NCIS Season 13 Episode 6 Review: Viral
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Straight up psychopathic misogyny was the theme of this wild story directed by Rocky Carroll.
And what a ride it was!
NCIS Season 13 Episode 6 told the story of Petty Officer Peter Woodruff, a guy who resented the women in command over him. In order to "get back" at them, he took nude photos of them, posted them to the internet, and found a willing patsy to take the fall for him.
Enter Petty Officer Adam Meyers, a solid dude who only wanted to help his sister fight some drug charges. He took Woodruff's cash, accepted the punishment and then later, when one of the women committed suicide, decided he needed to come clean.
Woodruff, being the tidy psychopath that he was, couldn't have that so he shot him in a park, next to a bunch of children who were having a Halloween party.
That's cold.
The story was masterfully done, and contained a number of twists. I was certain that Lieutenant Rossmore – the guy Tony interviewed right after the shooting – was the culprit. He had sweat stains around his neck, like he'd been running.
Later, when Tony found himself covered in poison oak, and recalled that he'd only shaken hands with one person at the park, it seemed certain that Rossmore had to be the guy.
The two other subplots in this episode also provided for some tension.
I guess we can put to bed the notion that Bishop's marriage is in trouble. Or can we? Clearly they care for each other a great deal, hence the cloak-and-dagger stuff that Bishop pulled to gain information she had no right to have regarding her husband's NSA activities. The point now is: can she live with not knowing what kind of danger Jake faces on a regular basis?
She told Delilah that she now knows what Jake was going through when she was off on a mission for the NSA or NCIS. Delilah says it wouldn't matter if she was a librarian; the worry would still be there.
I say hogwash to that. A regular 9-5 job holds no comparative value in terms of danger as military or special ops work. Perhaps that was the writer's way of telling us the story arc about Bishop's marriage is now officially over.
Speaking of Delilah....isn't she just a peach?
McGee: Just so you know, I donated a bunch of my stuff last week. Stuff that was important to me.
Delilah: More important than my stuff, or more important than us?
Tony: That's a trap.
Darn right that's a trap. It's a question McGee could not answer, ever. It was unfair and indicative of someone who was spoiling for a fight. Despite her later assurance that big or small, we'll face it together, I dislike her.
That question was emotionally manipulative and just plain wrong. She ought to be ashamed for having asked it. McGee never said "more important" anywhere in his statement. What right did she have to insert the word as if he did?
When Gibbs told McGee he needed to compromise, the "I told you so!" expression on Delilah's face just made everything sour.
I thought these two had learned to communicate. Evidently they still have some work to do on that. Maybe a couples' counselor or something.
And speaking of relationships, the brotherly-rivalry one between Tony and McGee took a step forward with this episode. Or maybe it was a sideways step, it was hard to tell.
Tony's glee at Tim's revelation about his tap dancing days took second place to McGee's evident triumph at seeing Tony laid out on Ducky's gurney with poison oak all over him. Yet, at the end of the day when Tony needed him most, Tim was there to apply the calamine lotion in those unreachable places. That's what a brother does.
Final thoughts:
- It'll be fun to watch the nets over the next little while to see if that pseudo-binary stuff between Delilah and McGee was based on a real code. We know that "zero zero one one zero" means "thank you". We can extrapolate from there.
- You had to feel so sorry for Tony. That rash looked pretty awful. Kudos to the makeup artists on that one. That scene made me itchy.
- Honorable mention must go to Abby and her "Rosie the Riveter" outfit.
- The scene where Bishop takes the newly-forged ring and then plays with her wedding ring might be a way of saying her marriage troubles aren't over. We'll have to wait and see.
- It was great to see Special Agent Maureen Cabot on the show again. We last saw her back on NCIS Season 11 Episode 21. Now that Gibbs has a new outlook on life, she might be a good candidate as a possible love interest.
- As always, you can catch this episode again when you watch NCIS online
What are your thoughts on the story? Did you identify the killer early? What about Bishop and Jake? Are they good now? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Douglas Wolfe was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He retired in 2016. Follow him on Twitter
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