the two great scenes, to me, were the Densi phone call just before Kensi destroys her phone and the final scene on the rooftop)?

Maybe...but I don’t think so in this case. I love all of the other characters as well (eh, jury’s still out on Moseley, but I really love everyone else), and I’m as happy with a great Callen and Sam scene, or a Neric scene, or a Hetty and Callen scene, or a team action sequence as I am with Densi scenes.

It’s just that, in this case, most of what was going on outside of the two Densi scenes was either bland and forgettable (i.e. having Moseley repeat nearly the exact same information over and over about how telling the team anything about Kensi’s mission would be risking national security/their lives/etc.) or it was fairly nonsensical (i.e. having the FBI agent in charge strictly instructing Kensi that she was NOT to act as an agent on the case, just to try to reach Kevin on an emotional level, and then treating her as if she was an agent the entire time she was there).

And as far as the case itself went, there was a fair bit more nonsense in the writing there as well. Plus a big question was raised for me - Kensi supposedly dated Kevin for “three months ten years ago, it meant nothing” as she tells Deeks. Yet, the FBI found no other connections/relationships/friends/etc that he had made in ten years other than Kensi and his own sister?! Was he living so solely for his service to have had no one else in that entire time that would mean as much as a brief relationship over a decade ago?

I know it was probably a plot hole in the writing, but it (perhaps unintentionally, perhaps intentionally) set Kevin up to be an incredibly lonely, closed-off individual, and while it made sense that he’d then be primed to be sucked into the plot that the faction was trying to carry off, it also made me incredibly sad for how lonely he must have been. And then to meet the end that he met just seemed like it was really piling on the sadness.

All in all, I wanted more nuance in that whole section of the episode - more of the sister (Tiffany), more of how she and Kevin related to each other and the bond that was forged between her and Kensi while they tried to reach out to him. Though the ending moment at the silo, where they’re looking at each other and Tiffany just knows that Kensi was responsible for her brother’s death, even if Kensi really wished she could’ve prevented it - that was a well-done gut punch.

But agh...what this episode did right, it really did right.

That phone call had all the echoes of the “Blye, K.” phone call in season three, but with so much more depth and meaning behind it now - all of the nuanced evolution of their relationship was in Deeks’ panicked babbling and Kensi’s amused/frustrated “just stop talking.” 

He knew, I think, before the call ever connected, what she was going to do. And she knew he knew it. Didn’t make it any easier on either of them.

(And if ECO keeps getting to toss chairs around, that’s fine by me - he looked damn good doing it).

It’s this moment, I think, where the tiny fractures in their relationship really start - this is the beginning of what will form the larger cracks and fissures that appear by the season finale (which I’ve seen hinted at in spoilers from later in the season).

Before now, any time Deeks talked about walking away from the job, doing something safer, maybe having kids, etc. it was always couched in a smile, a joke, a feeling like “there’s still time to talk about it later.” Now, they’re both starkly facing the fact that there might not be any more time, and up against a do-or-die deadline, they want decidedly different things.

Which leads to that final, heartrending conversation on the rooftop. They’re pretty bluntly honest here (”How long do we keep doing this?” “You tell me, you’re the one that wanted to stay in.” “I don’t know.” “Well that’s just...great.”), and the writing and performances in this scene are absolutely amazing.

It’s a frank discussion of very serious issues for their relationship and neither the actors nor the writers shied away from showing every little micro-detail of how hard it is. They’ve outlined the crossroads they’re at, but they don’t know where to go from here. It’s very important, I think, for where I’ve heard that they will be at in their relationship later in the season that this conversation raises a TON of issues for them, but offers no easy answers.

Heck, it doesn’t really offer answers at all.

Yet, at the end, as everything fades to black, they’re wrapped up in each other...which gives me hope for the long run. It’ll be a bumpy road, but they’ll get there.

Eventually.

