Okay, I’m definitely gonna write a review for last night’s episodes because they were so great but I just wanted to ask if anyone could help me out.

In the scene where Westcott and Gibbs are in the store recounting the events prior to Westcott attacking Kersey, what was the title of the soundtrack playing? The same music was playing during the scene where they were approaching Kersey’s car.

I know it’s a long shot finding the answer to this but I figured I could use my blog to ask.

Thanks

There are a number of memorable moments in this episode:

1. The classic bullpen scene with the three Musketeers (Tony, Ziva and McGee.)  McGee and Ziva are looking at a life recorder (the Vicon Revue?) when Tony arrives.  Tony asks them what they are looking at and McGee tells him about the life recorder.  You wear it around your neck and it takes a picture every 30 seconds!  Your whole life will be able to be recorded, searched and looked back on.  Tony says that’s horrifying but it could help him find his keys.  Ziva comments that there are some moments in life that should be forgotten, like the last three months.  Tony agrees and says that he’d rather forget the look on his first girlfriend’s face when they broke up; it haunted him for years.  Tony asks how much it costs and McGee tells him that it’s not out yet, but that he will be getting one since he is a beta tester for the product.  Tony scoffs and asks McGee if Gibbs would allow him to wear something like that at the crime scenes.  ”Gibbs the man who…” Tony starts saying before he notices his coworkers faces and realizes that the man of the hour is right behind him.  ”Something on your mind, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asks.  Tony says no but is headslapped anyway. (First headslap of the season!)

2.  I cracked up when that graveyard manager(?) tells Ducky, “I hope you didn’t take up a career of grave robbery” or something like that.

3.  The scene in autopsy when Gibbs goes to confront Ducky about exhuming a non-case body.  Palmer: Gibbs, I take full responsibility…” Gibbs: “Palmer, leave.” Palmer: Done! And then he scurries away. LOL

4. Ducky almost broke my heart when he said, “why don’t you just make it permanent?” Don’t leave Ducky!!

5. I love that Gibbs allowed Ducky to voice his reasons as to why he exhumed the body.  That’s what a friend would do, not a boss.

6. Absolutely loved the scene at the victim’s house (or apartment) where Jimmy won’t give details about the exhumed body so McGee, Tony and Ziva gang up on him (LOVED it when Ziva was “cracking” her knuckles when she told McGee to close the blinds; Palmer was headed for a Ziva-style beat down LOL)

7. After Ducky’s cold case ends up being tied to the recent case, Ducky realizes that he can’t investigate anymore because now the case is active.  He thinks Gibbs is going to tell him to stop investigating so he tells him, “The horse is dead, Jethro.  I’d appreciate it if you’d stop beating it.” LOL

8.  ”There is evil afoot that must be cast asunder.”

9. While Ducky is telling the team about how the cold case victim died, Gibbs is sitting in his chair with a baseball bat.  Who are you looking to beat down GIbbs? lol

10.  I loved the bluish-green button down shirt Tony was wearing in the second half of the episode.  That color definitely works for him!

11.  Loved seeing Tony get rejected by the CO and then for the CO to be shown who’s boss by the nerd at the gun range lol.

12. Palmer coming into Gibbs’ basement unannounced and talking about Ducky, “He actually yelled at me! …like Attila the Hun!” only to have Ducky be in the basement also. LOL

13.  I know Tony is a smartass and he makes comments like this, especially to McGee, but I thought he was being mean when he made fun of McGee for not being chosen as a beta tester.  Gibbs showed up and I actually was looking for the headslap.

14.  After closing the case and being reinstated to work as the medical examiner, Ducky still managed to break my heart with his sad face.  He liked playing the role of lead agent and being out and about.  Now he’s back in autopsy

15.  I really really loved the moment when Ziva says at the end, “We are all finally home.”  Her smile and then Gibbs’ smirk when he looks at her.  Everything is finally semi-back to normal.

