NCIS Season 8 Episode 20

The creators of this show is pushing agent B . All agebts of NCIS-LA and all agents past and present are more suitable for the role she plays. The talrnt of Gibbs is second to none and presenting B as near-equal is a very unpleasant for me. Her character reminds me of all the rejected agents in the episode "Truth or Consequence" and I might say that most of them were better actresses than agent B. Gibbs intolerance of romance on the job is very refreshing.


The subplots are vague, incomplete and the episode is totally disappointing. I hope that the Mexicans, Somalis, Israelis, British and Arabs will be coming back soon to make the show as exciting as it has been

Normally, NCIS is one of my favorite shows but if they start putting out episodes like this one with any frequency, I'm going to be forced to reconsider. This episode was a complete mess.





The whole Port-to-Port killer plot could have been very promising had it been made the least bit believable, but it didn't come close. To start with, though the killer presumably picks his victims with some care, as the episode begins we see him lure his victim into an alley using a technique he couldn't possibly know that the victim would fall for, in a place he couldn't possibly know that the victim would go, at a time he couldn't possibly know that the victim would be available. And since the victim was originally with another sailor (who offered to drive him back) even if it was somehow inevitable that he would pass by that alley, there is no way the killer would know that he was alone (unless, I suppose, the killer turns out to be the guy he went with to the bar). The only way it would make sense is if the killer were trying to randomly trap anyone walking by, but that contradicts everything revealed about the killer and this incident.





Later the killer arranges to be at the same bar as Tony and Ziva and surprises them by buying them drinks, delivered by the bartender. The drinks happen to contain body parts from the victim. So how exactly did the killer know that they would be going to a bar, and how did he transport his special ice-cubes there (obviously, there are ways to do it, if, he happens to know where they are going and has planned the bit with the drinks), and how did he get the cubes into the glasses since it was the bartender who prepared and delivered the drinks?





Then there is the red-herring suspect who happens to have been in every port the killer was in at the same time as the killer, but just happens to not be the killer as he just happens to have been under the surveillance of the CIA all that time. Perhaps by the time they resolve this they will have an explanation of a connection between the two men which makes this plausible but given the other plot-holes, I doubt that will happen.





As if the plot-holes involving the killer weren't bad enough, the script had the regular characters acting in ways which are not at all consistent with those characters. Gibbs' animosity and disrespect towards Barrett is rather unprecedented. Certainly, Gibbs has been established as someone who likes to run the show, and he does not tolerate incompetence well, but his actions towards Barrett were quite unprofessional, mean-spirited, and seemingly-petty. Ziva's reaction to learning Ray had not informed her of confidential information was mind-boggling and arbitrary, and did not seem to fit her character. Director Vance's actions were somewhat consistent with the last few episodes but, overall, his apparent animosity and distrust of Gibbs has never made that much sense.





While it is not a problem, per se, the character, Barrett, is rather annoying -- I hope they aren't proposing making her a regular.





Very disappointing, overall.

Would be a much better show within the new female agent. not needed. And I Do Pray this does NOT mean she will still be in the show next season. - May cause me to just stop watching and concentrate on the NCIS-LA series. Would miss Gibbs and his team... but so discouraging with that female - messes up the entire show. or was she added too make the show longer. - Please writers - you can do soooo much better than this. Show would have neen soo much better without her being added. I just about dread the next show. If not for Gibbs and his team - I would NOT watch it.


- Writers, you are trying to change a very good series - better watch it or you won't have much of one.


- Of course, maybe she's the killer.......

There are at least 5 subplots - and we cling to the hope that Gibbs will kick butt and solve them all. DiNozo is hitting on the new special agent. Ziva has a boyfriend who is not who he seems. There is an international killer. The Director is more involved than necessary. Abby is frightened with the new addition to the team. The action jumps from subplot to subplot with little continuity. Rather than raising the interest level, these story lines are just irritating.


Finally, the episode closes, leaving everything hanging and hanging. This is very disappointing and suggests a novice writier. What a mess...to be continued.