Callen’s ex, who turns out to have had her real identity completely scrubbed by the CIA more than 20 years ago (a move Callen seemed surprised by, and that he noted is rarely done) comes bursting back into his life after escaping from being bound and blindfolded in a dungeon-like room and tormented by a group of men who she thinks belong to the rogue CIA group she also once was in.

They later turn out to actually be part of a nefarious business syndicate that was simply working with dirty/compromised CIA agents who would protect the syndicate’s interests in the Middle East by providing both intel and muscle in difficult situations. They’re trying to convince her to go back in with them on their next op - if by “convince” you mean kidnap and torture.

It takes a good deal for Callen, and by extension the team, to believe that she’s telling the truth - but eventually they do, and the race is on to protect Jane/Beth/Joelle’s husband and son from the syndicate’s armed thugs. I’m going to gloss over recapping the specifics of the op because I want to focus more deeply on the relationship and character development “nuggets” sprinkled throughout the episode.

It’s pretty much a given that the team will succeed at getting the “innocents” - i.e. Mr. Joelle and the couple’s son - to safety anyhow. The details of how are not exactly important. Except for one - in order for them to be safe, they have to think that Joelle (or, as they knew her, Beth) died trying to put an end to the syndicate.

It was interestingly ambiguous as to whether Callen was the only one on the OSP team that knew she’d lived - Sam might be clued in, but we don’t see Callen tell him, and it was filmed/framed in such a way that I’m leaning towards him not knowing. Moseley might, but I’m not sure that Callen would have filled even her in (her new office may have transparent walls, but Callen likes to keep things opaque).

In S8 I had convinced myself for awhile that the show was going to do something super-interesting and dark and have Michelle be part of the rogue CIA group and have been long-conning Sam, whom she may (or may not) have come to truly love over time, and that her death would have been faked as part of a larger, long-term story arc. They didn’t end up doing it, and while I’m glad on the one hand that they didn’t make Michelle into a villain, on the other, I still would have very much preferred her alive even if it meant she’d turned out to be a rogue agent. The ending she got was very very much a Do Not Want for me.

This plot with Joelle/Beth/Jane sketched in how such a plot for dark!Michelle could have been done, if the show had decided to go that route. It’s just some interesting food for thought.

In fact, though it’s Callen’s ex-girlfriend that drives the plot action of the episode forward, Joelle’s past connection to the team also intertwines with Sam (and Michelle), given that they were the ones who first introduced her to Callen - and Joelle knew Michelle first, before either Sam or Callen had met her. It’s possibly what gives Joelle the chutzpah to bring up Michelle with Callen when they’re doing surveillance on Mr. Joelle and their son (i.e. when she makes the comment about “is that what you told Sam after Michelle died?”).

Callen looks appropriately pissed - but I cannot imagine the deep reserves of stoicism and patience it took for Sam to allow Callen to hide Joelle, even temporarily, on his boat - to let her into what has become his new home, and act like it didn’t ruffle him at all. That’s next level zen, right there. (Compare and contrast to Callen, who was crankier than usual for the entire episode, especially whenever Joelle brought up Michelle, Anna, or his now-demolished dining room table).

It’ll be interesting to see what - if anything - happens with Joelle/Jane/Beth, her family, and the syndicate in the coming episodes. I’m assuming that the unresolved nature of this arc is because something bigger is being set up for further along in the season, but we’ll see.

First, Asakeem’s very presence in the episode’s plot sets alarm bells ringing for Kensi. The look on Daniela’s face the instant Kensi realizes who’s at the center of this week’s case was utterly devastating. She shutters her expression almost instantly, putting her professional, “agent-face” back on - but for a split second, there was nothing but rage, undercut with a little bit of panic, in her features. Kudos to Daniela for conveying a great deal of emotion with the briefest of looks.