Well, that’s it for this episode.  I wonder if there will be any surprises along the way in terms of someone who is still not okay after the bombing.  Now that I think about it, Vance was not in this episode (am I right?)  So, is he okay or is he still shaken up about the whole thing?  I know I didn’t mention it earlier but it’s so nice to see Abby back to normal.  I thought it was hilarious when Gibbs goes down to her lab to get the latest details on the case and brings a Caf-Pow for her only for Abby to tell him that Ducky gave her one too. (She does take Gibbs’ Caf-Pow though as she pretty much chugs those things lol)

This is probably gonna be short since it’s been two weeks since the premiere.  Sorry about the lateness.  Once I get caught up, I will hopefully release these more on schedule.

Here’s what I liked about the episode:

1. The new tension between Callen and Sam.

2. The undercover op at the bank by Kensi and Deeks.  I love when Kensi plays the scorned lover; she rocks at it and it is hilarious to watch!

3. Owen Granger – I really started to like him in this episode.  He’s still a little hinky but I can at least deal with him now.

4. The mind twist at the end – who saw that coming?  I mean, grant it, it definitely did not look like the Chameleon was really shot but wow…

That’s it, for now.  Maybe when there’s a hiatus I will go back and watch the premiere and expand more on this but this is all have for now.

Stay tuned for NCIS’ “Recovery” and NCISLA’s “The Recruit”

Here is a video clip from CBS of the op in which Kensi goes postal on the bank employee.  It’s not the whole thing, just the start.

The first episode of the tenth season of NCIS took place two hours after the events of “Till Death Do Us Part” (9×24). The cleanup at NCIS is underway and Ducky is safe at a hospital after his heart attack, but the emotional toll the bombing and heart attack had on our favorite agents, is not over.

What I liked about the episode:

1. After a long summer hiatus, NCIS is finally back to fill my Tuesday nights with action, laughter and …romance?

2. Ducky lives! (I know, shocker, especially since news of his contract renewal came out like a month before the season finale episode! But, by that point, I think the writers already had woven Ducky’s health into a season-wide story arc and they just thought…why not?) I’m actually pretty excited about this story arc because this is something that they haven’t done. No character on the show has faced death naturally (and survived). It will be interesting to see how Ducky copes and if he makes any changes to his life.

3. After eight seasons, Brian Dietzen is finally a regular cast member! Which, subsequently ties in with the storyline since Dietzen’s character, Jimmy, is going to have to step it up this season and take on more cases as the medical examiner while Ducky recuperates.

4. I liked that Abby was the first one shown in regards to the survivors of the NCIS bombing. She’s the one on the team that is always cheerful and happy and, as Ziva says later on in the episode, “If anyone can find the good it is you.” That being said, seeing her so out of it and melancholy tells you that things are not okay and sets the mood for the rest of the episode.

5. Tony and Ziva in the elevator; there were so many great moments! Tony stroking Ziva’s thigh as he recalls a villain in the 1995 Bond movie called GoldenEye. (She would kill men by squeezing her thighs around their neck.) The whole “I thought the earth moved” conversation. Tony brushing Ziva’s hair out of her eyes. The looks they shared. The phone conversation with Eli. Them recounting coworkers they would NOT want to be stuck in the elevator with, laughing about it and then realizing that those coworkers might not be as fortunate as them to be alive. The look they give each other when Abby says that she thought they might have killed each other.

6. Abby – you could really tell she wasn’t okay with what happened and my heart broke for her while I was watching the episode. It pretty much was summed up in the conversation with Ziva, “I want good back” and then telling Ziva to “please, kick…his…ass.”

7. The conversation between Abby and Ziva. We rarely see a scene where it’s just Abby and Ziva talking. When Kate was there, she and Abby were buds and you were made aware of that by the number of scenes they had together. Can we get more Abby and Ziva scenes this season?

8. Ducky is another character that made me cry in this episode; especially in the scene where he was trying to convince Jimmy that he needed to go back to NCIS.

9. Okay, that scene with the FBI agent, Lorraine, trying to seduce Harper and then letting those other agents into the hotel room and then destroying that door only to be blown up by another bomb was just mind-blowingly awesome! But…how the heck did he know that he was being set up?

10. Seeing Gibbs go postal on Harper’s sister-in-law; you rarely see him go postal on people except when they mess with his family.

