What an odd little episode!

Polite bank robbers led the squad to a seemingly corrupt Navy contractor on NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 10.

But nothing was as it seemed.

Except for Rogers. He was still pretty much a dick.

The revolving door of adult supervision kept spinning, and this time it spit out the special prosecutor we all thought was gone. But I suppose you don't hire Peter Jacobson for a one-off.

And Rogers frankly was ... almost tolerable.

Related: NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 9 Review: A Diamond in the Rough

The team just figured out how to work around him, most by avoiding him in Hetty's many hideyholes but also sometimes by either ignoring or bullshitting him.

It was mean of Nell to sacrifice her socially awkward boyfriend leaving Eric to entertain Rogers, who he already feared because you can always bet on Eric to blurt out exactly the wrong thing when he's nervous. 

Still, that division of labor worked. While on the run, Nell could even come up with the information that the duos in the field needed. If Hetty can't come back, maybe Nell should be put in charge.

Oddly, Rogers actually attempted to bond with Eric offering life lessons and boasting about his IT skills. Then they ended up playing video games in Ops after solving the case. 

I think one of the highlights of the episode was when Rogers insisted in riding in the Hellcat's child seat, then Sam terrorized him during the car chase with the Saudi agents, as Callen cackled in the shotgun gun. 

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Talk about your initiation!

I think Rogers got down off his not-so-high horse and learned to appreciate the OSP work process, like Kilbride and Ochoa before him. They may seem to be involved in a lot of unrelated activities, but they get results, and isn't that what matters?

The case of the week turns some enjoyable twists and turns, starting with the polite robbers who left their plastic guns and the borrowed cell phones. I wonder about the significance of the Lincoln masks. 

Stephens, the contractor, was hiding something, likely in her safe-deposit box. Sam was clever to determine that the robbery's main purpose was to expose Stephens' operation, whatever that might be.

Her being a veteran CIA deep-cover operative selling lousy intel to the Iranians was a nice touch. I didn't get why the Saudis would want to disrupt that. Wouldn't operations planned on such false information damage their main rivals in the Middle East? Were these rogue agents?

What a timely statement by Callen, when he threatened to turn Stephens over to the Saudis so she could be sent back to Riyadh in several diplomatic pouches. That makes you wonder when that script was written.

Related: CBS Cheat Sheet

Another wonderful scene was Deeks chasing Greg the wannabe actor on motorized scooters, only to have Kensi knock down Greg with a skateboard. What an appropriately California chase scene!

Greg continued the series' exploration of the vacuous Californian. Already this season there's been the snooty hostess, the self-absorbed trust-baby and now the airheaded, unemployed actor. Still, I'm sure there are many more variations of the stereotype to explore.

Although Sam seemed to think this would get NCIS in trouble with the Saudis, I'm not sure why it would. Now they know about Stephens' true mission, but so what? Yeah, the CIA isn't supposed to work on U.S. soil, but it seems to regularly, at least on TV.

Will Stephens join the rotation of CIA operatives interacting with NCIS? Maybe. But haven't those types of storylines been overused enough on NCIS: Los Angeles?

Finally, there was Deeks' bar, which seems like it's almost ready to open. That was a helluva quicker than Steve and Danny's restaurant on Hawaii Five-0, which they bailed on ultimately.

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That bar looked exactly like I expected Deeks would design, kitschy as all get-out. Also, it's apparent that it's going to be Deeks' bar, with Kensi steering clear of operations as much as possible.

It's also clear the new running joke will be what the bar's name is going to be. I can't believe The Blowhole is its final name.

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 11 will be the holiday episode. Is it too much to hope that Hetty will come back then? Probably so. More likely after the hiatus.

To catch up before the break, watch NCIS: Los Angeles online.

What should Deeks call his bar? Which fill-in leader do you want to see more of? Should Stephens become a recurring character, or is once enough?

Comment below.

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