A J Burnett , if kept, I believe will cause the great show of NCIS to disappear. It is clear that somebody with a bar or "gentlemen club" hostess mentality and attitude might revive the lowest rated season. This is a mistake. The 20-million followers of NCIS do not wish to see that type of acting from an agent. The flikker of hope I have in Gibbs saying that he will not tolerate it in his team. I hope it means she is out and out for good. Many occasional guest agents have been colorful and added a good contribution to the show, suchh as Abbi of the coast guard, agent cassidy etc. In contrast, NCIS-LA is getting better by the week and might even take over NCIS in popularity if the current trend continues. Last but not least , www.tv.com had NCIS as one of the top 1-3 throughout last season and it is now hovering around 9-12, meaning that many fans are noticing the decline. Please bring back the Mexicans, British, Israelis, Arabs, Koreans, Somalis etc. to regain the great international flavor of this show

i guessed from the start that he would somehow connect himself to the case and that's exactly what happened. i must say, not very original. is it me, or does ziva only date guys who work for a federal agency. it was too much like micahel. while i personally can't stand barret or Ray (because i am a tiva fan) i did like the interaction between barett and tony. but i am still not convinced that i like her. i really liked the new character interaction in this episode, which has been lacking in this whole season. i think the bar scene right at the end and the scene in the men's room with tony and ray was quite interesting to watch. i must say, this week's episode didn't have one boring scene. it is back to the old tiva?? there were some hints. like in the men's room when ray told tony that ziva thought of him as brother. tony's smile fell... what could that mean???? if season 8 is the last season (which i am praying it is not) then will tiva ever happen. i think gibbs had a really good point when he told barett to stay away from DiNozzo. i didn't like her from the start, and what really annoyed me in this episode was the way that she interrogated. that was unbelievable! however, i doon't understand why gibbs has hated her from day 1.... i mean, she seems nice, except she is destroying tiva. i think tiva shud get together and ray and barett shud too. the problem is solved! other than my hate for barett, it thought that the action in this episode was really good and the cliffhanger ending!! one of the best season 8 one's. i will be watching it again!

... in this episode.





First, there is Gibbs's intense dislike and disrespect for Agent Barrett. She is working that case for nine months prior Gibbs's involvment and he blows her off and never turns his back when she tries to inform the team of her findings and the murderer's profile.


Next he is undermining her directly in fornt of a serial killer suspect then arguing about the 'right' way to interrogate which certainly THAT wasn't it.


She is a team leader in the NCIS which is a position usually not given to incompetents and idiots but from the beginning Gibbs clearly doesn't respect her. Gibbs often dislikes other Agents on his turf, but until now he was never unprofessional towards any of them until Barrett.





Second, the rich kid suspect stands out like a sore thumb. I mean, how likely is it, that a person who fits Agent Barrett's profil to the tee is traveling all over the world, visiting all the murder spots right at the time of the killing AND is under observation by the CIA for being a syrian mole? Talk about bad writing.





And last but not least, the eyeball in the ice cube. The way the scene was written, it doesn't make sense. The murderer ordered the drink for DiNozzo and the Barkeeper delivered it. So how did the ice cube ends up in the glass? Either the Barkeeper put it in which makes him a prime suspect or the he brought the glass to the murderer, who then drops the cube into the glass and let the Barkeeper take it back to DiNozzo without questioning anything or even looking at the added cube? Not very convincing.

This was a great first episode to start out the Port-to-Port Killer arc. Wow. So much tension; you can literally see Team Gibbs cracking at the seams. Gibbs standing his ground against EJ, being his typically stubborn unyielding Gunny self was pure win. I cheered the whole time. Really not liking EJ :/ And what's up with Vance? He's been unusually antagonistic and secretive lately. Hmmmm... I thought there was a great balance between character and case this episode. As a Tiva (Tony/Ziva) fan I was worried I'd hate all the Ray/Ziva EJ/Tony stuff but it actually felt very "posi-Tiva", hehe. Gosh, did you SEE Tony's face when Ray said he loved Ziva, and that Ziva said she saw Tony as a brother? Poor guy looked devastated! Arghh, darlings, just get. together. already!! XD Also LOVED the bar scene at the end; it was so sweet that Tony sought out Ziva to comfort her after she and Ray had that falling out. And yes, I jumped at the eyeball :D Anyways, there was so much subtlety going on at times it was almost hard to keep up, but that's NCIS for you. I have no doubt this is going to be one AMAZING finale but first the seeds of discontent must be sown...

