It’s almost redundant to say that NCIS: Origins is one of the best shows on primetime.
The series has found its rhythm, and NCIS: Origins Season 2 Episode 17 reminds you just how special it is, balancing procedural storytelling with humor, strong character work, dynamic relationships, and action.
The continuity can get a bit wonky when you try to apply it to the original series. However, Origins still does an impressive job of threading its own storylines together for its specific universe.
But it still gives us enough content to reflect on what we know of the characters, or at least Gibbs’ life during NCIS. It’s not always perfect, but it is compelling, which is what matters most.
The hour strikes an ideal balance. It’s the humor that NCIS: Origins is really pulling off well this season, especially coming off the first season, wherein the constant criticism was that it was “too dark.”
Even as the team tackles a case involving a dead lawyer, a bomb, and a cult leader, the office antics add levity without undercutting the stakes or serious tone of bigger plots.
And unlike many veteran series cutting out half the cast for budgetary reasons, even when Origins takes an hour to center one of its characters a bit more, it doesn’t come at the expense of the others.
Cliff Wheeler was very much at the center of this hour in many ways. They revisited his ongoing arc with Jason and his uncertainty about what to do with a teenage son at a crossroads.
That could’ve easily been a throwaway storyline to give Wheeler some depth.
But Origins instead threads this little, seemingly innocuous plot point through the entire season, and it still ties it to another plot point in an interesting way that works.
Who would’ve thought Wheeler’s issues with Jason would segue into the ongoing storyline they’ve had with Abe Pruitt?
And after bringing all of these little pieces of the season together, we have many things to examine. Mike has reasonable concerns about how susceptible Mason has been to Abe Pruitt’s manipulations. He still doesn’t see Pruitt as a terrible, manipulative person.
It speaks to just how lost and broken Mason is that he’s still caught up in Abe’s web. The Franks brothers have such a complicated relationship, and Pruitt’s influence certainly further complicates that dynamic.
Jason has been giving Wheeler a run for his money as a troubled teen and stressing him out all season long. Mary Jo has been dealing with the brunt of that stress, too.
But so much of Wheeler’s ongoing arc on this series (one that has quietly become one of my favorites) is that people make snap judgments about him and what he’s capable of, and there’s so much that lies beneath the surface.
He’s more than a man in a suit who sits behind a desk, and it’s one thing for his colleagues to mistake him for that all of the time, but it’s another for his son never fully to grasp who he is as a person. And that changed here.
So much of Jason’s attitude has stemmed from this misconception about his father. He’s assumed that he’s quiet, meek, and weak. But when he saw Commando Cliff in action, it gave him a new respect for his father.
His father isn’t just the guy hassling him about grades. He was a badass who commanded an agency and earned others’ respect. And he’s a man who takes charge in a crisis, who doesn’t run away from scary events, but rather towards them.
Justin has been aimless, unsure of what he wants out of life.
Yet in a moment that could’ve felt saccharine, NCIS: Origins strikes the right balance. Justin is realizing that he might want to be like his father.
I loved that he was actually of use during the investigation, helping to decipher the illegible notes. Hell, I loved how Kowalksi wasn’t taking any of his disrespect, and neither was Mary Jo. It really does take a village, and it was nice to see Justin come around.
At this point, he could be a nice addition to the office, serving as an intern of some sort. And that’s how Origins made me invest in Justin Wheeler, some annoying kid I otherwise wouldn’t have cared about.
Also, thanks to him, we got Wheeler throwing punches at a gun range. Wheeler storming in there like a man on a mission already had me cracking up. But him, Gibbs, and Randy brawling was hilarious.
Wheeler wasn’t going to take the disrespect, and he’s right about being scrappy, and Gibbs and Randy always back each other. But Mary Jo chewing them both out in the locker room was priceless!
Mary Jo really does run that entire office, and when she’s not in charge, things go to hell. I love how no one can argue with her.
To be able to command a room like her and Kowalski — the hold they have on this office, the power they wield, it’s one of NCIS: Origins’ greatest elements.
The case itself was great because we’ve been building up to something like this for a great portion of the season. Westmont has been a thorn in their side, especially Mike. So killing him off was such a big move.
Linus could not have anticipated just how much chaos he’d bring about by doing it at the NIS office like that. With a lawyer like Westmont, it meant the suspect list could be a mile long.
