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NCIS: Suspicion
(S04E12) After what was an all too long winter break, our pals at NCIS are finally back with a new episode. It's an important episode for the show. This season has seen the shows audience grow to be a top ten contender, but now things have changed. The gorilla is back in the building and it will be interesting to see how NCIS holds up against Idolmania. There was a lot going on here. Aside from the case of the week there was some foreshadowing of coming stories and a crazy cliffhanger ending. I'll get to that in a minute, but first a look at the little town of Edenvale. It was obvious where they were going with the town when Tony and McGee started in with the dueling banjos. Boondocks. I can't believe that their little concert didn't warrant dual headslaps from Gibbs though.
I'm undecided on how they portrayed the town. It might have been a little too backwards. Most notably when the local cops just open fire on Tariq. Ziva actually had to stop Deputy Barrett's shooting. It came around in the end, somewhat, when Ruby actually uncovered the big clue showing that they shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss her and her report. But there was a problem with that story. If Ruby knew about the bad shell, and the two bullets from one gun, why didn't she speak up? She kept going on about the casing she couldn't find, and when the team was listening to her she dismissed it as one tiny little thing, not bothering to go into detail.
Aside from that bit of shakey plot development, I liked the character Ruby. More specifically, I liked McGee's interaction with Ruby. I wasn't a huge fan of Lyndsey Bartelson in the role. Maybe it's because I watched too much Grounded For Life and can't see her grown up and out in the world solving crimes, but I wasn't really buying her as Ruby.
It was clear early on that Deputy Barrett was going to be involved to some degree. There were just too many red flags for him to not be up to something. I didn't see the bigger bribe conspiracy with Major Raines (Mark Derwin) coming. In hindsight, the tip that the other two informants didn't deliver any good intel was the big clue, but I didn't put it all together until way too late. The resolution was a little rushed at the end, but I liked how it played out.
But all of the happenings in Edenvale were just half the story. The other big part of the episode was secrets. It started out cute with Tony and Ziva pestering McGee about his book. It got a little more serious when they turned the tables on Tony though. Interesting that Ziva asked him, "Who is she?" Although, the more I see of this ongoing story, the less I trust what we are being shown. And here is where we get into blind speculation.
Groundwork is being laid for ramping up Tony's undercover story. With only ten episodes left in the season, it's possible that they will string it out until the end to leave us hanging over the summer break, but I hope they get to it a little sooner. The first big question from "Suspicion" is who was taking pictures of Tony? With Ziva's borderline obsession over what he's been up to, she's an obvious suspect. I'm ruling her out though because why would she be taking photographs? I could see her just having to know, it's part of her training after all. But she would have seen through the window, and that would have been enough. From her perspective, Tony wasn't up to anything that he shouldn't have been.
With Ziva off the suspect list, I'm leaning toward the cameraman being someone involved in Tony's undercover mission. And I have two different theories for why they were there. First, while street-singer Tony was a fun moment, he did kind of stand out, and there was a moment where he could have been made. The other theory, first brought up by Dorv in the comments for 'Driven', is that Tony's romance with Jeannie (Scottie Thompson) is all part of his undercover gig. I don't think she's one of the bad guys. Rather, Jeannie is somehow connected to them and could possibly lead to more information. It could be that the cameraman was watching her to make sure she was safe.
That would be the MOAS that Tony was referring to when he was talking with Abbie. And it would go a long way to explain his drastic change in behavior. The other thing that makes me lean to Jeannie being part of the assignment is what Gibbs said to Ziva. When she was explaining that Tony being sick is the only explanation for his behavior Gibbs said, "That's not the only explanation." So, it would seem that Gibbs knows what Tony is up to. I don't think he would just know that Tony was dating a special girl, falling in love, and changing his stripes. It's much more conceivable that he would know that Tony is in deep on a dangerous, and 'secret' mission.
So what do you think, am I out of my tree? I'm curious to hear any theories on where the big Tony story is headed. As for this episode, I'd rate it as very good. A couple issues with the story of the week, but ultimately an interesting conclusion for the mystery. All the hints and clues to drive the speculation about the ongoing arc pushed it over the top for me.
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