11. The Gibbs and Fornell scene when they are in Gibbs’ house and Fornell asks Gibbs to let him take the reigns in terms of finding Dearing because he knew that Gibbs was still hurting.

12. Gibbs and Vance. I think, in this episode, you really got the feeling that these two have finally put their differences aside and are making a go at being more friendly to each other. I loved the scene with them in Gibbs’ basement where he tells Vance about his plan to finally get Dearing once and for all.

13. The scene where Jarvis gathers the troops (Vance, Fornell and Gibbs) to tell them that the president ordered them to proceed with extreme prejudice. The first thought in my head was, if I had to choose between the Expendables cast and these four in terms of who I would not want to mess with…it’d be these four. There’s just something more threatening to me about these four than the Expendables cast LOL

14. The confrontation between Gibbs and Dearing. This was the first time that I actually truly felt sad for the NCIS villain. And I loved that you could see it on Gibbs’ face when he stuck the knife in him; he understood his anguish over his son’s death because he experienced that same feeling and is still feeling that with the loss of Kelly.

15. The ending scene. After a sad episode like that, it was nice to see the team out and about, enjoying life or just going about their daily business.

16. Ziva going postal on Gibbs while he’s packing to go after Dearing.

17. Tony saying he wished he had someone to talk to

There are only two things I didn’t like:

1. How can Ziva receive a call from her father while in a broken down, steel elevator and Jimmy couldn’t get a hold of anyone in the beginning of the episode? I realize that they may have wanted to break up the Tiva moment but that just wasn’t believable; though the ensuing conversation was funny.

2. So, Lorraine brings Harper to a hotel that is swarming with agents, and yet they didn’t notice the window in the bathroom? If they did, they should have had that exit covered, right?

Well, that’s it for my take on NCIS’ “Extreme Prejudice”. Check back later for my take on NCIS: Los Angeles’ “Endgame” and the second episodes!

Hey everyone!  Just wanted to write to let you know that for NCIS’ 10th season and NCIS: Los Angeles’ 4th season, I am back in action!  I missed writing reviews on the episodes this past season and, even though they’re the hardest things to knock out, I promise that I will commit to writing them!  That said… it might take me more than a week to finish writing the reviews for NCIS’ “Extreme Prejudice” and NCIS: Los Angeles’ “Endgame”.  I am working on them but I don’t have a laptop right now and, for some reason, I like using a laptop better than a standard computer to write the reviews; I can take the laptop anywhere like the living room where the TV is, so I can write notes as I’m watching the episode!  I just bought one that should arrive by Thursday, October 4th so until then, I can’t promise anything.  Just know that I’m going to try my hardest to get back into the game of writing reviews for these two shows that I love!

Thanks for sticking with me!

Hey everyone!  Sorry I’ve been lacking when it comes to the reviews/recaps.  I’m kinda getting bored with those and have been looking at other things that I could write about (character studies, etc.) but they take awhile to think through and write.  Needless to say, I’ve been in a lull.

With that said, I came across this website: http://www.tengrrl.com/tens/022.shtml and I am going to challenge myself to write about each of those things for the next ten days.  If you like what you read, please review!  It would be helpful to know what people are thinking when they read what I write and that way, I can know whether to continue in writing stuff like it or move on to something else.  Now, just because I’m getting bored with the reviews doesn’t mean I’ll stop, in fact…I’m going to highlight some parts in the last two episodes of NCIS and NCIS:LA that I liked in the next paragraph, so…read on!

So, the past two episodes of NCIS were “Defiance” and “Kill Screen”.  In “Defiance”, the team is in charge of protecting the Defense Minister of Bulgaria’s daughter who is studying at Georgetown University.  In “Kill Screen” a Marine is killed for having reached the kill screen of a video game the held code for hacking into the Pentagon.

What I liked about these episodes?

