Full Spoilers Ahead:
Last week on NCIS we were introduced to Sergi Mishnev, a new enemy of Gibbs and the NCIS team, who is on the hunt to bring them down. While escaping from Russia Gibbs delivered a fatal shot to Sergi only later to find out that no body was found and to assume he survived. This will be this season’s main ongoing story as we delve into episodes in CBS’ flagship series. This week we are promised a heart-tugging story involving Director Vance.
This week’s episode starts off with a father and daughter discovering a dead naval officer while on tour in Washington D.C.. This sends the team on the case of the “polite mugger” who has been mugging people in the area. The dead officer’s phone goes off in the evidence box and DiNozzo answers the call of the President of the United States, much to his surprise. We find out that the dead officer is Commander Wallace, a friend of the Presidents and played in the basketball game every Saturday.
During an interview with McGee and DiNozzo we learn that Commander Wallace was raised with money and wore a priceless look. Also the Commander was staying on a yacht during his and his wife’s separation. Abby discovers a face on a photo using a reflection off the Vietnam memorial of the suspect who turns out to be a local college student. Once confronted with murder allegations he confess to the muggings but reveals the knife he used was a rubber training knife that could not have killed anyone.
Director Vance shows up at Gibbs house to inform him that during a regular checkup the doctors discovered spots on his chest that they believe to be advanced lymphoma. He confides in Gibbs that he is fearful for himself and is kids making it without him. DiNozzo and Bishop go search the Commander’s yacht and discover the Commander has been entertaining another woman or board his yacht. They assume that the other woman is a woman he has known since they were midshipmen in Annapolis Courtney Reid. The BOLO the team sent out for Reid leads to a local sheriff calling to inform the team that they found Reid’s vehicle submerged in a lake and are searching for the body. Vance and Ducky have a very touching moment after the doctors inform Vance that they are almost positive he has lymphoma.
McGee and Gibbs go to Reid’s office and talk to her boss about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Meanwhile, Vance is shown in his office reflecting on his life with his family and everything he is scared he will miss out on. He brings in his children’s nanny to his office and asks her to take care of the kids while he is in the hospital for his biopsy. DiNozzo and McGee bring back in Mrs. Wallace this time into the interrogation room to grill her on her husband’s disappearance. The team learns that a woman Reid has been checked in to a hotel under an alias using Commander Wallace’s credit card. Once McGee and DiNozzo arrive at the hotel they spot Reid outside and she runs only to be cut off by DiNozzo. When they cuff her she screams for the people around to call the cops as if she believes she has been pursued by people imitating law enforcement.
Reid finally trusts the team and informs them that she and Wallace were planning on getting married. She also tells them that the company she works for was selling the government unsafe software that was easy to hack and could cause national security. Now with a new lead and a new suspect the team returns to her company and they arrest her boss and CEO for the murders. Abby comes in looking for Gibbs and Ducky who we learn is at the hospital to support Director Vance. Ducky comes out and informs everyone that Vance will be okay and the doctors learned he was cancer costless.
The episode this week was filled with a murder investigation that felt more of a filler between the scenes involving Director Vance and his facing of his own mortality. The struggle of leaving behind young kids was a very powerful image that anyone with kids will sympathize with strongly. DiNozzo and McGee’s back and forth with McGee’s habits of face timing his girlfriend brought on a great closing scene of DiNozzo apologizing for answering McGee’s phone to a lewd image of her. Once again the bond between Vance and Gibbs is shown with the hospital scene with both Ducky and Gibbs leaving work to be by their friend’s side during a time of need. It is not very often we get a happy ending in life so NCIS delivering one on a Tuesday night was a welcomed change of pace for many I am sure.
Episode Rating: 7.5
