NCIS: New Orleans Season 2 Episode 18 Review: If It Bleeds, It Leads
Kathleen Wiedel
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Brody finally unraveled the mystery regarding her twin sister's death in NCIS: New Orleans Season 2 Episode 18, and it all felt weirdly... mundane.
Her boss, desperate for a story, did some illegal spying on the story's subject, and Emily found out about it and therefore had to go.
Part of the problem with this episode lay in the buildup for it, with the altered pictures that had been sent to Brody earlier on this season.
There had been no movement, nor indeed even any mention, of the photos in recent episodes, to the point where I was seriously wondering if that whole story arc had just been abandoned and forgotten. The end result being that the story felt really rushed and compressed into this one episode, when it probably would have felt more satisfying if it played out over two or more.
To make matters worse, the whole deal with the altered photos was simply the guy who had been convicted of Emily's death trying to get Brody to investigate the case. That seems needlessly convoluted to me and came across like one of the writers had an idea for a grand conspiracy story that ultimately got nixed.
In fact, most of this story felt like a letdown. Frankly, I'd almost have felt better if Brody really were traipsing down the rabbit hole, as she was repeatedly warned about during the episode.
And the team harping more than once about Sebastian's conspiracy theorizing came across as overly harsh, considering that this particular characteristic was toned way down this season.
Thought this latter case produced one of the episode's funnier lines:
Percy: Well, you *are* the guy who said JFK got abducted by aliens.
Sebastian: I don't say that. The evidence does.
Be sure to check out the NCIS: New Orleans quotes page for some of the notable lines from this episode!
There is also a bit of a headscratcher in the initial murder that got our team invovled. So, the hitman drugged the victim and then struggled with him. Was the party bus coming along fortuitous for the hitman, or what? Was he just lucky? Had he planned on shoving the victim into traffic the whole time? There didn't seem to be any other cars out there on that road.
Obviously, I would make a terrible hitman.
Overall, I just really wish that this story had been better served by its resolution.
The episode wasn't all bad, though. It had some good personal scenes, such as when the team teased Brody about her still not having unpacked despite being there for two years, as well as the uplifting conversation later between Brody and Loretta.
A few final notes before I turn the discussion over to you, fine readers and fellow fans:
- St. Patrick's Day is indeed a mighty fine shindig in New Orleans, with parades, block parties, and the whole nine yards for days leading up to the holiday itself. And I wish everyone a happy St. Patrick's Day!
- Anyone else feel weirdly uncomfortable with Brody and Percy ribbing LaSalle about using his "enhanced interrogation techniques" on the intoxicated witnesses at the beginning of the episode?
- The Globe now has its next big story: "Globe owner accused of wiretapping, murder conspiracy!"
- That hitman wasn't very bright, using the exact same murder technique apparently every time. This is precisely what allowed Brody and company to realize the connection between the murder of the chief warrant officer and Brody's sister.
So, what did you think of "If It Bleeds, It Leads"? Did you predict Robert Nolan as the guy behind it all, or were you thinking that his red herring son Daniel was responsible? Did this feel like a good resolution to the mystery of the death of Brody's sister? Let us know in the comments section below!
If you missed this episode, no worries; you can always watch NCIS: New Orleans online to catch up! Check back for our review of NCIS: New Orleans Season 2 Episode 19, "Means to an End," after it airs on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at 9/8c on CBS.