- both dealt with McGee’s love life…or lack thereof. In “Defiance” it felt more natural than in “Kill Screen”, where it felt forced but at the end of the episode, I really started to like it. (“Defiance” and “Kill Screen”)

- Tony looked hot in those sweats! (No, I don’t mean hot as in temperature-wise.) (“Defiance”)

-  I cracked up laughing when Gibbs shot the mainframe of the computer to deactivate the code.  Considering that he was getting annoyed at the stupid game he had to play to get to the mainframe, the shooting of it was justified. (“Kill Screen”)

- Love how Tony interceded on McGee’s behalf and set him up on a date with Maxine; I thought it was a very nice thing for him to do.  (“Kill Screen”)

On NCIS:LA we had the episodes “Empty Quiver” and “Personal”.  In “Empty Quiver”, Callen and Sam are working undercover as California Highway Patrol who are interested in joining the California Gold Taxi Service, a group of dirty cops and marines who help criminals transport weapons across the highways.  In “Personal”, Deeks is shot and the team races to find the perp.

What I liked?

- the truck heist scene (amazing cinematography/music/acting!) (“Empty Quiver”)

- the look of dread on everyone’s faces when Hetty tells them they have an “Empty Quiver” situation. (“Empty Quiver”)

- Deeks/Kensi banter in the van while scouting out for the man that will give Callen and Sam the offer. (“Empty Quiver”)

- Sam and Callen banter about not being able to banter on the bikes like they do in the car. (“Empty Quiver”)

- Kensi stuffing her face with food at the end and Deeks’ face (he was so cracking up at watching her gorge herself).  (“Empty Quiver”)

- Deeks getting shot (Sad scene but thought it was played out great!) (“Personal”)

- Kensi wanting to be there at the hospital because the last time her partner was in a dire situation without her there, he died (Dom ) (“Personal”)

- Kensi and Hetty eating Deeks’ hospital jello. (What is with Kensi and food?  Does Daniela like not eat before she goes to the set? LOL) (“Personal”)

- getting a glimpse at what Deeks’ life was like when he was little. (Poor boy!) (“Personal”)

- Cheesy but such a good scene moment: Deeks realizing that Kensi’s the target and rushes out from the hospital, bandaged and injured, and puts a bullet through the guy’s chest. (“Personal”)

- the fact that the Russians knew that to make Kensi an easy target, they had to hurt Deeks; if that doesn’t make any Densi fan squeal, I don’t know what will. (“Personal”)

- Hetty offering to be Deeks’ next of kin. (one of the reasons I love Hetty!) (“Personal”)

And that is it for today’s post.  Look out tomorrow for my first challenge post!

Okay, so as you can imagine by the title, I’m gonna cover BOTH NCIS and NCIS:LA because they were both incredible episodes tonight!

NCIS’ “Freedom”

The three things that I loved about this episode were: (1) the case, (2) McGee’s identity theft story and (3) Tiva.

First, the case.

This is the first episode I think this season where I actually really liked the case.  Domestic abuse (both physical and emotional) between spouses is a real issue a lot of people face and the way NCIS (the cast, the writers, etc.) handled it during this episode was phenomenal!  The case centered around the death of a Marine who, as the case unfolded, had been abusing his wife.  After threatening to take custody of their child away from her, she finally snapped.  Though, she didn’t snap like the team was suspecting.  She just took their child and ran away.  The REAL culprit, was the pool hall owner, a friend of Georgia’s, who, after hearing how distraught she sounded before she took Jake (her son) and ran, confronted the husband and beat him to death with one of the pool cues.  I liked how, when they thought it was the wife that killed the husband, the team was unsure of whether to press charges because they understood why she did what she did.  Now, murder is murder but in this case, you could bring in the idea of self-defense; that she was defending herself from the abuse and accidentally killed her husband.  This, if the jury found evident, could bring a murder charge down to manslaughter or some other lesser charge.  Fortunately, because it was the pool hall owner, that didn’t even come into play.

Second, McGee’s identity theft.

Question, when will McGee’s credit problems end?  First, his crazy ex-girlfriend rang his credit card bill through the roof and now he had a fourteen year old boy, who’s the son of his landlady, try to meddle in his personal life!  Though I must admit, the sentiment was kinda nice, LOL.  Of course, McGee’s identity theft spawned the ridicule and teasing of Tony.  I absolutely love McGee/Tony scenes, they are hilarious!  (I wonder how many takes it takes for them to actually shoot one full McGee/Tony scene because, if I was there, I’d be dying every take. LOL)

Third and finally, Tiva.

