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NCIS Season 22 Episode 7 Review: Hardboiled

Critic's Rating: 3 / 5.0
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On NCIS Season 22 Episode 7, Torres is back in hot water — or at least tangled up in something that’s definitely off the books.

Why does he keep acting like he can do whatever he wants without facing consequences? Honestly, it’s baffling.

His character has been all over the place lately.

(Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS)

Last week, on NCIS Season 22 Episode 6, he was busy playing detective with Jess’s mysterious jacket (and wasting everyone’s time).

Now, he’s off the grid, cultivating his own CIs. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with building informants, but how he’s going about it feels… shady.

Vance thinks Torres might be crossing a line, but Parker brushes it off. Is he covering for him? I wouldn’t be surprised if Parker does think Torres overstepped but kept quiet to protect his team.

It wouldn’t be the first time.

And let’s be real — Torres finding himself in a mess is practically a running theme at this point.

(Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS)

The case of the week revolves around the murder of Roger Carnaghan, a naval researcher who was planning to steal and sell top-secret nuclear research.

Torres, in true Torres fashion, developed the guy’s wife, Amber, as a confidential informant — someone he just happened to meet at a party. Because, of course, he did.

Things go sideways when two private investigators catch Torres in a motel with Amber. It’s not a good look, but there’s more to the story.

Someone’s setting Torres up—shocker! It turns out Amber was in on her husband’s scheme, and the “missile” is at the center of it all. Yeah, it wasn’t a missile — it was a vacuum. Let that sink in.

And, surprise, surprise, the rookie P.I. was the one who thought he was going to cash in on the nuclear missiles that weren’t and caused the big mess that Torres found himself in.

Still, none of this changes the fact that Torres needs a leash — whether it’s for his off-the-books operations or just general boundary-pushing behavior.

(Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS)

The side story this hour? Just as lame. It centers on a bad call at a local kid’s soccer game, where Tim is moonlighting as a referee.

Apparently, Jimmy is the league’s head ref, which is how McGee got roped in. Unfortunately, this week, McGee has reverted to being McGeek.

And don’t get me started on Jimmy.

He’s such a noob, and it’s frustrating to see McGee stuck in a storyline about a bad soccer call while Jimmy treats him like they’re equally clueless. It’s insulting, honestly.

Look, I get the whole kids’ sports insanity and how unhinged parents can be. Been there, done that.

And sure, it’s nice to see McGee and Jimmy flex their parenting skills — but Jimmy feels so out of place in this universe.

(Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS)

I’ve been rewatching NCIS from the beginning, and even back in Season 1, Jimmy was a noob.

Gibbs and Ducky barely tolerated him (Don’t believe me? Check it out yourself.)

So why is he still here? He brings nothing but boredom, and watching him bumble through scenes is uncomfortable at best.

What’s worse is how McGee keeps getting dragged into irrelevant storylines like this.

His character has grown so much over the years, but these random detours feel like regression. It’s frustrating to watch.

And then there’s the real kicker.

(Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS)

McGee is in the middle of investigating a murder and discussing cigarette butt fingerprints with Kasie when — wait for it — Kasie decides it’s the perfect time to show him a video enhancement of the controversial soccer call.

I mean, WTF?

First off, do these people have nothing better to do during an active case? Especially Kasie? Last week, it was selfies with cadavers. This week, she’s busy with video enhancements for a soccer game.

And second, are we seriously using taxpayer dollars for this nonsense? Talk about wasteful government spending. It’s beyond ridiculous, and honestly, I’m over it.

(Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS)

I get that we need side stories, but some of these are so lame they make my eyes hurt.

A better use of McGee’s time would’ve been digging into LaRoche. Remember how he missed Ducky’s office dedication back on NCIS Season 22 Episode 3 because he was so caught up investigating LaRoche?

Since then, it’s like the whole thing has disappeared. If he was obsessed enough to miss such a big moment, why are we pretending it never happened? The inconsistency is maddening.

