“Killer Instinct” delivered one of the most chaotic cases of the season, blending serial killers, encrypted hitmen, and a side of marital tension served up over Coq au Vin.
NCIS Season 22 Episode 17 threw the team — and viewers — into a tangled web of poetic murders, government conspiracies, and simmering distrust.
It did it all while giving McGee a personal stake that finally pushed him out of the shadows and back into the spotlight.
Regular customers were sipping coffee at an outdoor café when a SWAT-style takedown dropped in like a scene out of The Bourne Identity.
Their target? A quiet man named Paul Morton, who was just trying to enjoy his breakfast before being arrested for the murder of Commander Ryan Willis.
An older customer named Flo thought that if she didn’t mind her Ps & Qs, SWAT might move on her next. She anxiously handed the waitress a big tip with a whispered promise not to make trouble. Flo, I felt that in my bones.
It turns out Morton is a hitman, but not just any hitman. He’s got a notebook of poetry with pages torn out and a reputation for killing with poetic flair. Enter The Poet, NCIS’s newest serial killer.
Morton looks like your average middle-aged guy — not attractive, not threatening, just… there, which is probably why he’s gotten away with so much. But who hired him? That’s the million-dollar question — and the one that yanks McGee into the fray.
Cue the whiplash: McGee’s wife, Delilah, walks into HQ with none other than Deputy Director Gabriel Laroche. I had the same reaction McGee did: “I’m sorry, Gabe?”
Let’s be honest — McGee doesn’t buy Laroche’s “I’m just a nice guy with an important job” routine, and neither do I. Delilah does.
She thinks McGee’s distrust of Laroche is a professional problem, not a personal one. I disagree. This man plays chess while the team plays checkers — and not in a cool, Gibbs sort of way.
We haven’t seen Delilah since NCIS Season 21 Episode 9, where she was more excited about home renovations than federal crimes. And now she’s suddenly “helping” the team?
Kassie acts like Delilah’s been instrumental this whole time, but she hasn’t even earned Tactical Wallpaper status. Let’s call it what it is — McGee is only married when it’s convenient to the plot.
As for Morton, his next target is Chief Warrant Officer Ian Garza. Before he can act, he recites lines from a poem by Alan Seeger: “I have a rendezvous with death…”
And then, while in custody — in custody — he dies. Turns out, he had tiny glass capsules embedded in his arms filled with a paralytic and an enzyme. Self-inflicted murder by science. That’s commitment.
Jimmy humming nursery rhymes while working on Morton? Peak creep factor. But let’s not dwell — there’s another target out there, and Morton didn’t act alone.
Jess reveals that both victims had ties to a Department of Energy railcar named Atlas — yes, that’s a real thing.
Atlas moves spent nuclear fuel across the country a couple of times a year, and both Willis and Garza worked that detail. That’s the connection. The kill list just got deeper.
And here comes Laroche again, chiming in with the obvious: “We need to find who hired him.” Wow. Insightful. Thank goodness he’s here to keep the team on track.
Delilah, we learn, is working in Cyber now. Laroche visited her office, which somehow led to a couple’s dinner with his wife, who’s apparently making Coq au Vin.
Before this charming dinner party, we learn that Delilah has built some custom encryption software to help crack the case. Handy.
Morton used a hitman broker — because of course he did. Her name’s Gemma Wood, and she runs a diamond business. The plan? Pretend Morton is still alive to draw her out.
Nick goes undercover — and by that, I mean he barge-rants his way through the front door with all the subtlety of a drunk moose. It’s laughable. If this is how NCIS handles covert ops, we’re doomed.
And Gemma? She flirts with him. Ew.
Even Jess’s turn as an irate fake customer threatening a Yelp review couldn’t save the scene. And the ring she used? The one from her fake marriage to Nick on NCIS Season 22 Episode 11.
She kept it because she likes having it. You know, instead of buying herself one like a normal adult woman might.
Eventually, they link Gemma to Carla Marino, an old-school mobster from Kansas City.
Carla’s name has floated around the NCIS universe before — she’s been tied to dirty dealings and organized crime in past episodes — so her presence adds some weight.
With 20 minutes left in the episode, I braced for impact. And yep — it got dumber.
The team raids Gemma’s place, finds a second hidden safe (naturally), and Delilah’s dinner turns into a pasta-sauce emergency so McGee can sneak off to investigate Laroche’s files.
It turns out that Laroche is on a top-secret security board for Atlas. Why didn’t he tell anyone? Because it’s top secret, duh.
Still, McGee doesn’t trust him, and he has a point.
Laroche is the reason Torres’s undercover op imploded last year. The man’s shady, no matter how well he tap dances through bureaucratic nonsense.
Eventually, McGee pretends to be The Poet to lure out the latest hitwoman, who is far too bubbly to be believable, and stages a fake shooting with a real bullet to save Laroche’s life. Teamwork makes the dream work, apparently.
And somehow, Laroche comes out the other end grateful for McGee’s help. Vance is annoyed but begrudgingly impressed when Parker reveals a Nexus Cartel tattoo on one of the would-be assassins.
The Nexus Cartel has popped up occasionally in NCIS lore as an elusive and dangerous group, with ties to weapons smuggling and international corruption.
As for Carla Marino? Still no answers.
But Delilah traced a VPN node called Nocturne back to a Department of Defense server — the same name McGee found in Laroche’s notebook. Suspicious much?
In the end, McGee whispers a parting shot to Laroche: “I’m coming for you.” No peace. No forgiveness. Game on.
If “Killer Instinct” featured some of the worst NCIS has to offer, it circled back with a setup worthy of the series. But what did you think of this late entry to NCIS Season 22?
Was McGee’s poetic justice satisfying, or did the convoluted plot leave you scratching your head?
Cast your vote in our episode poll and share your thoughts in the comments below — let’s discuss!
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