After two episodes where the Tiva scenes weren’t as up-to-par as the beginning of the season’s Tiva scenes, this episode was great!  The tension between the two in the first pool hall scene was very palpable, Tony’s jealous of Ziva and this Ray guy is very evident.  He’s been getting very snarky when it comes to mentioning Ray.

Also, in closing this section out…

- It was very nice to have Jimmy Palmer back.  I love his scenes with Ducky and I can’t wait to see what he would do if and when he takes Ducky’s place (though that is a sad thing to think about, sorry!)

- I loved Ziva’s hair in this episode.  I’ve always loved the sleek and straight look that she dons every once in awhile; it’s a very sexy look for her.

- Since we’re getting a lot of the character’s backstories this season, I loved the little hints we’ve been getting about Tony’s backstory.  Can’t wait for the episode where we finally see how Tony got his start!

NCIS:LA’s “Lockup”

There are four things I liked about this episode: (1) the case, (2) Nate’s return, (3) LL Cool J’s performance and (4) Deeks/Kensi.

First, the case.

This whole episode was phenomenal!  The case dealt with an unknown terrorist plot/terrorist cell whose leader’s brother was in prison.  After being taken into protective custody by NCIS, Mo (who was involved with the group that kidnapped and ultimately killed Dom) is placed by NCIS into a prison so that he can get close to a man by the name of Abdul who is suspected of planning a terrorist attack.   After being assaulted by Abdul’s crew as a part of his initiation into the cell, Sam gets personally involved, going undercover as an orderly to stay close to Mo and keep him safe.  As always, a twist comes into play when it is discovered that Abdul isn’t planning a terrorist attack here, he’s planning on breaking out of prison and going to his brother, whose the leader of a more dangerous terrorist cell.  After much stellar acting, Sam helps Mo, Abdul and another terrorist out of prison and Abdul is on his way to his brother.  Unfortunately, Mo was a casualty as a result of Abdul no longer needing his assistance.

Second, Nate’s return.

I was so glad to see Peter Cambor back on the screen!  His portrayal of the psychologist Nate was something that I dearly missed on the show and I hope, now that his assignment is done, that we will see a lot more of him in the episodes to come.  Nate factored into this episode because he went undercover as the psychologist at the prison to keep a close eye on Abdul.  I loved how, when they realize that Sam is about to be made, Nate takes charge.  My favorite scene of his in this episode was when he put the potential tattler in a sleeper to keep him from spilling Sam’s real identity.

Third, LL Cool J’s acting chops in this episode.

I have to say, as far as this season is concerned, this episode was one of LL Cool J’s finest!  I loved every single scene he was in and he really makes Sam his own.  I love how concerned he is for Mo and how he put himself in harm’s way in order to do so.  Two of my favorite scenes of his from this episode were when he picked the fight with the white guys just so he could look good in front of Abdul and the last scene when he’s dealing with his emotions over Mo’s death; he really made you feel the pain he was going through.  Dare I say this performance by LL Cool J could grant him an Emmy nomination?

Fourth and finally, the antics of Deeks and Kensi.

Like Tiva in NCIS, Deeks and Kensi are one of the main reasons I tune into NCIS.  The chemistry between the two is very palpable and very early Tivaish, if you want to compare the two.  Also like Tiva, Eric Christian Olsen and Daniela Ruah have a great relationship outside of the TV show as do Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo.  Some of my favorite scenes in tonight’s episode with them were: the donut scene, the warehouse shootout scene and the pole dancing class scene.

Other little things I liked or am just commenting on:

- Where was Callen?  Sam needed Callen and I’m actually hoping we get a scene in next week’s episode where Sam lashes out at Callen for not being there when he needed him.

- Hetty is always doing things behind the team’s back and then springing it on the team when they’re ultimately faced with a crisis.

- I liked that we got the sense that there was something romantic that went on between Nate and Nelly.  Now, NCIS:LA has another avenue to explore.

I think that is all for this week’s episodes.  Thanks for tuning in and reading; until next week!

Okay, I can’t really explain my long absence but I finally got inspired after watching tonight’s episode.

