Review of NCIS 7X10 Faith by Anna and BJ

Dear NCIS:

All I want for Christmas is….

The writer really had a tall order to deliver this holiday in season when penning a Christmas themed episode for our favorite show especially with the warring factions of fans becoming more divided every time SB opens his mouth.  Faith delivered abundantly in some areas and not so much in others.  But overall, the episode had most of the NCIS zealously faithful cueing up a verse of ‘Joy to the World’ as the final credits rolled.

First off, let’s start with the bad news otherwise known as what didn’t work for me.

The case was, in my opinion, really unnecessary this time.  And now I’ll pause for a moment to let some pick themselves up off the floor in shock.  I’m not going to touch on the religious ramifications that have been knotting the fandom since the episode aired.  I could easily get on my soapbox and rant for days when it comes to how I feel about PC, the media push for it and the impression Hollywood gives regarding both PC and Islam.  Wouldn’t really do any good and I would much rather have had the episode to watch then have the network go to yet another re-run because they are too cheap to order more.

BJ says:

The case didn’t bother me and a part of me was happy that it was so predictable. I didn’t need to expend energy on the whodunit aspect of the show and could focus on the more personal aspects to the audience.

But anyway, there were many holes in this part of the plot and it seemed as if the writer was trying to cram too much in to one episode. In all honesty, outside of a Marine being killed because he converted to Islam, there isn’t much more I could tell you about the case because it just wasn’t memorable to me (except for Gibbs and Tony actually working together during the investigation).  It might have been better to let the case play as background noise and focus instead on the character plots.  Because for as much as this show is case and character driven, this episode should have been allowed to focus more on the characters.  But when has Shane Brennan ever really gotten it enough to know what he needed to do when.

BJ says:

The only time the case worked for me was the brilliant acted arrest scene. I was mildly disappointed that Joe Regalbuto had a relatively minor role, but I was impressed with his performance as well as that of Brando Eaton.

The other sub plot that just did not work for me was Abby, Carol and McGee.  When the news first leaked that we’d be meeting Abby’s BFF and college roommate, my initial thought was that it was about time.  Precious little has been shown about Abby’s life outside of the lab except for the nuns, her stalker ex-boyfriend and that brief glimpse of the possible boyfriend who was vertically-challenged.

Enter Carol, the roommate from college and still best friend.  Followed shortly by McGee, the former lover, who for some reason had never met the best friend?  This does not compute, SB.  Playing up to the idea that Abby and McGee had dated and had their own little fling a few seasons ago, he should have known Carol, at least recognized her from a picture if not having met her before.  Details and continuity will get you every time, Shane Brennan.  As the show runner, you should have been aware and caught that before a director was ever brought in and the script was read by the actors.

Was it a stroke a genius to hire Pauley Perrette’s real life BFF to play Carol?  Perhaps, but unless they bring her back and let us see more of their interaction, we’ll never know.  The glimpse that we got showed an easy bond between the characters that most likely stemmed from the bond between the actresses.  In that case, then it worked because I can’t see it being anything but awkward to ask Pauley to play such a close relationship with someone she barely knew.  It would be interesting if we get to see Carol again but I doubt that we will.  Chalk it up to Shane Brennan’s inability to tell us the story and let the relationships develop naturally instead of going for a big punch and the shock effect.

And the overall reason for Carol’s visit?  Her nephew was missing mom during the holiday season and mom was deployed on a ship.  Enter McGee as Abby’s knight in shining armor to save the day near the end of the episode as he pulled some strings to get them all into MTAC (as requested by Abby) so that the little boy could talk to his mom.  McGee’s reward was a kiss from Abs which helped put the smile on his face.  But honestly, the point of this whole plot was?

While I like the Abby we’ve been shown of late and feel that is probably due more to Pauley Perrette than anything else, this specific sub-plot was nothing more than a waste of time and film which could have been used developing any of the other storylines.  The idea that this was even possible stretched the bands of fictional story telling and was really nothing more than a cheap attempt to include all of the main characters somehow in the holiday episode.

BJ says:

I found myself mystified that McGee didn’t know or know of Carol. While I found the storyline cute, it did seem a bit shoehorned in. I would have rather have seem Abby and McGee integrated more to the Jackson Gibbs storyline and overall case. I don’t like when the team is split and McGee is kept apart from the rest of the team.

The other part of the episode that just didn’t work for me will come as no surprise to most – Ziva.  Or more specifically, Ziva’s role in Tony’s Secret Santa subplot.

It was quite clear from the beginning that the Secret Santa plot was going to be the comic relief of the episode.  Poor Michael Weatherly–when in the world will the writers quit using Tony as nothing more than the butt of the joke or the person on the other end of a romantic pairing and allow him to the complex character we all know he is.

