NCIS Season 16 Episode 21 Review: Judge, Jury...
Paul Dailly
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Is anyone else suffering from whiplash?
NCIS Season 16 Episode 21 featured a case so farfetched that it was difficult to keep up with what was going on.
It's bizarre that the case of the week kicked off thanks to Kasie doing some extra work, but it was perfectly in character for her to do so.
If you watch NCIS online, you know that Kasie is still a relative new member to the team, and she's been a great addition as the replacement for Abby.
The case against Crum was wild because he knew he should have been sent away for his part in the poisonings, but he also knew that he could get away with killing.
30 years had passed, and some could say that he's a changed man, but he never served his time for killing.
It was somewhat intriguing that Crum would never have been caught if he had not been acquitted from a previous crime.
His DNA being in the system was no surprise, but it was surprising that the case could be rendered over with ease even though he admitted his role in the killing.
The case helped push Gibbs to his limit, and that was a good thing. Gibbs has been making a lot of changes of late, but he connected with the victim's father in a way that your typical agent could not.
Related: CBS Confirms Fate of NCIS
Gibbs lost a child as well, so he could understand what Tommy's father was going through much better than what anyone else in his team could.
Lawyer: So, Agent Bishop. We are here today because of a federal initiative to get cold case DNA into modern systems. DNA which produced a match to the defendant, Stuart Crum, is that correct?
Bishop: Yes, if you look to exhibit A, the so-called 1989 ice cream murder, six klowny kake ice cream bars were partially cut open and laced with strict nine poison. Five children fell critically ill.
Lawyer: And Thomas Larson eventually died.
Bishop: Yes, it caused a nationwide panic.
Lawyer 2: Objection. How can agent Bishop speak to something that happened 30 years ago? Was this witness even alive in 1989?
Bishop: Actually, I was. I was four-years-old, and I vividly remember my father forbidding me and my brothers from running after the ice cream truck.
Gibbs wanted justice, but there wasn't much he could do if Crum was being let go on a technicality. It's crazy how legal matters shake out sometimes, but Gibbs persisted until he got some results.
It was predictable that Crum wound up dead. He was smug, and didn't care much for his actions. In his mind, he wanted to be a free man and felt like he was entitled to that.
There was a gut punch of a moment when the father of the victim was removed from the courtroom early into "Judge, Jury..." and it seemed almost too obvious that he was going to retaliate.
Then again, the poor father was struggling with the fact that the person who murdered his son was determined to fleece the justice system into getting away with a heinous crime.
Related: CBS Confirms Fate of NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans
Tommy's sister stepping in to defend her father was a pivotal moment. She had not spoken to her father in a decade, but believed him to be innocent.
It turns out, their relationship was more than a little fraught. So, who actually killed Crum?
Was anyone else annoyed we didn't get a definite answer?
The case joining with McGee's silicone valley arc came out of the left field, but at least it explained why it seemed like he wasn't being entirely truthful with everyone else.
McGee seemed ready to move on from the NCIS, and while he would probably have enjoyed this new role, there was a government conspiracy at play.
McGee being arrested by the company headhunting him was just par for the course. What did he expect when he was looking into things he was not supposed to be looking at?
The Cayman island account being closed was no surprise. Everyone involved with that account and all of the dodgy dealings likely knew the net was starting to close in.
The shocker here is that McGee was not sent away for his plan. As always, Gibbs was on hand to drop a can of verbal whoop ass over the phone to save his friend.
Will there ever be a day in which Gibbs is not the hero?
The revelation that all of this was even linked to that account in the first place was another development that came out of nowhere.
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Tying the two plot threads together made it feel like the creative forces realized the end of the season was approaching and that they needed to find a way to make the mystery gather steam.
I do like the question being asked about why the bailiff would be paid $3 million from that account. It would suggest that the person was the one to carry out the killing of Crum.
For now, we have the dead body of Clarke and Mallory leering over his body to go on. Just like that, we have the mystery that's going to carry us through the rest of NCIS Season 16, NCIS Fanatics!
What are your thoughts on all the twists in the case? Were they too far? Did you really think McGee was gearing up to leave the team?
Hit the comments below.
NCIS continues Tuesdays on CBS.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