Now, before I go on, I’m gonna try something different and just point out what I liked and what I didn’t like.  I had originally set out to do this in the beginning but I ended up just writing recaps of the episodes and didn’t really give my opinion.

BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM…

“Recruited”

This episode dealt with the whole “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the Armed Forces that was ruled unconstitutional just recently.  To briefly sum it up, boy named Paul Simmons is interested in joining the Navy but he’s gay and doesn’t know what he will face if he does join.  He meets the recruiter, Navy Petty Officer First Class Simon Craig, (also gay) and he helps him along by giving him some advice.  Paul’s father, thinking that there’s something hinky going on between the two besides just talking, confronts the recruiter and kills him.

Personally, I didn’t really like the case.  Don’t get me wrong, I think Guy Wilson who played Paul Simmons did a superb job.  He was very believable but somehow the rest of the case felt flat to me.

What I did like, however, was the story going on outside of the case.  Bob Newhart came in playing Ducky’s predecessor, Dr. Walter Magnus (the Ducky before Ducky).  Throughout the episode, the mystery as to why he is there at NCIS is slowly built up until the conclusion at the end when Magnus confirms to Ducky that he has Alzheimer’s and he came to NCIS in hope of remembering what he did, all those years ago.  This particular story had me almost in tears.  Bob Newhart did an incredible job protraying the retired autopsy doctor.  The ending, where Ducky and the team show Magnus what he did by showing pictures of all the victims that he helped solve their murders and the families that he helped get closure, was a very touching moment.

It was great seeing Vance back and the friendlier tones between Gibbs and Vance were surprising, but in a good way.  I also like that the episode ending with us wondering if Vance might resign his position as Director of NCIS.

The one thing about tonight’s episode that I’m borderline on is the Miami Man.  As a Tiva fan, having Miami Man be a potential snag in Tiva finding their way to each other is not something I look forward to.  However, I am not giving up hope that “Ray”/Miami Man is a male relative of Ziva’s or, like some people think, not really a man at all but Ziva’s mother.  I do know that there is something that she is hiding from her teammates about him and that, my friends, is the intriguing thing about it and is why I’m gonna keep watching to see where this story takes us.  Besides, Ziva’s just been through hell with the whole Rivkin thing.  Just doesn’t seem right to have her thrown into another mysterious relationship. (I know, Rivkin was in Season 6 but it still seems kinda fast.)

Anyway, thanks for hanging in there; sorry for the long hiatus and I hope I wrote something useful and not just gibberish because I kinda just wrote this off the top of my head.  Didn’t really think about it.

Until next week!

Episode Title: “Worst Nightmare”

Episode #: 8×02

Case: The case involved the kidnapping of a young girl, Rebecca Mason, from her school in Norfolk.  Both of the girl’s parents are Navy Lieutenants away on assignment leaving her in the care of her grandfather, Nick Mason, an ex-covert operative.  As the case progresses, the NCIS team is met with many setbacks, mostly that of the bodies of the supposed kidnappers.  Turned out, however, that the bodies were that of the members of Mason’s old team when he was a covert operative.  The kidnapper ended up being a member of the old team wanting to cleanse himself of his past sins, including the time when he was a part of the team.  In order to do so, he felt the need to kill off the other members of the team and had left Mason for last.  At the end of the episode, the NCIS team duped the kidnapper into thinking that they had killed Mason, which led to the kidnapper releasing the location of Rebecca.  After the location was given, Mason revived himself and the kidnapper was arrested. At NCIS, Rebecca was reunited with her parents.

NCIS team: In this episode, three interns from Waverly University were there watching what happened in the life of an NCIS agent.  I forget the names of the interns but, the girl was assigned to autopsy.  With her vast knowledge of Scotland and her willingness to help in autopsy, Ducky was impressed.  Palmer was jealous though, considering that he thought that Ducky was going to replace him.  He then went around to the other members of the team, hoping that he could be of use somewhere else.  Another intern was assigned to the lab, which Abby did not appreciate, considering what has happened with her other interns (Chuck, etc.).  I loved how she made him wear bells and lectured him on how not to be creepy!  The other intern, which Tony dubbed “mini McGee” was the most helpful during the case and, at the end of the episode, Gibbs ended up handing him a signed application, only needing him to fill it out. Speaking of Gibbs, the fact that he didn’t shun the interns and even offered mini McGee a position on team was quite surprising.  Will NCIS be getting another agent?  Will it be good or bad for the show.

