Can we please leave Judy in Africa or somewhere else off-screen?

On NCIS Season 19 Episode 7, McGee's mother-in-law took center stage after finding a dead body on a cruise ship, but it was clear from the outset she cared more about keeping secrets than the safety of those in her inner circle.

Seriously, her home exploded, and someone wanted to kill her, yet she thought she could have book club as usual? What was going through her head to think that would be okay?

Her lack of self-awareness shone through "Docked," and it was a real shame she thought to invite people to her daughter's home while knowing someone wanted her dead.

The biggest surprise was that Judy cracked the case, and even at that, it was a convoluted conclusion that felt like a half-baked attempt at redemption.

The case was very good, but the number of coincidences in the writing and with Judy hiding everything from her daughter made it one of the strangest episodes in the series' history.

The only shocking part came when the delivery man was revealed to be her ex-fiance. How can you be engaged to someone for six months and keep it from your nearest and dearest?

Damn. Let's hope Harold asks her to live away from the U.S. because it will be hard to forget how much Judy's addition made this case unwatchable.

I know NCIS wants to pay homage to the characters in the world of the agents, but this should be a lesson just to proceed with caution when utilizing them in this manner.

A cruise ship dumping toxic waste into the ocean was a shocker, but Judy's realization that they didn't stock the brand of beverage in the footage did not sit well with me.

Had Judy been more vocal from the jump, it would have been easier to get on board with her story, but she was purposefully putting a target on her back and her family, by extension.

McGee was clearly just going through the motions as he tried to keep the peace in the house while simultaneously trying to crack the case. It's not every day your mother-in-law pops up and finds a dead body.

Delilah may have been overbearing, but it's easy to understand when you consider how her mother acted like butter wouldn't melt.

It's not uncommon for children to care about their parents, more so after one of them dies. Once they're gone, they're gone, and Delilah probably felt terrible because Judy acted as though she was coddling her.

I still don't believe Judy will send the itinerary. She'll throw out the "I forgot" card another handful of times, and maybe Delilah will just have to accept it is the way her mother is.

The broader issue was that Judy didn't even care about her safety. She almost got blown to smithereens and felt like she was on top of the world.

Parker's request to the team to use the application to communicate was the complete opposite of how Gibbs worked, and while it would have made for a nice change of pace, we already know this team hates change.

The first few episodes of NCIS Season 19 are a perfect display of that.

Parker is more about the latest technology and how that can help improve their working conditions, but as a whole, it interrupted the flow of the show.

The moment we learned people working on the cruise ship used an application to communicate, it became as clear as day that the app was a forced way of revealing more about the cruise ship with which the team was communicating.

It was comical that Torres aired his thoughts on the app publicly because he didn't even care that Parker knew his feelings.

Torres has been anti-Parker from the beginning because of how Gibbs left the team, but Torres needs to stop the nitpicking and embrace the change.

Parker is not a bad man and has brought a very different energy to the team. As so many people say, if he replaced Gibbs, he would have been a carbon copy.

Instead, he's the opposite of Gibbs, which leaves scope to bring new and exciting cases into the mix.

Another thing is that I still don't believe Gibbs is gone for good. He remains a part of the show's opening sequence, leading me to think he will reemerge here and there when things are getting rough for the team.

"Docked" was the weakest episode of NCIS in recent memory. Much of the plot was forced, and while I like the undeniable witty banter, it couldn't mask the holes in this story.

What did you think of Judy keeping everything to herself?

Do you think she was selfish?

Do you think the case would have flourished without her?

What are your thoughts on Torres being highly critical of Parker?

Hit the comments below.

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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.