While Tony’s obvious discomfort at whom he had drawn to get a gift for was mildly amusing, Ziva’s ire and description of the yet-to-be-seen character made me want to find something heavy and throw it at the television.  Honestly, who here was surprised at the penned description of the HR lady?  Single, middle-aged, lonely woman – could you get anymore stereotypical?  I can’t help but believe that Ziva’s description of Delores was nothing more than a dig at those fans who have expressed dislike for the character since that is how many fans and some articles have described them.

Fast forward to the end of this story and Tony presenting his gift to Delores.  Why in the world did Ziva need to be there?  Obviously, Tony was nervous but it just raised the buffoon meter a bit higher to have Ziva there pushing and pulling him closer to the closed office door.  (which I won’t even touch on at this point since it’s completely idiotic for an agency as big as NCIS to have a single office dedicated to HR)  Then we move to Delores opening the gift and honestly being touched – if a bit perplexed – by how Tony had come upon his knowledge and who do we see smiling benevolently over Delores right shoulder?  Nothing other than Ziva – unnecessary and nothing more than a blatant attempt to indicate that one character is needed for the other character to do anything good or worthwhile.  It’s time for Shane Brennan to stop destroying Tony by constantly putting Ziva behind, next to or near him.  Tony is a big boy, Shane and can definitely stand on his own two feet and carry about the same weight that Harmon’s Gibbs does where the show is concerned.

BJ says:

The only reason for Ziva to be there was because there was absolutely no place else for her. For much of this episode I was wondering where Ziva belonged. I didn’t find that she was integrated well into the crime either.

As for the Secret Santa storyline, there were parts I liked, and parts I didn’t. Firstly, can someone please explain to me why Tony was the only one who had a Secret Santa? Secondly, could they have gotten any more cliché with the female stereotype? Couldn’t it have been a middle-aged single father? Or a newly married knockout forty-something? Thirdly, we’re supposed to believe that the information about the doll was in the personnel file? Um…no. Fourth, McGee spilling the secret identity was not classy in the least.

And as for Ziva being there at the very ending, when Tony delivered the gift, there was simply no place at all for her to be. She didn’t belong in the Ducky scene, or the Abby scene, or the Gibbs scene, so she had to be pushed/forced into the Tony one.

I did like that Tony went to trouble to find the perfect gift. That struck me as such a “Tony” thing to do.

Now let’s hit on what worked –

As you’ve seen from above, I had some issues with the Secret Santa subplot.  Now that is not to say that I didn’t like it.  I didn’t like how it was used to yet again make Tony seem like a moron, as well as the use of Delores as a dig at those who criticize parts of the show by stereotyping them as I explained above.  However I loved the general idea of what they were doing no matter how idiotically unrealistic it was to think that a government agency would actually do a Secret Santa.

I also loved how Tony, for all of his bristle and meaningless catalogue shopping, ended up taking the time to find a truly perfect gift for Delores.  And I do believe that it was Tony who did it, completely on his own without any help from Ziva.  Checking a file to learn an unfulfilled childhood wish to then fulfill meshes with every tidbit we’ve been told about DiNozzo.  It was an interesting subplot minus all the buffoonery they’ve inflicted us and Tony with this season.  It would have been nice to see more of this story instead of being told at the gift giving what Tony had done.  (Are you listening, Shane?)

Now this is probably going to be a shock for some who read this since I’ve gone on record many a time stating that NCIS needs to move away from the character focus and develop their cases better.

This was one time when it made sense for the main storyline to be about the personal life of a main character.  Back in season 6, our first introduction to Jackson in Heartland, left the audience immediately screaming for a return appearance.  The tease in Silent Night with the phone call wasn’t nearly enough.  About a month prior, teasers, spoilers, pictures and their ilk were floated out to the fans, leaving behind them a wake of buzz.  I remember being amazed and thrilled that Jackson was going to be at NCIS.  The episode description though left an ominous feeling and bitter taste.  Now what was going to be revealed about Gibbs’ past?  Or his family?  Scuttlebutt rose quickly about what it could be.  The lingering thought was not a pleasant one for NCIS has a recent history of going more for the shock and awe than the substance.  It would not be a surprise if Ralph Waite’s Jackson Gibbs was coming to visit to die, say a final goodbye or slip into a nursing home due to dementia or Alzheimer’s like Ducky’s mother.  So for this plot point alone, the episode went to be a bit of a dread to watch.

The episode started out, after the opening scene, with Jackson arriving just as Gibbs was clearing the pickup, preparing to leave for the office.  From first glimpse, Ralph Waite seemed to be portraying Jackson with a hesitancy that was very unlike what we saw the previous season.  The warning bells started to clang inside my head as it really began to feel like they were going to head down a road with Jackson that I definitely didn’t like or wished to see.  I shot my first glare for the episode at the TV screen.

The rest of the storyline between the two had me waffling back and forth from liking to loving to hating and back to loving it again.  Liked seeing Gibbs flustered as he tried to get his dad settled and still get out of the house to get to work.  Loved, absolutely loved, Jackson ’s visit to the office and bringing the goodies.  The ‘making my team fat’ comment got me chuckling along with the bubble butt dig at DiNozzo.  (Must investigate that further to prove its validity I think.)  Nice to see Mark Harmon showing us a bit of Gibbs’ sense of humor again.