Head Slap Counter for Season 8: 1.  This was the first episode of Season 8, I believe, that Gibbs head slapped someone.  Considering it was the first head slap of the season, I believe Tony was the right recipient since he is usually the recipient of them anyway.

“What took you so long, cowboy?” – Gibbs

First off, I just wanted to apologize since this has taken me longer than I would have liked for me to write this up.  I have been working on it, don’t get me wrong, it’s just I keep on wanting to add more and more to it and, from the draft I have written on Open Office, it’s not even halfway through yet.  So, I’m going to take what I have written and try to simplify it the best way I can.

So, without further to do…(drum roll)

Episode Title: “The Spider and The Fly”

Episode #: 8×01

Case: The body of a dead reservist is found in an open field next to a helicopter and the pilot, who is also dead.  On arriving at the scene, the team is lead to believe that the two men killed each other, based on the findings of two different shell casings.  However, the guns are missing and, when viewing the footage of the recent helicopter flight, they find that Paloma Reynosa is back in town!  Upon further investigation of the dead reservist’s body, the team is able to pinpoint the locations that Paloma has been to within the past four months, which is up and down the East Coast, meaning she’s been securing the success of the Reynosa drug route.  This also means that she’s back to tormenting the NCIS team.  There was also another case, not much detail on it except that it was a drug dealer that was a part of the Reynosa drug route who Paloma had killed in his own meat store.

The Gibbs men and The Wonder Twins: Continuing on from the cliffhanger from Season 7, Jackson Gibbs is in his store, setting up shop, when Paloma comes in looking for trouble.  Having been forewarned by Gibbs, Jackson takes out his rifle and tells Paloma that he knows who she is and that she has to leave.  When she doesn’t, Jackson cocks his gun and shoots out the store’s front door window.  Paloma takes out her gun but backs out of the store, making it look like she’s just going to leave him be.  However, that is not the case.  Outside, two of her men are waiting with semi-automatics and upon her order (“Matalo!” is the Spanish word for “Kill him!”), they open fire on the store.  Once the dust settles, Paloma and her men rush into the store, hoping to find Jackson’s dead body, except…Jackson is no where to be found!  Going to present time, we find that Jackson has been staying at his son’s house for the last three to four months.  There are two agents outside, guarding the house in case there are any sightings of Paloma Reynosa.  As I said in the previous paragraph, for the past four months that Jackson has been living in his son’s house, Paloma has been traveling up and down the East Coast, securing the success of her drug trade business.  When the body of the dead reservist is discovered, the team is once again on alert as they know Paloma is back in town.  Paloma, however, isn’t the only person whose been giving the NCIS team hell; the other half of the Wonder Twins, her brother Alejandro, was also giving them hell.  First, when Tony and Franks were following him in Mexico, he led them into a trap in which Franks got shot at… again!  Then, he personally comes to NCIS and asks Vance for permission to extradite Paloma to Mexico so that she can be charged there, it would be an act of diplomacy.  Vance isn’t quite sure he’s up to no good and tells him that he’ll think about it.  When Vance leaves, Alejandro leaves a recording device underneath one of the chairs in Vance’s office, hoping to keep track of what NCIS has planned.  He also, threatens Abby, which has him thrown out of NCIS by Vance and Gibbs.  When Gibbs takes Abby out to her car, she finds a Mexican Day of the Dead doll on her windshield.  Ducky, who is also leaving, finds one on his.  Just then, Paloma calls Gibbs and tells him to not expect the suffering to end until he is dead.  Having McGee trace the call, he finds that she is right outside his house!  Placing an agent in charge of looking after Abby and Ducky, he leaves for his house.  He tells McGee to get Tony and Ziva and have them meet him at his house.  When he gets there, he finds the front door open and no one in the house.  Hearing a noise from the basement, he moves towards it with his gun drawn; fortunately, it is just Jackson and Franks.  At the same time, Ziva and Tony bust in on the side door and tell him that one of the agents is dead and the other is injured.  Searching through his home, he finds another Day of the Dead doll on top of his fireplace, meaning that Paloma had been in the house!  After this recent attack, Gibbs and Vance go and find Alejandro and have some choice words with him.  Alejandro lies to them and tells them that he has not been in contact with his sister when in fact, he has, and as we see when Vance and Gibbs leave and he gets into a car that Paloma is driving.