All the EJ Barret hate, I don't get it. She's competent, interesting, not evil, is a good match for Tony right now while Ziva has C.I- Ray, and I like that she stands up to Gibbs. I don't think this is going to be a popular opinion but I was on her side most of this episode, rather than Gibbs'. Gibbs was a bastard in that interrogation room. He treated her badly and you could see that she was just trying to solve the case. Anyone would be frustrated working with Gibbs, especially someone trying hard to prove themselves. So while I'm usually very defiensive of team Gibbs, I'm enjoying the dynamic.





EJ's relationship with Tony is interesting. She's a lot like the old Ziva, from season 3, except less anger and secrets and interwoven 'your brother killed my partner' angst. I mean, I still ship Tiva, but it was never going to be the same if they get together now as opposed to circa "Undercovers" or "Boxed in". THey have too much history now. So EJ sort of explores that a little. Gibbs telling her to stay away from the team was cool and the line "are you sleeping with DiNozzo" was awesome.





And while jealousy is overdone in Tiva, this way it's more even. Tony gets moments where he's jealous, but also where he was the good guy. Still, I like C.I Ray as well. He came off nice in the introductions. This talk with Tony in the bathroom was a little smarmy and annoying but when he was trying to convince Ziva it was real and that he loved her, did anyone else get Tony/Jeanne flashbacks? Which made me feel for him because obviously everyone felt for Tony when he was in that position. Poor Ziva though, and it started off so positively for her and Ray.





The scene at the end was nice Tiva, friendship is nice to see from them. And then the eye... creepy. I wonder if the next episode will start from there or later?





Almost a lack of Abby this week. A few good scenes with her and Gibbs. He promised her nothing's going to change. Talking to the audience and foreshadowing perhaps?





This week was almost entirely character plots. Gibbs/EJ, Tony/EJ, Tony/Ziva, Ziva/Ray. Sorry all you McGee fans, not much from him this week. Overall I enjoyed this episode a lot. There was a lot of nice friendship and positive team relations. I'm hoping that the eye in the glass delived to Tony means Tony might have a part to play in the P2P killer. Episode 22 is "Baltimore", Tony's origin episode. And people do seem to like Tony getting hurt. Unlike last years finale, I am enjoying this arc and can't wait for more.

In a word - wow. We finally get to see some more of Agent Barrett, Ziva reveals the elusive "Ray", and a possible major new storyline is set in motion.





I must say I was initially very disappointed with the character of Ray. I shared Tony's suspicion of him when he was introduced to the team. Something just wasn't quite right, like he was hiding something. Fortunately, it wasn't an "evil" side but his love for Ziva, and I am glad it was. Ziva has had some bad luck with men in the past and it's nice that she has found somebody. Though part of me still feels Ray is hiding something. I hope I'm wrong.





Agent Barrett gets more of a focus in this episode and I have to say, it was nicely played out. I had a feeling there was more to her presence than just a "normal" transfer but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Her conflict with Gibbs is excellent and believable. She has been with this case since the very beginning so naturally she wants the lead. My minor criticism is of the interrogation scene. Undermining a fellow NCIS agent in front of a suspect is highly unprofessional, even for Gibbs, and I was very surprised with how far he took it. Fair enough if he argues with her in private, or even in front of the team, but in front of a suspect and possible serial killer is taking it too far. That said, I am not a fan of Barrett; she comes across to me as slightly arrogant and controlling, though this may just be because I am used to seeing Gibbs in the leadership position. I don't know, perhaps, in time, she will grow on me.





With all of the various plotlines going on, this story had the potential to be very confusing but it wasn't. It was handled in a very clever and skillful way, where each story connects to the other. It's clear to me that the writers/producers had considered this story for quite some time and it really works well.