I loved seeing concerned Gibbs leaving an investigation to rush home.  Have to wonder if this is what he was like when Shannon and Kelly were alive.  Yet again though I had the warning bells clanging that we were being led down a dementia road with Jackson which would so not fit the character.  *growls at SB*  Moving on to Jackson’s reaction to Gibbs putting his gun away in the same room where his father was sleeping.  That scene should have been a hint that something was amiss, and it probably was to many.  I admit to missing the clues completely simply because I was already very vested in anger over what I was reading as a Jackson ill or losing his mind storyline.  Even knowing about the rifle in the store didn’t clue me in since some of the symptoms include forgetting about details like that and, at the time, I was not sure that they weren’t going to say it was already advanced past the initial stages.

In regards to Ducky paying Jackson a visit, I really wish we would have seen that meeting from the beginning since this was, ostensibly, the first time the two characters had met.  Ducky and Jackson I could see as instantly clicking – both love to tell stories and are essentially from the same generation.  Thinking watching them meet would have been one of the best scenes of the episode.  I was not surprised that Ducky was there to provide Gibbs a bit more of an expert opinion on his dad – although I do think it would have made much more sense had we seen the scene or some indication was made that Gibbs was talking to Ducky about it beforehand.  But that goes along with Shane Brennan’s complete inability to fully tell a story and just go for the big payoff and dropping bombs in the form of shocking scenes on us.  Anyway, I digress yet again.  Having Ducky there to check out Jackson without him knowing it makes perfect sense.  It’s how Gibbs has always dealt with issues in the past.  Ducky has been there to analyze villains, situations and even other team members to help Gibbs understand what was going on and to figure out what his next move should be.  I might have been more concerned as to the direction of the storyline if Gibbs had made a move regarding his dad without Ducky’s input.

BJ says:

I would have loved to have seen Jack meeting Ducky, but what we got was wonderful. I really appreciated that the show made Ducky and Jackson more contemporary, given that they do seem to be pushing Gibbs as the elder statesman of the show.  It was nice to see Gibbs viewed as a generation below Jackson and Ducky.

The culmination of the Gibbs/Jackson storyline began with the revelation that Jack had been forced to shoot and kill a young man who came into the store to rob him.  Once Gibbs revealed that he knew of the incident, Jackson’s unraveling occurred fairly rapidly.  Now at first considering that Jackson served in WW2 as a bomber pilot plus obviously fired the Winchester before while Jethro was growing up, it would appear that Jackson should not have been that disturbed by the act.  But that act of patriotism and bravery by a young man was performed many years ago and Jackson, as he aged, became a different person as do all of us.  This shooting of a young man, who might very well have been close in age to the grand daughter that he lost so many years ago, triggered not only grief over causing a death but also memories of the war and the realization that the bombs that he so innocently dropped from a plane fell on real people.  Nothing could have pulled at the heart strings more than Jackson asking his son how he’d gotten to a place where he wasn’t broken whenever he had to pull the trigger.  There was palpable emotion moving around both actors.  And I breathed a huge sigh of relief over the idea that Shane Brennan was not destroying the character and that we might have the opportunity to see him again.

Bj says:

Mark Harmon and Ralph Waite absolutely nailed every aspect of this episode. Both actors had me absolutely riveted throughout the episode. The final reveal was a relief as well as explaining so much about Jack’s personality and attitude since arriving in DC. The only thing I found a little bit “off” about the entire Jack and Gibbs story was that Gibbs let a much older man—his father no less—sleep on the couch. I could see Gibbs doing that if a team member stayed over, but his elderly father? That didn’t seem characteristic of the Gibbs I love.

This whole story line was made complete by the last scene of the episode.  While I definitely found it a bit surprising that Gibbs would replace the boat by making wooden toys for a children’s hospital (and that even kids in such a place would still want them), it was still a really neat thing to do and then to involve Jackson in.  Loved the end when Gibbs was going up the stairs with a sack of the toys and as Jackson comes up behind him, he made a comment about warming up the sleigh.  There isn’t a nicer way to end a holiday episode then with that and yet another end shot of Gibbs.

Kudos and holiday wishes to Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Sean Murray, Pauley Perrette, David McCallum, Cote de Pablo, and Ralph Waite.  As the Christmas season approaches and the cast, according to the NCIS-CBS group, goes off on a well-deserved break, the fans are left to sit back and wonder what is to come for the remainder of the season.  The big question now is will the current # 1 show be able to stand up to the pressure that is American Idol or will it buckle.  And if it does, will those who are so unhappy with the direction that Shane Brennan is apparently taking the show get the show back that they miss?  Or will Shane Brennan wield his mighty pen and produce something even more ludicrous rather than sticking to stories like the Gibbs/Jackson one that we were treated to with Faith?

With Love,

Anna and BJ