The newest incarnation of NCIS: New Orleans is hardly a well-oiled machine.

Maybe that lack of lubrication can account for how noisy it was on NCIS: New Orleans Season 3 Episode 12.

Now that half of the season is gone, Gregorio is finally, officially a team member.

For better or worse.

Based on the comments made on this site, most viewers seem to have the latter opinion.

I'm going to go with the former.

Yes, Gregorio is an acquired taste.

The producers set out to create the anti-Brody and they succeeded, maybe too well.

She began as that caricature – the pushy, know-it-all federal agent. But she's been softened up, once more of her back story was known.

An abandoned wife who fled N'Awlins in shame, but who finally stopped running. 

A tight-laced bureaucrat who learned to learn the looser pace of the Big Easy.

She can even smile and laugh on occasion.

She's not Brody.

It's not necessary that viewers like every character on a series. But those characters must serve a purpose within the show.

What Gregorio is is the mouthy irritant which will cause this mellow unit to evolve.

Of course,there's going to be friction when a veteran FBI agent finds herself back at the bottom of the pecking order, But as long as everyone understands that, no biggie.

Gregorio: Hey, look, LaSalle. I know we've been butting heads. But today was ...
LaSalle: A huge success. It was.After all, we took down the bad guys and at the end of the day, that's all that really matters.
Gregorio: Still we were at each other's throats.
LaSalle: It's growing pains.Ancient history.
Gregorio: History tends to repeat itself.
LaSalle: As far as I'm concerned, we were arguing because we both care. And that's a good thing.
Gregorio: All right, I'm down with that.

• Permalink: All right, I'm down with that.

All her new teammates seem to have accepted and welcomed her. So it's time to move on.

Besides, soon she won't be the newbie anymore, after Sebastian gets through his training.

If his teammates stop calling and let him complete training.

What Sebastian lacks in strength, he makes up for in spirit. I bet you anything he makes it through.

LaSalle [to Gregorio]

• Permalink: What Sebastian lacks in strength, he makes up for in spirit. I bet you anything he makes it...

I've grudgingly accepted the fact that Sebastian is going to end up a field agent, at least part time.

Even if he's the first action figure who plays with action figures.

Like with Abby on NCIS or Garcia on Criminal Minds, Sebastian continues to be one of those behind-the-scenes characters who comes through to save the day. 

However unlikely that may be. But wish fulfillment for viewers is important.

Another upside is Sebastian's absence leads to Mother Loretta being flustered as she must operate with a series of fill-in helpers. It's a real opportunity for comic relief served up other than Sebastian style.

Hopefully, Sebastian will graduate sooner rather than later, so the new lineup can be operational before season's end. Maybe by the end of February.

Now let's look at the topical case of the week.

Good use of an industry that not many associate with New Orleans, unless there's a spill, of course.

That Pride, he's a versatile one, knowing somebody in any field.

Of course Pride spent summers working on his uncle's oil rig. What hasn't the guy done?
LaSalle; Certifiable Renaissance man. That's why he's the boss.

Gregorio

• Permalink: Of course Pride spent summers working on his uncle's oil rig. What hasn't the guy done?...

I understand the local unit works on a shoestring, so it made fiscal sense for Pride to take that one available seat on the chopper.

But taking no sat phone out where there's no cel service in the middle of the ocean makes no sense. After all, as was pointed out repeatedly, an oil rig can be a dangerous place.

And with 24 people to interview, maybe a second agent would be helpful, especially as backup, after establishing there's a murderer tied to the rig. Then Pride wouldn't have to be improvising weapons.

But at least he miraculously found the one woman on the rig to be his ally. She was a real Renaissance woman herself. She even showed up in the nick of time to save his ass, as he tried to arrest three criminals with gravitas alone.

And of course the MBA did it, even if he was just seeking Mommy's approval. The fiscal motivation of the greedy roughnecks was much easier to tolerate.

So now the squad is more complete. WIll it be a series of self-contained episodes for the rest of the year? Or is it time to set up the next arc to carry over into the fourth season?

How about a Percy episode? She's been underutilized/missing for much of this season, so she could use a little love.

To follow the development of Gregorio, watch NCIS: New Orleans online,

Have you accepted Gregorio, however grudgingly? Can you take Sebastian seriously as an agent? Who gets the next romantic relationship, as those have been lacking this season (look what happened to Brody)?

Comment below.

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