Asakeem’s inclusion in the storyline was tee’d up earlier though, and not just in the “previously on” segment, but also by Mama Deeks. During the World’s Most Awkward breakfast with Densi, Mama Deeks, and Trainer Guy, Mama Deeks casually mentioned that Kensi “almost got herself killed last year...” The moment was almost glossed over, because the scene almost immediately goes off in another direction and focuses on Deeks’ embarrassment over his mother’s relationship with her trainer, and his clear desire to get out of the restaurant immediately and at all costs. But right there is another little reminder of what Kensi and Deeks almost lost in that operation when Asakeem escaped. It’s another little pebble on the growing pile of Densi’s unresolved issues and feelings about how their personal and professional partnerships intersect.

[Side note: I am very happy to see that the writers are giving Deeks and Kensi a fairly well-paced, well-written story arc here. They’ve undergone major traumas in the past several seasons, some of which haven’t yet been fully dealt with but have simmered away under the surface of their relationship. What happened with Asakeem was part of it, but it goes further back, all the way to the White Ghost, really. If they’re going to find a way to work together and be fully in this relationship, they’re going to have to actually work through their individual and joint issues from the past. It seems they are going to be doing a fair bit of that this season. Fingers crossed.]

There were wonderful, small moments throughout the episode that dealt with Kensi’s (and, more tangentially, Deeks’) reactions to Asakeem’s reappearance. Namely, the post-briefing check in near the start of the episode, and the scene on the beach near the end when Kensi and Deeks watch Asakeem pray. The pain is evident on both of their faces, but Deeks’ voice quietly resolved when he says “Baby, you gotta let it go.”

The questions are - how can she/they? Has Deeks done so already? If so, how? How do they both move forward from this moment?

Stepping away from Densi for a moment and turning to the episode’s other painful plot thread - let’s talk about Sam for a minute. I can’t even begin to imagine how cripplingly and utterly complete the pain of dealing with his first anniversary without Michelle must have been in order for him to get as drunk as he did and call out sick. Both of these things are uncharacteristic of the quiet, strong person the show has proven him to be - the person who might normally find a way to work through the trauma.

But there are some things too big to work through. Sometimes they just stop you in your tracks and punch you in the gut (and sometimes it’s your partner who punches you in the gut - I have to say, Callen’s approach to fixing Sam’s hangover was...aggressive). I thought that, punch aside, Callen took just the right approach with Sam - he was firm and forceful without being unkind. He didn’t show Sam any pity, just got him up and working which I think he realized was the best thing he could do for Sam at that point.

I can’t help but thinking that Sam had a different kind of gut punch coming later in the episode though, when he had to go undercover with Moseley as his “wife.” Just the very fact of being in that scenario, right on/around his anniversary, must have been incredibly painful. Not to mention the fact that Moseley called him by his full first name at one point during the op - and it was done in such a way as to seem/sound fairly intimate and personal. It was all for the benefit of the guys they were trying to fool - but for Sam to be in that position given his circumstances? It was most likely excruciating.

Minor Character Roundup:

Hetty - Doesn’t really belong in the Minor Character category, but is here because her screen time in this episode was so brief. Linda Hunt made the most of it though, delivering her defiant lines with gusto and making it clear to her captors that they don’t have the better of her, even if they think they do.

Sidney Jones - Loved all of her interactions with Nell, from the snarky to the sweet. (Hearing about their childhood Nancy Drew detective games made me smile - I pretty much devoured the Nancy Drew books when I was a kid). And I got a chuckle out of her calling Eric “Chicken Legs.” Would love to see more of her as a recurring character - great way of expanding the show’s universe.

Moseley - Again, putting her here is more due to screen time than actual overall character status. She was surprisingly good with kids - and then, when she revealed the existence of her own son, that became less surprising. She was solid going undercover with Sam as well.

Chegwidden - Had a great little moment with Callen at one of Hetty’s many homes that helped reveal a bit more of the motives and methods for her recent disappearance. Nice exchange between them near the end of the episode - would have liked to see more of him in the episode, and hope we will in future.

Things kicked off with an exciting cold open - the music chosen to underscore the fight as Pietra took out the three guys in the bar added a level of flair and energy to what was already a really well choreographed sequence. It was well staged/directed and the actors and stunt performers really pulled it off well.

