This week’s episode of NCIS starts with a man killed in an explosion by a RPG. This man turns out to be Ducky’s best friend from his childhood, or so we are led to believe. It is soon revealed in autopsy that the man’s dental records prove him to be a john doe. This was discovered because the man had his original two front teeth, Ducky knocked out his best friend’s in a fist fight in their youth. We are then brought to a flash back of a fond memory the two had of his friend throwing him a surprise going away party for Ducky before his stint with the Royal Army.
Abby learns that the victim from the car crash was Samuel Colpepper who, at the time of his death, had classified troop deployment information. Angus, Ducky’s friend, inherited a hotel chain from his family and had been in town for business. Not finding the connection, Gibbs suggests Ducky use his vacation time to return home to the UK and look for his friend, who has gone missing. It is shown in a flash back that the last time the two men had seen each other was at Ducky’s going away party, and it ended in a fist fight.
Ducky and Bishop arrive in London at Angus’s hotel and are allowed to search his office. In a flashback, we see Angus’ wife, who is not his wife at the time, giving Ducky his first bowtie to which Ducky says he is not the bowtie type. Angus gives Ducky a scalpel to which he quips he hopes to never see a cadaver again, it is also hinted at that Ducky and Angus’ wife had a love connection. A business partner of Angus informs Gibbs and DiNozzo that Colpepper and Angus had been having issues leading them to now suspect Angus in the murder. Members from a dossier, the team recovered from Colpepper’s wreckage, shows names of servicemen that have been killed in ways that look like accidents, but one name is of a serviceman still alive.
Gibbs and McGee go and locate the other name, and they reach him just in time to save him from an allergy attack that would have claimed his life. Another flashback shows that Angus and Ducky’s fist fight was over Magee, Angus’ wife, and afterwards Ducky never returned back to his hometown. All the sailors on the list the team found were all Albanian American, the odds of that being 1/10000. They also found Angus in the bottom of the river. The man who was Angus’ right hand man turns out to be an Albanian mafia member that specializes in assassination .
The assassin holds Ducky and Magee hostage in the hotel and is about to kill them until Ducky nicks one of his arteries with the scalpel Angus gave him and makes him confess in order for Ducky to save his life. He confesses to everything, and Gibbs and the team take down the ringleader, the business man from the early scenes. The episode closes with Magee and Ducky reminiscing and reconciling over their lost love.
The episode was constructed excellently to give us a rare glimpse into one of the most intriguing characters on the show. Ducky always has so many stories to share with the team and yet we really know nothing significant of his past. Considering that Ducky has been on the show since its first episode, this writer has always wondered how he came to be the man he was today. This episode finally answers many of the questions. We get to see why Ducky never married and also why he never stayed in his beloved England. The heartache he felt over losing the only woman he has ever loved drove him away from home and eventually into NCIS. For the first time in 12 seasons, we finally get a chance to connect with the good doctor on a very personal level, and it was done in great fashion. Ducky gives Magee the ticket he purchased for her to leave with him so many years ago, leaving the question if she will become a recurring character and Ducky’s new love interest in episodes to come.
Episode Rating: 8
