(S0518/19) Well, the previews didn't lie. For weeks now, we've been told in previews and commercials -- not to mention numerous stories in the press -- that one of the principals would die on the finale of NCIS. The producers delivered; someone died. In one way, the death of Jenny Shephard, NCIS director, is the least painful loss, and also the most obvious. If you had Lauren Holly in the NCIS pool, you're the winner. For most of the episodes since the return from the strike, viewers have known that Ducky had determined that the director was sick. Jethro knew it; so did Jenny. But Jenny didn't know that Jethro knew. (Can you follow that?) Anyway, what it means in the big picture is that before tonight's two-hour finale, Jenny Shephard was the most likely candidate to bite the dust.

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(S04E18) One thing we can say for this episode, the answer to the mystery wasn't obvious from the get go. Between the loan shark, the shady freight carrier, and the return of Mike Franks (Muse Watson), it was a complicated affair. That's ok though, because it made for a pretty entertaining episode.

The folks in promotion over at CBS get a couple demerits this week for the misleading teasers. The various previews I saw kept mentioning "a connection to Gibbs' past." Now, that's some of the good stuff that I think a lot of fans are waiting for. If there was a connection in this episode, it was either very minor, or I completely missed it. If that connection was just Mike coming back again, then they horribly oversold it.