The loss of Leon Vance is felt throughout NCIS Season 23 Episode 14, but while it’s there, we also get a focus on the team as they all deal with grief in their own ways.
We’re used to Fleet Week being a messy time of the year for our NCIS team, and this episode started the way that we would expect.
There were plenty of drunken sailors around and, of course, there was a murder, but this calm before the storm brought its own espionage twist.
Back to Basics — With Goats!
For the most part, the case of the week is back to basics. The traditional storytelling format, with the red herring and then the real villain explained, is there.
I’m not sure anyone was surprised to find out that the sorority girl was the one behind the murder of the petty officer.
There’s always something iffy about fraternities and sororities in these types of shows, so as soon as a sorority was involved, part of me just knew.
There was a point when I suspected the PR guy called in to help get information out, but that one was just a little too obvious, and I’m glad NCIS changed routes at the very end.
We got plenty of red herrings, and not just the PR guy. With the best friend and the second sorority girl being pulled in for questioning, it helped to create a more in-depth case and an intriguing investigation.
It also highlighted how dangerous technology and research can be in the wrong hands, and how everyone should check the people offering money to test a theory.
It’s so easy to fall into traps or into scams, but how did this smart college girl not figure out that her research was being used for perilous reasons?
The use of the ink was interesting because who would suspect that tattoo ink contained a toxin?
If it wasn’t for the fact that all of these sailors ended up at NCIS headquarters and that Jimmy can tell the difference between drunk and ill, the sorority girl could have easily gotten away with it all.
I’ll admit that while I knew the goats would come into the end in some way, it was a fun addition.
Poor McGee having to put out a bolo for goats, which definitely cannot be tracked.
Farmers may want to think about tracking in some way.
For the sake of the episode, it worked that there wasn’t a way to track them.
Not only did it realistically offer a look at some of the wild antics sailors can get up to during Fleet Week, but it also offered a running joke that came to a resolution we needed.
At first, the mention of nanotechnology took me out of NCIS and into some sort of sci-fi world, but this is realistically just how far technology has advanced, and it will be dangerous when it ends up in the wrong hands.
I have to say when, because that’s going to happen, and that’s probably why it hasn’t been heavily focused on.
My only complaint is that I don’t think I really understood why the sorority girl was testing all this nanotechnology and then selling it to the highest bidder on the dark web.
Usually, we get a long explanation, and that was missing from the end of this episode. When it comes to college girls, though, the simple need for money is the easiest explanation.
A Beautiful Tribute to Vance
There will be a lot of focus on the tribute at the very end of the episode, and it was a beautiful and touching moment with them all gathered around Vance’s desk.
However, that was just the end of an episode filled with moments.
Kasie cried over the machine not working, and it was raw and human. The last machine Vance approved for her lab wasn’t working properly, and it’s almost like she feels that the last item was wasted.
Hopefully, that machine proves valuable in the next episode, because we all know that technology can be finicky with updates. This is why robots can’t take over just yet!
But the entire moment was just perfectly handled, considering Kasie’s personality. The potential loss of the last item Vance approved is like losing him all over again.
We got to see Torres, McGee, Palmer, and Knight pretty much just move forward.
They have all faced loss before, and while this one is big, they know they need to face it.
Sure, there are feelings of guilt at times, and I get a sense that some of them are burying their pain, but there is also a sense of pride.
Vance went out probably the way that many of them think they will — in the line of duty — and they honor that.
Parker is the one who feels the loss the hardest, and my heart broke for him.
He didn’t quite know how to deal with his grief, despite going through loss a lot recently with the murder of his father and finding out everything about his mother’s story.
Yet, this one hit differently, and it’s all due to the way he and Vance were angry toward each other for so long. There’s clearly a sense of lost time, and that brings guilt.
The entire storyline involving the dead sailor and the best friend being accused of murder is set up in a way to help Parker.
With the entire team understanding that loss, Parker gives him a moment at the very end of NCIS Season 23 Episode 14.
How do you go on when your best friend is no longer by your side?
In this sailor’s grief, Parker realizes the best way to handle that loss is to keep the deceased’s memory alive through stories.
The tribute at the very end in the office wouldn’t have been possible without this moment in the autopsy room, and it helps to make Fleet Week feel a little more important for a year.
This is all just the calm before the storm, though, with the weight of Vance’s loss felt heavily throughout.
Parker mentioned that there is an interim director, and then he went on to say that there will probably be five more.
It feels like this is setting up for drama and frustration for the rest of NCIS Season 23, as the agency tries to find someone to fill Vance’s shoes.
We all know there is only one person who can do that, but McGee probably isn’t quite ready to accept that. He needs to grieve first, which allows interim directors to create tension until the season ends.
This is where we pass it over to you!
We love to hear what you think of the episodes. Did this hour of NCIS tick all the boxes, or was there something missing in the tribute to Vance? Let us know in the comments!
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