And speaking of maddening, let’s not forget NCIS Season 22 Episode 2 when the team had to hide a dead body.

(Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS)

Jimmy was the first one to question if they were crossing the line.

But now, when it comes to the soccer game where he clearly (thanks to Kasie’s reenactment video) made the wrong call, he wants McGee to let it go to save their “coaching careers.”

Seriously? It’s just kids — they’ll bounce back, right? But then Jimmy pulls a dramatic “I’m retiring from coaching” act, only to backtrack.

McGee? He’s out because he just wants to watch his kids play soccer. Respect. No need for McGee to follow Jimmy down this sad little road.

Honestly, Jimmy needs to leave NCIS altogether and sort himself out. He’s not adding anything to the team, and his constant baggage is dragging everyone down.

He’s like a sink clog — persistent, smelly, and impossible to ignore. Time to call the plumber. (What can I say? I call it like I see it. Shoot me.)

(Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS)

Lately, NCIS feels like watching a tennis match — one good episode, one mediocre one. There’s no consistency.

Returning to my rewatch of the early days, the original NCIS team with DiNozzo, Gibbs, McGee, and Kate (plus Ducky and Abby) reminds me a lot of the current vibe under Parker.

It was fun back then — until it wasn’t anymore.

I’m not sure what’s going on with NCIS right now or why the quality is all over the place, but it is.

With only two episodes left before the midseason break, here’s hoping they can finish strong and score a couple of wins.

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ANONYMOUS

Tuesday 3rd of December 2024

Average case-of-the-week, but I enjoyed the ending's character-driven scenes between Jimmy and Tim and between Nick and Harold. For Jimmy, he is adjusting to a post-Breena and post-Jess life. For Nick, he sees in the private detective Harold Lamb a glimpse of what he could become if he continues to close himself off to others. Both Jimmy and Nick are making small steps to adjusting their lives. Their progress will be difficult and slow, but with the help of their family at NCIS, they could hopefully change their lives to the right directions by the end of this season. I look forward to more character-focused moments in the next episodes.

And for those wondering about Alden's mysterious past with Lily, the plot summary for next week's episode "Out of Control" (December 9, 2024) reveals that Alden will see more visions of Lily. I suspect that Lily was Alden's childhood friend who accidentally died while she and Alden were playing around on a ship, which is why Alden has previously expressed discomfort with being on ships.

Dean

Monday 2nd of December 2024

Pretty uneventful case. Did like seeing Sara Paxton as Amber. People may always know her from Aquamarine or Return to Halloween Town. I personally liked her in the Last House on the Left remake and this episode shows she has the chops for drama.

I do not like Torres second to Knight he is my least favorite character but still the show cannot help but make him miserable feeling he had a second chance at love only to learn Amber was playing him keeping things from him. Added to the fact she was a blonde perky woman not so different from his last potential lover. Is this what they’re doing Torres falling for every golden haired girl in the hope to recreate the love he lost with Bishop like Gibbs tried to do after Shannon?

Did like Tim and McGee’s bromance. Bonding over soccer. As the only two on the team who are fathers with still young children their friendship is severely underrated.

Still no news about Parker’s Lily issues or McGee investigating the corrupt deputy director. Those would be more interesting cases than the last few disappointing episodes.

Dean

Wednesday 4th of December 2024

@Lisa Babick, yeah Kate was my favorite and she was nothing like Knight.

Lisa Babick

Monday 2nd of December 2024

Dean,

I know you're not a Jess fan. I get it. I like her a lot. She reminds me of Kate. Torres. Not so much. And Jimmy forget it. Can't stand him though I do appreciate him and McGee flexing their parenting muscle. And I totally agree -- Let's get into the Lily thing and start exploring the LaRoche story. Both, as you say, much more interesting. Plus, the LaRoche story will give McGee something to do instead of being a hanger on to dumb side stories...IMO. Thanks for your comment. Appreciate your insight.

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