OK, so maybe the Office of Special Projects team was in more trouble than originally was evident.

It was a look at one possible future on NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 8.

If so, it's going to require more big-picture thinking than ever before on the squad's part.

Most episodes, it's black and white, figuring out who the bad guy is and chasing down him or her. Easy peasy.

But this time, the team was forced to go down the national-security rabbit hole, and they didn't like it much.

Frankly, other than Kensi, they were all fairly sanctimonious about the whole operation.

Related: NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 7 Review: One of Us

That's because Kensi was right in the middle of it when three servicemen breached a military-launch facility with an eye to bombing Muslim nations on NCIS: Los Angeles Season 9 Episode 7.

She knew about the secretive Patton Project, whose members are just as fanatical as the Muslim terrorists they hunt.

So she got what they're up against and understood why they needed to be stopped, at all costs.

All the others seemed to feel offended that Ochoa lent them out for that kind of mission. There seemed to be a whole lot of clucking about losing their proverbial souls.

But let's face it: any agents trained by Henrietta Lange are going to be, shall we say, creative.

That's why they were right for this assignment. They would find an innovative way of heading off a cell of the Patton Project without dropping bodies all along the way. They got the job done without resorting to Shaked's kind of tactics.

Related: Watch NCIS: Los Angeles Online: Season 10 Episode 7

It's not right to come down totally on Shaked, last seen on NCIS: Los Angeles Season 8 Episode 6. He's a creature of his environment. The ex-Mossad agent has seen horrible things in his past, coming from a land surrounded by enemies. He takes the most direct, if ofttimes brutal, route to accomplishing his goal.

It's easy for the OSP to look down at him from the safety of Los Angeles. But he was a Jew working to protect Muslims, his natural enemy, from fanatical military men, so he deserved some credit for that.

Yes, his methods were heinous. That's why Turk was there, to keep Shaked somewhat in line.

Turk has been as great an addition this season as Mosley was a bad addition to NCIS: Los Angeles Season 9.

He's kind of an agent without a portfolio, who doesn't seem to answer to anybody and is can do things that the regular team, under scrutiny, just can't.

I loved Max Martini in The Unit, and Turk is a kickass soldier along that same line. Let's have him pop up whenever the OSP needs that little bit of extra help

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Eric and Nell also gave an edge to the squad by digging up deep intel to which they shouldn't have had access. That kept them a step ahead of Shaked, which limited the body count.

Now if only Eric can get past his insecurity. When dispensing info, Nell gets to the point much faster than he does, and time is always of the essence. There is no "I" in "team," Eric. Nor in "Ops."

I'm still not sure what to think about Ochoa. As a Washington insider, he knows you have to play the game. The OSP was about to be scattered to the wind, so he volunteered them for an op they would find distasteful, but for which they were well suited, once they somewhat set aside their scruples for the greater good.

I still think he has their best interests at heart, especially if he can requisition them all new cars. Deeks could use an upgrade from that skateboard.

I'm just afraid this means no more Hetty. She's still in the credits, so there's hope.

On the flip side, no Mosley either, so there's hope.

Related: Get CBS All Access via Amazon Channels for Hit Shows, Exclusive Originals & Live TV!

I'm in the minority in that I'm Densi weddinged out, but it was funny watching Deeks playing "Terrorist or relative." He was right that some of Kensi's relatives looked sketchy.

Still, this begs the question if this was a one-time thing or a new direction. If so, they're going to be sorry about all the times they looked down their noses at Sabatino and other CIA agents.

The other question is whether the Patton Project will be this season's big bad. There were more than 100 suspects on the list Eric and Nell compiled, and they arrested exactly one. So this is definitely a storyline worth further investigation. A little conspiracy cracking never hurt anybody.

To follow the team's chaotic season, watch NCIS: Los Angeles online.

How are you enjoying Turk? How about Ochoa? What did you think about this new direction?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.