One of these times, they'll get it right.

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 13 Episode 15 was the most successful of the series' "message episodes" this season.

Granted, that's a pretty low bar. Another way to look at it was this was the least ham-fisted of them.

Finally, Rountree got his spotlight episode. Usually, he's just the OSP's eager probie assisting somebody, usually Fatima or his mentor, Sam.

We knew he had a younger sister since he's taken off episodes to help her. That was about all we've got thus far.

We met Jordyn, who was just as determined about her studies as Devin was about his job. Well, up until now.

Before Devin could drop off Jordyn at school, they got pulled over by a nasty, stereotypical Neo-Nazi-looking cop who treated them surly right off the bat.

Why didn't Rountree have his badge at least in his glove box? Sure, he was undercover, but that would have put an end to the painful scene a whole lot sooner.

Sure, Jordyn came off a little strident when she climbed out of the car but that was hardly cause for the pepper spray to come out.

Jordyn's reaction seemed a bit overblown. Yes, Devin has done his best to shelter her. But surely, she has had friends who have undergone similar traumatic experiences when dealing with police and shared them with her.

It didn't ring true that the head cop bought Devin's explanation that the I.D. was in the name of his undercover identity. Using an alias should have caused him to be taken straight to booking.

As if being stopped, cuffed, and maced wasn't enough, the younger cop's explanation that they were looking for a burglary suspect made the situation all the more insulting.

Complicating matters was a video of the stop getting released. If Rountree's hopes were for the matter to die a quiet death, that went out the window.

And whoever thought that the consistently abrasive Lt. Whiting being the P.R. police was a good idea? She seemed to believe that "I'm a woman who's had to go through some shit at the LAPD" was a persuasive argument.

It's little wonder that Devin rebuffed her suggestion that he sit and talk with the offensive officers. "Can we all just get along" didn't work in L.A. 30 years ago, and it's even less likely to in the Black Lives Matter era.

Fatima handled the situation so much better. Rather than commiserating and saying, "You try being Muslim in America," she just hugged him, and they went back to work.

Sam was also having trouble with this happening to his black trainee and took out his anger on a punching bag.

Kensi and Deeks also echoed the "we've got to do better" theme before playing with that buffoon of a getaway driver.

At least they all had that afterthought of a case into which to put their energies.

That's not to downplay the tragedy of a dead photographer who had been forced to muzzle her art while cranking out publicity for the Navy. Yes, institutional propaganda can be a crime.

One of her assignments was photographing a new weapons station, a fancy name for a multimillion-dollar pier with warehousing. The agents' first assumption was that a foreign power wanted her photos for a peek at what was there.

What, a satellite couldn't have pulled that same intel without the collateral damage?

But no. Bishop had a secret, which she had kept on a flash drive she'd dropped while attempting to indulge her art.

As a side note, as the gallery owner noted, how did Bishop ever expect to mount a gallery show if all the photos she took were classified? Maybe her branching out just got cut short.

Now, someone stealing inventory from the new weapons station while security was down for maintenance, that made sense.

Why that person would ever choose Jake Hanson as a wheelman didn't make sense. He got lost in his van.

Hanson's boss has to be an inside man since he knows the security routine. My guess was Bishop's blowhard commander, but instead, it turned out to be the obsequious lieutenant.

There was never any sense of suspense that Walsh would succeed in selling the "ghost dad" to a foreign power. I mean, even as distracted as Rountree was, he was able to talk Walsh into surrendering without bloodshed.

The highlight of this "deep thoughts" episode was the conversation between Sam and Devin at the end.

Rountree was most upset that Jordyn was with him and was forced to discover how cruel the world can be to people of color, something from which he had tried to protect her.

Sam, who has had to protect his children from the same racism, had no easy answers for Devin.

In the end, Rountree resolved to speak out, although it wasn't terribly clear what form that would take. Maybe making noise within the system or perhaps even becoming an activist or a politician.

And hey, look at the bright side. There was minimal baby talk and no mention of the Callen quest. So there's that.

To follow Rountree's development, watch NCIS: Los Angeles online.

What did you think of the profiling storyline?

How well did Devin handle himself?

Should the series continue to attempt message storylines?

Comment below.

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