NCIS: Origins Season 2 Episode 10 Proves the Kids Are Alright in a Crisis

It pleases me immensely that Kowalski is the backbone of NIS.

The mere idea that this one man can call for Kowalski-Cocktails and everyone falls in line because his insight is respected and he is revered is something you don’t see often.

And NCIS: Origins Season 2 Episode 10 not only delivered that but took us further into Gibbs’ journey into leadership.

NCIS: Origins is one of those series where every time I think I have my favorite characters locked in, we’ll spend time with someone else, and they make my heart swell three sizes.

Kowalski is one of those characters who seemed endearing enough during NCIS: Origins Season 1, but as time went on, the sheer value in his character and what he provides to those around him sneaked up on me.

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Opening the hour with him so attuned to the comings and goings of the station that he knew he needed to do a pulse check, get everyone on the same side, so he could ensure they worked cohesively as a team and family, made me genuinely smile.

But it’s the reverence they have for him that got to me most. He has an eye for seeing things that others don’t, and on top of that, he’s their elder. It’s nice that, in this universe, what mattered and accounted for something.

We get so stuck in hierarchies and placements now that people often don’t value the insights everyone brings, regardless of station, status, or age.

It was a nice little reality check for Gibbs when he pushed back against Kowalski, but Mike corralled the troops for Kowalski Cocktails, no argument: all leadership and respect.

But what’s been nice about this series the entire time is how much it emphasizes consistently that everyone has their respective roles. They genuinely function as a family.

When someone is off, then the entire operation is off, and they have to get it back on track.

And people tend to turn their noses up at things like team-building or outings, but there’s a reason those things matter. You can’t function at full capacity as a team when you can’t even unwind as one, or tap into each other in other formats.

NIS thrives because it functions as a family — sometimes it’s close-knit, and for others, like our basement dweller, it’s more like that distant cousin you only see at family reunions twice a year, but it’s still family.

And “Lean on Me” plays into that beautifully by also nodding at the “next generation.”

It was a subtle way of showcasing just how integral Kowalski and Mary Jo are to the team and what they do and bring to make the entire station function properly.

But it was also a way to put the younger members of the team to the test. Who are you when you’re away from your parents or whoever else instilled values in you?

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How do you carry everything you’ve learned out into the world — how do you apply it?

Kowalski, Mike, and Mary Jo — they’ve all given people like Herm, Gibbs, and Gail the tools they need to function in their absence or stead — but up until this bizarre case, they never really had to step out on their own and run point.

That this also falls into the same hour when poor Mike throws out his back, faced with the harsh realities of ageing, isn’t lost on either of them.

We’ve always known that Gibbs is ultimately Mike Franks‘ successor. Gibbs is Franks’ legacy.

Many of their subtle, serious moments can have that “passing the torch” effect, but someone like Franks having to stand by as his probie runs point in their HOME — because isn’t that what the office is for them?

Yeah, that’s tough. It’s like leaving the youngest in charge by default and hoping for the best.

The case was the perfect amount of anxiety-ridden because by now, many of us still have the remnants of surviving a pandemic rolling around in our heads.

There’s nothing quite like that fear of the unknown, how contagious something is, especially if it’s airborne, trying to figure out your exposure rate to something, if PPE will even help, what it could mean if you contract it, and so forth.

It’s funny how living through a pandemic, as we have with COVID, makes these moments in fictional series hit harder. Of course, it’s easier to tap into their headspace when you can recall your own.

It makes how cool and calm Gibbs remained under pressure amid that crisis all the more impactful.

Fear took a back seat to managing the situation as best as possible, and his leadership skills truly emerged, as did his ability to compartmentalize incredibly well.

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The latter is something that falls under the radar now because, compared to the first season, we really are seeing how Gibbs has become a man who hides his feelings well.

Everyone looked to Gibbs as the leader, and he reassured others on the outside that he had everything under control. But he had to do things that completely pushed him beyond his comfort zone.

Getting a lung sample from Polasco was difficult, for example.

You don’t just wake up one day and anticipate having to cut through a corpse to collect a sample, you know? And it’s hard to know what you’re looking for.

These are the moments when NCIS: Origins‘ time period adds that extra layer and tension to scenes.

Now? You’d whip out your phone, do a video call, and have someone walk you through a procedure as they watch exactly what you’re doing along the way.

But then? You have to rely exclusively on your gut and the words of someone across a line.

Vera talking Herm through recognizing what the lung even looked like by referencing a bald white biker’s sunburnt head made me chuckle.

But it worked!

Kowalski and Mary Jo, never the sort to sit on their hands, had to figure out how to cope with a scene where their mentees had to pick up the mantle — and they had to trust that they were doing everything that they taught them to do.

Fortunately, they did well.

While I would say Gary accessing a box of onions in the evidence locker, and them crashing an entire shelf while trying to save the poor doggo was a strike against Herm, he still did well in a crisis.

And Gail’s flub was not checking the basement again. However, for someone who usually comes across as an airhead, she locked in—feeding, hydrating, and anticipating others’ needs before they could even ask.

The kids are alright, indeed.

After nearly giving me a heart attack over Gary getting sick off onions and the paramedic acting as if he was on the cusp of dying, it was a relief to learn that the scary toxin was … BOTOX.

In hindsight, it really is wild that we’ve reached a place in our quest for beauty, vanity, and anti-aging that we have made injecting yourself with smaller amounts of deadly toxins the norm!

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It wasn’t The Beauty‘s level of body horror and commentary, but Origins certainly had fun with that one!

All of this was because Polasco was banging Thorpe’s wife.

Also, how ridiculous is it to use a deadly toxin to kill someone and then go to the hospital because you’re paranoid that you’ve initiated an outbreak and have it, too?

Kowalski Cocktails, Karaoke, and Gossip:

• This episode reminded me of the ER episode “Exodus,” where Carter had to run the entire department amid a biohazard situation. It’s always so satisfying to witness someone rise to the occasion when it’s called for.
• Gibbs and Lala are so damn angsty, I don’t know what to do with myself. Gibbs was all Lala thought about at first, and that phone call … they say so much without saying what they should. I don’t know how they can stand it…. that freaking phone call had ME on edge.
• Lala and Randy’s friendship is so cute to me. They’re just so sibling-coded. I loved every second of him trying to manipulate her into telling him what she was up to, and I could not stop laughing at her damn near feeling him up just for a quarter.
• Lala seems so happy with “Johnny,” and I love that and them, but I still feel like he’s a dead man walking, and my heart cannot take that.
• The crack about Mike’s receding hairline made me laugh more than I should have. He handled this humbling remarkably well the entire hour.
• Wheeler is still in his feelings about Oakley, and then he has to stand in a room with people who keep disrespecting him and his team? Justice for him!

Over to you, Origins Fanatics.

How do you feel about Gibbs and Lala avoiding the hard discussions? Are you seeing our Gibbs emerging bit by bit here?

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