This was definitely a fun hour of NCIS: Sydney.
It’s been a minute since we had some quality Bluebird content, and NCIS: Sydney Season 3 Episode 17 was an ode to the nerds with killer drones, gaming, and Sonya.
In a classic Man vs. Technology plot point, by the end of the hour, it’s maybe best to stick with the humans for now.
As an opener, my heart sank a bit when we caught a glimpse of the crime scene. It was pretty gruesome seeing poor Tegan bleeding out like that after the drone sliced her carotid artery.
She was just a sweet, nerdy teenage transplant who was sneaking out of the house to have fun with her friends and get a breather from her parents, and then she wound up dead because of some government project that was meant to be deadly.
I can’t decide if it’s better or worse that she died because of something like this. If someone had full-on murdered her and left her there like that, it would’ve been so sadistic and grim.
But this time, we got to lay the blame on what amounts to a killer robot.
My frustration with Tegan’s father was that he clearly worked for the government on top-secret projects, yet he had all this information lying around for anyone to see.
It’s hard not to consider that if he had kept his work under better wraps, Tegan never would’ve found out about the drone and used it in her competition with the other gamers.
Of course, it all goes back to the government getting into this billion-dollar bill with a company to create an autonomous killer drone, and that’s a terrifying thought.
No machine needs to be autonomous to the point of locking in on a target and being incapable of shutting down until after it kills a person.
Poor PJ almost ended up exactly like Tegan, or worse, because he tinkered with the drone to make it less dangerous, and it repatched itself and considered him a threat for his tampering.
Speaking of PJ, I loved how we were able to circle back around to Marvo, and they incorporated him on this case. He can be quite a character, but seeing him in “Uncle Mode” was genuinely sweet.
It’s clear that he’s all that PJ has, that he had a deep understanding of how PJ functioned, and that he took protecting the kid with all his might seriously.
And even when he can give the cops a hard time on his own, he knew the best thing for PJ and even to honor Tegan was to get the full story out there about the drone, PJ stealing and tampering with it, and what really happened that night.
And it was so nice to hear that to PJ, Tegan was a superhero, his best friend who protected and looked out for him when others bullied him and caused him harm.
It added that extra bit of emotion to the case, continuing to humanize Tegan through the impact she had on others. And it did something similar for PJ. Because all I wanted was for them to ensure that he would survive that ordeal with the killer drone.
He was such an inspiring character because when it seemed hopeless and like they were fighting a losing battle, he was willing to sacrifice himself to ensure his uncle, Evie, and DeShawn were okay.
PJ may be an anxious kid, but he’s also a brave one, and I can’t help but think he was channeling some of Tegan for that.
Sydney knows how to bring the fun alongside the action, so watching them do whatever they could to escape this killer drone made for some intense moments, but also some amusing ones.
Everyone diving under desks as the sentient drone scanned the room before blasting its way out of the office made me chuckle.
And DeShawn and Evie were really wracking their brains trying to avoid it in that building. I can at least give them points for creativity for figuring out that the safest bet was crawling through the vents.
It’s probably a good thing that the drone apparently couldn’t identify anyone through metal, at least not guaranteeing its primary target.
But that’s where we had Trigger and Blue come into play to really shine.
I”ve been craving some Blue content since NCIS: Sydney Season 3 Episode 2, frankly. She’s taken a backseat for most of the season, and it’s felt odd when you’d expect a bit more follow-up.
I also wanted some Blue and Trigger content. Apparently, my desire to see the two as a pairing is a foolish game these days, since they’ve been more keen on pushing Trigger and Evie.
But it’s still fun to watch the two nerdiest members of the team working together, and this drone gave them both the opportunity to do so and put their combined skills to use.
I love the Tech Geek squad! Give me all Trigger and Blue all the damn time!
What was fun about how they defeated the killer drone was that it relied a bit on some old-school tech.
Trigger’s pipe bomb, using his own analog-only built drone, combined with Mackey’s piloting skills, is what they used to blow the thing up.
In a battle of tech, sometimes the new, flashy stuff isn’t always the best. You can’t hack the classics, and all that good stuff.
I love it when there’s an appreciation for the roots of technology rather than the constant desire to outdo oneself with something more elaborate.
Of course, I also loved that Blue has the true respect of the gaming community, especially given how nervous she was when she had to go in to talk to the gamers.
My favorite moment was Blue sitting in the backseat like a kid nervous about her first day of summer camp, with Mackey and JD like her adoring parents, giving her a pep talk.
When NCIS: Sydney leans heavily into the familial humor, and especially the whole Macksey being totally married thing, it never gets old. I love it so much.
Blue was precious going inside trying to impress everyone, but once she showed off her skills at the game and shared her Deathbird handle, it turned out that she was a real legend. And everyone loved her.
But defeating that drone and getting justice for that fallen friend, Tegan? That sealed things. It’s a small thing, but Blue continuing to find her people after everything she’s dealt with brings a smile to my face.
Also, the cute, flirty scene after she unplugged Sonya and drank his beer?
Sydney really is playing with us when it comes to these two! They’ve really upped the ante when it comes to baiting Macksey, shippers. It’s not just me noticing this, right?
Over to you, NCIS: Sydney Fanatics.
Blue, Drone fun. Macksey, there’s so much to discuss. What was your favorite part of the episode?
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