Finally, I must admit that the Tony/Barrett relationship was a surprise but a nice surprise. While I'm not a fan of Barrett, I think the two of them make a good couple and I can't help but wonder whether they will continue with a relationship, despite Gibbs' warning to back off. It would definately be nice to see Tony in a serious relationship, his first since Jeanne Benoit in season 4, though we'll just have to wait and see for that one.





Overall, I was extremely impressed with this episode. It could have turned out very confusing but it was executed in a brilliant manner and ended on the biggest cliffhanger we've seen for quite a while. I can't wait for next week! This one gets a perfect 10/10.

Interesting story line. Finally we meet Ziva's boyfriend in tonight's episode. But the relationship looks like it is going to be a short one.. I am still hoping that Tony and Ziva will end up with each other though that would be a tough one because Gibbs has a rule of no sleeping around with co-workers, tsk tsk. It's been awhile since Gibbs stepped up to protect his team and tonight we see it -- and the enemy is Special Agent Barrett. I don't like Barrett's character too but I don't understand where the displeasure of Gibbs is coming from. Maybe the distrust and displeasure will be explained in the next episode.

When the body of a murdered naval officer is discovered, Team Gibbs are called to investigate. However things aren't all they see as they soon find out when they are paired up with fellow NCIS agent EJ Barrett. From there they find themselves on the trail of a serial killer, dubbed the P2P killer by Abby, potentially setting up an interesting story arc with only one episode to go before the finale.





The premise sounds interesting and for the most part the episode was engaging and well written. I did however take issue with a couple of points. Firstly the overwhelming distrust towards Barrett, in particular Gibbs' behaviour. I feel his character was mishandled in this episode, he has always been written as a character who doesn't take too kindly to other agents on his turf, but the level of distrust he portrayed in this episode I felt was overkill. We have no backstory (thus far) or no real reason for his behaviour towards her, at first it could be excused for him testing her but the scene in the interrogation room felt out of place and extremely unprofessional (even by Gibbs' standards). Also consider that if the roles were reversed, Gibbs' would not just back down and this makes his reaction even more bizarre.





Hopefully there will be some explanation offered in a later episode. Was also nice to finally be introduced to Ray a.k.a C.I.Ray. Which brings me onto my second gripe with this episode, Zivas' feeling of betrayal over Ray not telling her about his involvement with the case. This felt kind of farfetched considering her line of work and her history though maybe we're finally starting to see some insecurities in her character emerging.





Finally, and as another reviewer pointed out, there was some questions over how the ice cube made it into the glass in the final scene, though for me, the shock reveal made up for this slight oversight.





This episode had some nice character development, albeit limited on the Abby or McGee front but that isn't a bad thing as you cannot focus on every character in an episode. Some slightly questionable writing in places and while I feel that it's too soon to say whether or not I like Barretts' character or not, I'm definitely not about to write her off. Particularly in regards to her relationship with Tony, I definitely feel there is potential here.





With that all said and done, I'm definitely looking forward to the season finale.

A very good episode.


The case first:


A good interesting case lasting on several episodes. A serial killer who plays with the team and follow them on their time off. I can't wait for next week episode.





Relationship now:


A lot happens in this episode, we finally meet Ray who is actually "CIRay" (I love Tony^^) and we have some background info on him. Nice and sweet diner scene between Ziva and Ray. And of course the guy had to lie to her, huge mistake seeing Ziva's issues with men and trust (except with Tony^^).





And on the other side we have Tony and AJ sleeping together. But wait, that's totally against Gibb' rules! Very interesting that Dinozzo chose to break one of these...And it' not a peaceful relationship, very entertaining! And the way "Daddy" Gibbs asks AJ if she sleeps with Tony and then tells her to stay away from his team... Like Ziva I was wondering what will Tony do when Gibbs know? Will Gibbs be disappointed? will we have a Tony-Gibbs talk in the elevator in the next episode? that would be interesting!





And I absolutely love the interaction between Tony and Ziva in this episode! Jalousy, flirty and the end scene was great too! Tony tells ZIva to give Ray another chance and actually defends the guy' actions and then he says to her that he is with AJ because he understands her:a knife in my little Tiva-fan-heart and did you see that look on Ziva's face? I also liked the end of the scene when Tony sees the eye in the glass and throw it away lol.





