There was a fair amount of misdirection going on with this episode, both with the case of the week and between Brody and LaSalle.   If it were a competition, I'd have to say the Brody-LaSalle thing won.

NCIS: New Orleans Season 1 Episode 5 opened with the discovery of Chief Warrant Officer William Reed, who was found dead in the bayou. Only he wasn't killed there, that was only his final resting place after being dumped elsewhere along the bayou.

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The various distractions from the true reason for his killing were the only variables keeping this hour free of outright boredom. 

Was it because someone was trying to get back at him for his years spent in Gitmo as an interrogator? Compelling idea, but no.

Perhaps his death had something to do with his current work in counterintelligence? That would have worked too but... no again.

Was he killed because Rance the trainer (whose name sounds more like a salad dressing) had designs on his wife? Nope.

Put simply, he was killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wasn't the target, his wife was. 

And ta-da: it was all about money. A kidnap scenario. Just another humdrum criminal act to be dealt with. This, despite Pride's dramatic request to Vance for assistance "if this [case] gets any bigger."

Frankly, I would rather this had been about a terrorist trying to get back at him for his work at Gitmo. That would have been a more provocative way to go.

And why did it take so long for the penny to drop for Pride when he finally realized that the lawyer shot himself after transferring the three million dollars? I'm sure we all saw that right away. To whom did he send it? Himself? Of course not.

Ultimately, the only real interesting exercise was watching the interchange between LaSalle and Brody. 

I wondered if Brody was really that dim that she would offer up possible stories for her friend to have told LaSalle (like going skinny-dipping with her friend in Europe), while he just sat there grinning and taking it all in. Of course she wasn't - it was he who wasn't exercising his brain cells long enough to figure out she was stringing him along.

The final showdown between the two at the end was funny, even if meant the status quo was maintained: she continues to be a closed book, and he the persistent lever trying to open her up.

Final notes:

• While it was good to see Fornell in this episode, his part was unfortunately quite minimal. 
• We now know a few more things about Wade. She's never been married, and she mistrusts anyone she meets who's never had a committed relationship. Poor James. Maybe she'll see the light and invite him back.

What about you? Did you enjoy the episode? If you haven't already done so watch NCIS: New Orleans online and hit us up in the comments!

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Douglas Wolfe was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He retired in 2016. Follow him on Twitter