There's tension brewing among the NCIS team.

Pride was back to his old habits on NCIS: New Orleans Season 4 Episode 9.

Gregorio followed his example, and he didn't like it much.

The shame was they both had the same goal: to protect homeless children from false accusations and ruthless robbers. There are obviously backstories for both of them, but it was only hinted at for Pride and not even discussed by Gregorio.

Percy seemed thrilled that Pride was seeing a psychiatrist and was trying to change his ways. She was afraid the team's luck was going to run out as long as Pride kept bending the rules.

LaSalle was on the fence. Fiercely loyal to Pride, he also saw the potential for disaster.

Surprisingly, Gregorio, the former upright FBI agent, was acting most like Pride.

In a very short time, Gregorio had appointed herself Tita's protector. First, she took her into her home, then she started a firefight with four thugs and chased after the lead robber without backup as he pursued Tita.

Pride was right to call her out for disobeying orders and freelancing in a dangerous situation.

But Gregorio was right that Pride was hypocritical. As many times as they have supported some of his hare-brained plans, the least he can do is trust them and back their plays as well.

It's called unconditional respect.

Is Pride losing the team? I don't think so.

It's like Loretta said. The squad will forgive his missteps because his heart is in the right place.

I think it's because they're scared. They've seen what life at NCIS is like without Pride during his forced time off, and they don't want a repeat of it. They'd rather have Pride than some by-the-book bureaucrat as their leader.

And let's face: they're all young and need a leader such as Pride. He's a wily veteran who has a lot of practical wisdom to offer them. They can decide what does and doesn't work for themselves.

The problem is that Pride is conflicted. He's trying to change the way he operates. But, for the most part, that way has worked for him in the past, so naturally, he keeps falling back into old habits.

I thought we'd be seeing more of the NCIS psychiatrist, Dr. Christo, introduced on NCIS: New Orleans Season 4 Episode 8. But apparently, she's mean to be a parenthetical character, one who is mentioned in an aside but never seen. That leaves more screen time for the regulars.

The case of the week was interesting if a little unbelievable. A group of robbers somehow stashed millions in diamonds inside a petty officer's camera, then pursued him across the globe to get it back.

Blithely discarding the logistical problems with that narrative, it was a sound concept. A sailor is less likely to get his luggage tossed. But if he ever tried to use his camera, he would rapidly discover the problem with the lens.

I thought it was disturbing, based on one piece of video, how readily those other than Pride were ready to pin Thompson's murder on the homeless children they derogatorily referred to as "gutter punks."

I mean, the kids were a bunch of petty thieves, stealing to survive, not kids who would kill execution-style.

Once it got established that brutal international jewel thieves were after the camera, that should have been the time for Pride to access all local law-enforcement resources so that the kids could be more easily protected. As DCHF Dan pointed out, maybe Joey wouldn't have gotten killed.

Once KC, the Artful Dodger of this little pack, got killed, that cleared the way for Pride to make some phone calls and find homes for the children that would keep them together as much as possible.

And, hey, Percy got a pet out of the deal! Adding a dog improves any show. Don't believe me? Check out Hawaii Five-0 Season 8. Eddie is the most well-rounded of the new characters.

Unfortunately, Pride got reminded once again that he ruined New Orleans' opportunity for increased employment when he caused the shipyard not to be built. Never mind that a corrupt mayor was driving poor immigrants out of their homes to do it. That's progress.

I was disappointed that I couldn't hear more of the X Ambassadors over the firefight. They should find a way to highlight New Orleans' musical backdrop in every episode.

During a short holiday hiatus, to check out the team's dynamics, watch NCIS: New Orleans online.

Will we see more of Tita? What's next for the team? How can Pride find his equilibrium?

Comment below.