I also like Abby and the way she aprehends the Gibbs/AJ "thing", that's funny.





So I totally loved the episode, it a very interesting development for the end of the season and in the Tiva relationship (in my opinion that's a good thing, they will see that it doesn't work with other people and that the only way they can't be happy is together!^^ what? one can dream,no?^^)

A two parter? Interesting. Been awhile since NCIS has had a cliffhanger to conclude its episodes and I hope that the resolution to the murder is worth it.





This was a good episode of NCIS and I am glad to see that most of my fellow tv.com faithful feel the same way. Some fine Gibbs and DiNozzo moments and that is really the key to an enjoyable NCIS. A good case surely does not hurt though and this is a rare time where NCIS' case of the week actually did not bore me.





I was a little disappointed with the casting of Ziva's boyfriend, but that's a minor gripe in an otherwise entertaining episode.

There weren't too many subplots. There wasn't anything that doesn't add up, or anything like that. We finally got to know why Barrett is in DC. The killer is directing the investigators to the next location where he will kill someone else. That's why Barrett came in DC, to be prepared for the next kill. The killer is killing for the last 9 months, and SecNav is pressuring Vance to solve the case, by ANY means, that's why he was acting like that lately. It was kind of nice to see someone stand up to Gibbs, but Barrett is really annoying. She doesn't have the experience nor the skills to catch up to Gibbs or his team, but she sure knows how to act like she does. All in All, a great episode, and a great preparation for the season Finale.

I enjoyed the episode, but it is the only NCIS episode where all of the characters with any significant speaking part were jerks and unrealistic:


• EJ -- forget employee rules and feminism. As a practical matter no woman showing up for a new assignment and work team, especially one in charge, is going to jump into bed with someone (like Tony, of lower rank) the first day on the job. It adversely affects respect and morale. We learn that in this episode.


• Gibbs -- EJ is designated case leader by Vance, yet Gibbs interrupts and ignores her during interrogating a suspect, who is aghast at this. Later when EJ wants a team pow wow to discuss the case, Gibbs motions for the team not to assemble with her! EJ makes some protests, but does not go to Vance to discipline Gibbs.


• EJ again -- drama queen. When she first encountered the team she was rude in not introducing herself; instead she says nothing and starts moving a desk around. In this episode, with no introduction or "hello" at all, she dramatically and mysteriously prances around the crime scene apartment saying "he likes leaving things behind (the flower)", "I'll look around to see what I can find," and "My killer, my case." What a rude jerk!


• Tony -- he was incredibly impolite when first meeting Ray. Tony got jerky and familiar and critical immediately, like referring to Ziva's Mossad ways and whether Ziva knows Ray loves her, and calling Ray "someone who installs puppet regimes (CIA)," etc.


• Vance -- was playing his spiteful games by not telling Gibbs in advance that EJ would lead the case. In fact no one talks to anyone else. EJ doesn't introduce herself. Gibbs and EJ don't prepare for the interrogation. Ray doesn't tell EJ that Leitner is in the clear.


• Ziva -- she complains like a lunatic (to the point of breaking up) that Ray should have told her that he was CIA liason to EJ, that that failure was lying to her! Why? How? In fact, the CIA instructed him not to reveal that.


• Ray -- he comes off best, but as CIA liaison to the P2P case, why did he tell Ziva (and swear her to secrecy) and not EJ or Vance that Leitner was in the clear?

This was another top-notch NCIS episode, especially if you like E.J. Barrett. I thought the first scene of the episode was actually quite creepy and definitely very eerie.





I thought the qwhole case was very interesting. They certainly developed a thick plot in a short period of time. Added to that, the intermissions in which the team interacted with Ziva's boyfirend Ray were also quite interesting, and it combined to form a brilliant episode!





While I concede that there have been better episodes, even recently, this was undoubtedly a great episode, and I do highly recommend it! Keep it up, NCIS, and I cna't wait for the next episode! Great work, and the show it sgoing well!