"Rude Awakenings" was billed as the conclusion of a two-part NCIS: Los Angeles episode, but the story didn't actually conclude. Both Sidorov and the nukes are still out there ... somewhere.

While I enjoyed the first part, tonight's episode was even more suspenseful and full of mystery. There was no lull in the action, from the opening takedown scene until the very end.

With eight potential sleeper spies and nukes spread across the United States, NCIS hit them all at the same time. Unfortunately, they were too late and only found dead and tortured former Soviet spies. No nukes were discovered and two looked to have already been taken by Sidorov.

Two rogue nukes somewhere within America is pretty scary stuff. They could go off accidentally, given their age, or be used against a specific target. It's one of the worst nightmares that could hit the country. 

Callen and Sam realized that they needed to find Sidorov as soon as possible and went to their local Russian intel guy, Arkady, for information. It was intriguing that Arkady never believed the stories of sleeper agents and nukes. He seemed like a guy that would have bought into the hype.

However, Callen did note that Arkady seemed more nervous than ever when he found out. A situation worse than the Cuban Missile Crisis sounds like an accurate and frightening outlook.

Perhaps the best part of this case was the reemergence of people from Sam's past. CIA guy Schneider was definitely an ass. It was awesome to see Sam best him throughout the hour, especially dunking and nearly drowning him. It was deserved!

The main mystery was around the Quinn character. Initially, I thought that Sam was the former agent undercover in Sidorov's crew, but it wasn't him. Instead, it was his wife! What?!? I never would have expected that she was involved in the business. Previously, she's always just been seen in the home with either Sam or the kids. What a shocker.

Though, it makes sense that Sam would meet his wife on the job. Where else would he meet someone? I'm not an advocate of Kensi and Deeks getting together, but does this mean they could hook up? I'm guessing one of them would have to leave the boathouse gang if they did.

Sam's plan to get Quinn back in with Sidorov was quite elaborate, but it worked. For the second time in a row, Granger proved that he isn't the nasty guy that he was initially. Perhaps he has learned from his mistakes. When he agreed to go behind the CIA's back and supported Sam's plan, he got more than a handshake, he earned Sam's trust and respect. We'll have to see if Granger is able to maintain that for the long term or not.

While Quinn was accepted without question by Sidorov, Sam was not. Sidorov dismissed him like a stray dog he didn't want around. Ouch. At least, Quinn remained safe despite a brief time when Sam thought she was dead.

In the end, Sidorov left the country and neither NCIS or the CIA have any clue where the bombs are. Will Quinn need to go through with the assassination in order to remain part of Sidorov's crew? This case is far from over and there is much that can still go wrong.

For Sam and his family's sake, I hope that Quinn remains safe. In the long term, will this mission push her back into the business? And would Sam be able to continue knowing both of his children's parents are in harm's way? Quinn's involvement looks to have huge ramifications for Sam and his family.

For the whole country and even the world, NCIS must find those bombs before Sidorov can sell them to the highest bidder. If even one of them goes off, it would be disastrous.

Carla Day is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter and on Google+.