And they had some nice throwaways, like attempting to connect his death to his affair.
But ultimately, it went back to Abe Pruitt.
Pruitt’s influence feels almost limitless. By brainwashing Linus to kill Westmont and exposing all of these complications with how Westmont conducted himself, especially by sleeping with the AUSA, Pruitt got a mistrial.
Surely, he’s going to become a problem again. He got off scot-free, and now he’s off to brainwash some more people without facing any consequences for the multiple bombings and deaths now. I kind of like that he’s in the wind, and that he’s this looming threat out there.
He’s brilliant, works the hell out of loopholes, and it’s fascinating to watch, making him an interesting adversary. Pruitt has this way of shaking things up and then standing back to watch the chaos.
And he succeeded in that during this hour, which was delightfully chaotic.
Somehow, amid all of this, they managed to spread the news that Gibbs and Diane had broken up, and it was hilarious watching it spread. Kowalski strategically told Gail, knowing she’ dget it around the whole office before the day was through.
But one of my favorite moments was Mike telling Lala.
The specific dynamic between them and how they understand each other never ceases to fascinate and endear me. He knows about the complicated feelings between Lala and Gibbs, so his sharing the news was more than to ensure she didn’t say the wrong thing.
With Mike, there’s always this unspoken “you good?” that comes with these interactions, and I love that.
Everyone was concerned about Gibbs and felt he was deeply affected by this breakup, but he was fine. Like, he cared about Diane, but he didn’t love her the way that he should’ve because he’s barely affected by her absence in his life.
Other people had stronger feelings about this breakup than he did.
But then we got to the final moments with Gibbs and Lala, and these two are driving me insane. They always talk around things with each other, and so much of their relationship is just a series of missed conversations and silence between all the things they won’t say.
She showed up at his house to spend time with him. With Diane out of the picture, Lala was allowing herself to consider what they could be again, maybe not right away, but eventually.
She wanted to be there for him at the end of the day, implying he needed someone to unwind with and share his day, but we know that’s BS, since Gibbs and Diane spent more nights apart than together, right?
Lala was really putting herself out there in that moment, in his space. And then we had Gibbs, whose facial expressions and body language were screaming something entirely different from his words.
What were we supposed to do with those two?
He was completely unfazed talking about Diane, and he was looking at Lala as if he was ready to devour her. But then he tells her he’s done with relationships and can’t do them anymore.
He reiterated that “done” so heavily and with such emotion that it felt finite. It’s no wonder Lala took it as rejection, not just in that moment but permanently.
Those words would suggest that there’s never a time when he can go down that path again, effectively closing the door on a possibility when Lala was maybe allowing herself to hope again.
He’s a mixed message king!
He doesn’t even take enough time to process just how much of himself he shares with Lala that he doesn’t with others. Now, two of these fundamental aspects of Gibbs are deeply linked to Lala.
The reason he builds boats is something he shares with her.
And the rules that he couldn’t even share with Diane, he now shares with Lala, too. Rule Number 13: Never Ever Involve Lawyers — that has a touch of her in there, too.
Lala is everywhere; her essence seeps through nearly everything we know and understand about Gibbs. And this dance that they’re doing, I don’t know what to make of it.
Chit-Chat from the Bullpen:
- Mike ranting and raving about lawyers, taking it out on everyone, and then apologizing was so amusing. I’m glad we have this version of Mike, who does acknowledge his behavior and tries to check himself in real time.
- Randy remains a treasure. Loved seeing him drinking Caf-Pow, and his caffeine crash-out was funny. Also, that line delivers for “Bald mother–” Caleb Foote continues to do some criminally underrated work on this show. His comedic timing is immaculate.
- They really put the locker room to use this episode. We spent so much time in there!
- I love how the entire NIS team becomes infinitely hotter when they get into fights. Everyone throws hands in this office. They really are a scrappy bunch.
- Gibbs hurling himself at Lala to protect her. Dalton Basement shielding Mary Jo. Wheeler going scorched earth to get to Justin. We love protective men.
- In Justin’s defense, I never understood why “Dick” was the popular nickname for “Richard” either.
Over to you, NCIS: Origins Fanatics!
I cannot be the only one who loves Wheeler! Also, how are we feeling about Gibbs shutting the door on him and Lala AGAIN? Let’s talk all things NCIS: Origins below!
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