This, is when the action picks up.  Gibbs decides that it’s time to end the little game that’s been going on between NCIS and The Wonder Twins.  Vance, knowing the listening device is in his office, brings Tony in and tells him that Gibbs and his father have been moved into a safe house and, until he returns, Tony’s the team leader.  As suspected, they find that Alejandro has called Paloma, informing her of the recent developments.  Vance then calls Alejandro and says he should come in so that they can talk diplomacy.  While talking through the logistics, Tony comes in with a little piece of paper.  After looking at it, Vance places it in the file folder that he has opened on the table, closes it, and tells Alejandro that something has come up and leaves.  After Vance leaves, Alejandro removes the listening device, having no need for it anymore, since Paloma is on her way to finish what she started.  However, he can’t keep his prying eyes to himself and opens up the folder to read what is on the note.  What’s on the note stops him in his tracks, it says “Paloma Reynosa killed”.  Thinking that NCIS might be fooling him, he tries to call and text Paloma to make  sure that she is alright, but McGee is blocking his calls and texts to make it look like she really is dead.  Alejandro then makes his way up to the safe house, and seeing movement and thinking that it’s Gibbs and his father, he opens fire on the safe house.  However, that is not the case, since they both appear in front of him after Tony and Ziva have cuffed him.  Leading him into the bullet-torn house, they find Paloma dieing of a gunshot wound!  Alejandro had killed his own sister and is lead away, possibly to be charged with his own sister’s murder.

So, since I just wrote the section on Paloma and Alejandro, I am wondering if anyone was as curious as me as to what Paloma’s end game was?  I mean, in the Season 7 finale, she made it clear that if Gibbs didn’t work for her, she would kill Franks, his friends and co-workers at NCIS and his father.  Yet, the only attempt on killing someone on that list was in the beginning of the episode with Jackson.  Even then, she didn’t thoroughly search the shop in search of Jackson, and when she broke into Gibbs’ home, she didn’t search the house for Jackson or Franks.  So, did she merely want to scare Gibbs into working for her?  What are your thoughts?

Tony  and Ziva, a.k.a. “Tiva”: Before I write this, I must admit I am a huge Tiva fan.  They are my favorite TV couple, ever!  In this episode, Tony and Ziva have some cute scenes, two that I can remember.  The first, is when Ziva comes back from her time in Miami, and the second is when Tony catches her laughing at an email that a male friend of hers sent.  When I rewatched the episode On Demand, I was able to pause the DVD and I could make out all but one word of the email that she was reading.  Here is what it said, for those interested:”I can’t stop thinking about what we talked about the other night.  Of course, I would (meet?) you there.  I’d be a fool not to.  My plane is boarding.  Write me back.  I’m traveling alone.  Too much on  my mind. X”  So, this is one mystery that will need to be solved.  Who is Ziva’s mystery man?  Also, is it just me or has their friendship/relationship gotten a lot better than it was in last season?  I mean, it seems like Tony was more open when he flirted with her.   He complimented her, he called her Ziva instead of Probie and they were smiling, a lot, at each other.  Any thoughts?

That is all I have for now, it’s late but I wanted to put this out there so you would know I haven’t forgotten about this blog.  I left some parts out, I was going to add more but this is pretty long and I hope I don’t bore you.

Here are some questions that we can ponder while the season goes on:

1.  (As I mentioned before) Who is Ziva’s mystery man?

2.  Who did Eli David find?

3. What kind of situation is Tony, Sr. in?  Is it a situation that stems from him being broke or is it another situation?

See ya next week, and hopefully I’ll have this out quicker.