NCIS Season 13 Episode 15 Review: React
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Farragut. McGee's middle name is Farragut.
And all this time we thought he didn't have one.
That wasn't the only McGee revelation on NCIS Season 13 Episode 15 though.
Let's back up a bit and talk about the case first.
This was a convoluted story that appeared to be about a girl who was kidnapped, supposedly just for the ransom money. It turned out one of the kidnappers was after some revenge as well.
Of course, when the girl happens to be the daughter of the Secretary of the Navy, there are national security implications involved. Enter the always-welcome Fornell.
You have to hand it to the writers – the way Gibbs is written is an exercise in pure nuance. He was stoic and rock-solid, while we all knew that the only ghost in his mind through all this had to be his daughter Kelly.
He, more than anyone else, felt the urgency and angst of the SecNav and her ex-husband. Yet he kept his silence, and only acted professionally throughout the case.
All in all, the case was interesting to watch.
What was more interesting this time though was learning some more of McGee's back story.
We met his first crush, Agent Valeri Page.
We learned that when they were younger, they had their first awkward kiss together – a kiss that resulted in a sneezy head-butt that sent her to the dentist's office.
Tony of course was the last to know any of this, or about Tim's middle name.
Abby knew. Of course she knew. She had a fling with Tim at one point so it made sense that was privy to something Tim had kept secret from the rest of them for so long.
Speaking of Abby, it's great that she didn't have anything overly-magical to bring to the investigation table this time around. She more or less worked strictly with standard forensics.
As for Tony, it's gratifying to see him being written as less of a smart-ass. In particular, it was great to hear this coming from him:
Tim's good at his job.
Tony
He didn't add a "but," nor did he qualify it in any way. It was just a pure statement of praise for his teammate. Good to see.
Gibbs says so very little that's personal in most of these shows, so that when he does have something to say, you tend to listen closely. Did you catch his personal thought in this episode?
It happened when SecNav Porter openly considered quitting her job to protect her daughter. Gibb's only response to that was family's important.
That bald, terse thought gave us a little clue into his thinking these days. His priorities have clearly shifted, and he no longer considers the job to be the all-consuming deal he used to think it was.
Some final thoughts:
- Abby planted some trackers in the ransom bag. We saw the kidnappers grab the bag. So why didn't we see her track the bags so the team could capture them, even shortly after the bombs went off?
- When we saw the smoke coming out of Justine's garage, the first indication was that someone committed suicide. But then Justine was found on the floor of the garage, with a bullet hole in her forehead. That scene was confusing.
- Some exciting news: Jeanne Benoit and Dr. Taft both return next week in NCIS Season 13 Episode 16. The episode is entitled "Loose Canons."
- As always, you can catch up on lost episodes when you watch NCIS online.
Now it's your turn. What are your thoughts on this episode? What about the revelations about McGee? Be sure to hit is up 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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