The spotlight shone brightly on Loretta revealing some things that she'd rather be kept hidden.

We got to find out quite a bit about NCIS: New Orleans' mother hen on NCIS: New Orleans Season 3 Episode 15, which is something I applaud.

This was all smoothly accomplished through a copycat murder that brought up ghosts for Loretta.

It was good to see what unhinges Loretta, who is generally so steady and so strong.

We were given a more layered portrait of Loretta, who, it turns out, was the victim of an abusive marriage.

It makes sense that Loretta was being reflective. Her son Danny has enlisted in the Navy while surrogate son Sebastian is leaving the lab, at least part time.

Sebastian: You're like the mother I never had.
Loretta: You have a mother. I've met her.
Sebastian: Exactly.

• Permalink: You're like the mother I never had.

That left her susceptible to fear when a new murder replicated one from 20 years prior. Especially after the man convicted of the first murder was now out of prison.

That man, a schizophrenic, proclaimed his innocence for both murders, and he came to Loretta for help.

This hour also showed that Loretta can be wrong, but she handled it with grace and humility.

Now, this was a fairly simple case of the week.

If you start with the premise that the man proclaiming his innocence is not guilty, that only leaves a couple of others who could be the murderer.

And of course, it was the lawyer, because they're inherently less noble than street-car drivers.

Again, it was almost an afterthought. It was just a convenient way to look into Loretta's past, especially the husband of whom no one seemed aware.

At least she's grown from her mistakes.

I'm not going to let the past weigh me down any longer. I'm moving on.

Loretta [to CJ]

• Permalink: I'm not going to let the past weigh me down any longer. I'm moving on.

Then there's Sebastian, NCIS's least likely agent. Let this experiment go away.

First Sebastian got made fun of by Loretta's younger son, CJ. Then he got knocked out, granted from behind, by the murderous lawyer.

Sebastian: Please tell me that getting my ass kicked all the time is part of the whole newbie thing. Because, if not, I'm going back to the lab. Or buying a bunch of life insurance.
Gregorio: You did great, baby, and you're doing great. Just hang in there.

• Permalink: You did great, baby, and you're doing great. Just hang in there.

Is this to remain a running joke for the rest of the season? I mean, it's nice to have a mascot, but come on. Let's let Sebastian fade into the background.

Again, there was no sign of Percy, without even a mention of why this time. The show is worse off without her, so let's see if she can't finish the season strong.

Percy's only mention came as a result of Gregorio's misguided matchmaking efforts for LaSalle.

She apparently fancies herself a matchmaker and was giving LaSalle her services, whether he wants them or not.

She even threatened to go after the woman at the lawyer's office who was flirting with LaSalle, just to get him to move.

As frightening as it is, she's probably had the best luck in the dating pool among the squad members. Granted, her most recent fling is in prison, but you can't have everything.

Still, for as little time as she's known LaSalle, she profiled him effectively.

Gregorio: I think I've identified his type. Tough, loyal, whip-smart, sassy. Can hang with the boys and give as good as she gets.
Patton and Sebastian: Percy?
Gregorio: Like I said, I'm not sure how to break it to him.

• Permalink: Like I said, I'm not sure how to break it to him.

Pride's main contribution was to offer folksy wisdom to Loretta and Jack Gordon, the man wrongly convicted of wisdom. That included a nice plug for the Innocence Project.

Still, isn't it about time to have Pride stop pining for his ex-wife and get back out there? Giving him more to do than work and occasionally playing piano would be a plus.

There's no new episode next week. But the rest of the season promises to be mostly stand-alones, for better or worse.

All things being equal, I'd rather get the next story arc hopping to carry over into the fall.

To catch up on what your favorite NCIS: New Orleans character has been doing, watch NCIS: New Orleans online.

How did you like the case? Did you enjoy learning more about Loretta? Who else deserves spotlighting? Comment below.

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