I greatly enjoyed Eleanor (ahem, “Ellie”) and wished we could have seen more of her. She definitely had a lot of personality, and I agree with her about Tiny House Hunters - after I inevitably end up binge-watching six episodes I am always torn between loving the houses and wondering how anybody can realistically live all smooshed up like that for any length of time. I hear ya, Ellie.

It was great to see some switching up of the partner-pairings - with Deeks off helping Guy, it was Kensi’s turn to take Hidoko along for a field trip (last week, in Fool Me Twice, she was with Sam investigating the location where the Syndicate held Joellethane). It’s like Hidoko’s getting exposure a little bit at a time to how each member of the team functions - it’s letting her see how they work, both individually and in a unit, in a way that Moseley doesn’t really get to experience. I think/hope it’s helping Hidoko bond with and appreciate the team and see how what they have is special.

Annnnyway, I really enjoyed her working with Kensi - they fed off each other well, shooting ideas back and forth and really building on each other’s insights and trusting each other’s instincts. Great to see a pair of kickass ladies working together to get stuff done. 

Back with Callen and Sam, they’ve been forced into suits (which neither of them seem to like, but they both look sharp) and into playing Moseley’s bodyguards as she tries to get to the root of the case at the Brazilian Consulate with moderate success. Their scenes together throughout the episode were good, solid, and felt a bit more like the Sam and Callen of old - this episode we weren’t dwelling much on Sam’s recent losses or Callen’s romantic past. It was just about working the case, and the boys seemed to be back to their normal banter and snark - it was kinda heartwarming to hear, actually.

I particularly liked the bit about Callen picking up a girl at a bar “like The Riven” but in Georgia (as in the former Soviet Republic of...not the US State of...), and how when Sam asked whatever happened with her, Callen’s answer was “she tried to kill me” and Sam essentially kind of said “somehow, they always do” (or something along those lines). It made me laugh and made me realize that Sam seemed a bit more like himself this week, which is progress - on a very long road, but progress nonetheless.

In terms of the side plot, Deeks had his own thing going on this week - after pulling himself off of the main case to go and help Guy with his stolen property. There wasn’t too much focus on the specifics of getting back the bag - Deeks calls in a favor from someone else he knows at LAPD and manages to find it and get it released early from processing. Rather, the premise is an excuse for Deeks to spend time with his mother’s trainer/boyfriend.

Their interactions are mostly played for laughs - Guy meditates and remains unruffled while Deeks chatters and flutters around him, clearly uncomfortable with spending that much one on one time with someone who is romancing his Mom. There was a minor nugget of information Guy dropped regarding how much Roberta worries about what both Deeks and Kensi do for a living and how hard it must be to live such a dangerous lifestyle as their job requires. I’d think that it was another little bit of foreshadowing for what I’ve heard comes later in the season for Densi, but Deeks barely reacts to it - walking away complaining about $14 mango juice instead.

(Though, to be fair, that’s an atrocious price for mango juice).

The episode stinger provides a mixed emotional bag - some sweet tenderness with Deeks seeing Kensi’s injuries from her fight with Pietra (another fight which was awesomely choreographed, by the way - the fight choreo this whole episode was on point) and fussing over her, but also Kensi revealing that Guy’s sketchbook held an image of Roberta that was like “Rose in Titanic,” which made Deeks squirm and cringe. All in all, I wish they’d stayed in the tender moment a little longer, especially since Deeks and Kensi spent pretty much the whole episode apart, but I did think the sketchbook thing was funny and it made for a good button for the episode.

Side Note: I would have loved for there to be more space/time in the episode for Kensi and Pietra to have a real conversation (or at least one where Pietra isn’t aiming an RPG at someone). There was a tantalizing little tidbit Kensi mentioned when trying to talk Pietra down - it was about how she’d also lost her father as a teenager and “done some awful things.” Makes me wonder if that was during the time she lived on the street for a year that we heard about a few seasons ago and has never really been mentioned again. Hmm....