JE's Ramblings

It's the end of the months and I finally felt able to actually watch something. In the last year or so I noticed that I had a decreased tolerance for watching videos with people talking. It quickly got annoying if it was in the background. And at other times I just plain preferred the rhythm of music.

In comparison to that, and since way longer, I can't seem to focus on anything (TV/Video) longer than 5-10 minutes unless I'm either in a cinema or am doing busy work like ironing, cleaning or anything else that takes up at least some of my attention.

Otherwise, I'm pretty much in favour of simply sinking into a good story to read and imagine everything myself.

Well, I found busy work where I didn't mind watching something with - reorganizing my kitchen cupboards so the older stuff is at the front :)

After skipping through Yankee White (1x01) of NCIS earlier this month as well as Hung Out to Dry (1x02) and making automated screencaps of the next two episodes, I figured I'd give three of them a try when I really felt the need to have something to give me short visual breaks from organizing...

Please also note, that I've read There's Always Tom Morrow recently which has the team face some repercussions for missteps during the investigation. So, this might influence my view on them somewhat. But without further ado, here are my thoughts on those episodes:

Hung Out To Dry

First of all - the computer screens!! Those clunky 90s style computer screens. I remember them very well, but either my sense of how old NCIS is way off or how recent the change to flat screens is. And apparently nobody locked their screens... I don't know if that's just my experience in places where we keep getting reminded to lock our screens or if it really wasn't an issue (or even possibility) back then. I mean, the series started in 2003 when I graduated from school. I have absolute no idea how much of a focus was on things like that in the professional world or more specifically a government agency. And those flip phones!

Okay, nearly two decade old technology issues aside, let's focus on the actual episode.

I was surprised to notice that two episodes in a row start with Gibbs in his basement working on that boat after the opening credits. I didn't actually remember there being that many scenes in there. I'm curious to see how that develops. Not to mention the way Gibbs handles the issue of his most recent ex-wife calling him non-stop on their anniversary. Namely destroying all the phones he has.

I found it a bit grating how Tony got a mocked a bit for seemingly not knowing things like when he asked "Opiates?" and his previous experience was questioned. I mean, I could see that single word question in multiple ways. In the scene it was played as if he didn't know that it was the collective term for (some?) drugs. However, I could see it also mean something along the lines of "How did drugs get onto those parachutes?". However, there were some looks thrown between Gibbs and Tony and with some of the tasks Kate was given it felt more like they were easing her into the process of a criminal investigation and the jargon used as well as nudging her along with critical thinking of what kind of stuff they should be looking for. That part might be from one too many story I read where Gibbs and Tony decided to have Tony play dumb(er) to play into Kate's initial view of him in order to motivate her.

Tony also seems quite excitable about one detail per episode. In this one it was the parachuting in a later it was Puerto Rico. In comparison, I think the most serious conversations he has with Gibbs are when it's just the two of them.

Kate's clearly a bit out of the element - from showing up in high heels to a crime scene (I loved that moment when Gibbs presents her with the shoes) to her clear excitement to being able to help Abby to how she realises that Gibbs got exactly what he wanted from Bud Roberts. Not to mention Gibbs analogy about horse traders. There's certainly some very nice bantering shared between all of them. It makes me wonder though how much training Kate went through between leaving Secret Service and starting at NCIS.

I'm also amused and a bit horrified at the joke about Tony breaking his neck being the way they could have made headlines at the end of the episode when Tony asks about NCIS ever getting the spotlight. Then again, maybe this is a moment that requires a missing scene between Tony being pushed out of the plane (and clearly hurting his foot somewhere in the process) and closing the case up at NCIS headquarters in time for the news report about the arrest.

Oh, and I got some strong Tony/Abby vibes. I remember why I shipped those two.

Seadog

I loved how Tony goes through all kinds of cases in a bid to get out of that HR lecture everyone has to attend. I mean, both Gibbs and Tony are shown as quite the flirts under the right circumstances with Tony finding those more often, but I didn't get the impression that either one of them would overstep boundaries if clearly stated. And Kate seems to be willing to return the bantering on that front instead of drawing a line.

At times Kate seems a bit trigger happy about seeing anything Tony did as an issue. I mean, the situation in question isn't shown, so it's not clear if Tony couldn't draw the line as Kate thinks or if it was just a simple misunderstanding as Tony was trying to get his safety belt on - I know I rarely look what I'm doing there so I can see someone grabbing the wrong thing on that front. I can also see why Kate would be doubtful considering how much of a flirt Tony is and her kind of negative view on him on that front.

I also liked the interplay between Gibbs and Tony about the phone number of that reporter Tony got and Gibbs wanted to discuss their dead Navy Commander.

Not sure how much of an issue I have with Gibbs telling Kate that she doesn't have to do what Tony tells her, but only him. I mean, sure as the boss for both he can overrule them, but Tony is still senior to Kate and I'm going to assume that both take on training her. It should have been more along the lines of "I can override him if I want to". Maybe Gibbs has just too much of a deadpan humour though.

Otherwise, I don't know where it came from - but I had strong vibes about Tony and that DEA Agent. I need to check if there are stories out there that pair those two up.

I found it interesting how it turned from a drug case to a terrorism case though. And that Fornell showed up again. I didn't realise he was there this often in the early episodes. The end was a bit anticlimactic though. Oh, it's terrorism, there's our guy and he's using an online guide to cause a blackout and - they drive there, driving through a locked gate and shoot the guy. Over and out. Nice touch with the manual dial and being happy the guy didn't use speed dial to rig the bombs though.

The Immortals

First of all - was that really the first time Tony notified a next of kin? Or did he play Kate not just about hiding the fact that it would be his first time or did he do a double play that he just made her believe that? I mean, he's been a cop for how long? Could he have really gotten away with making others do it for that long? Even if he had gotten away with that as a cop, would he have gotten away with it working for Gibbs?

I liked how they had the various conversations with crew members about the victim and what he was like and if he would kill himself or not. Especially the more it revealed that he was increasingly out of touch with reality.

I have to admit that if I hadn't read that fic I listed above, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about Abby playing through the games trying to find which ones the victim was involved with, but having it pointed out how time consuming that must have been - and wouldn't she have had other things to do? - it is kind of at odds. However, I'm not sure if they could have gotten warrants for information without knowing which specific one or if the organizers would have revealed if a player existed on them or not without one. Nor am I sure how much information would have been available back then in comparison to today where you can seemingly find everything with a quick google search.

Between the parachuting that Tony liked in "Hung Out To Dry" and Puerto Rico in this episode and kind of getting his wish, it almost feels as if Gibbs is indulging him by giving him his wish.

Oh and something else I noticed - all the interesting camera angles they used in the episodes. From when Ducky speaks with the dead victims and the viewer is seemingly looking through the eyes of the victim to how much they actually showed of the autopsy.

Kate appears to be rather uptight so far, but considering that she went from Secret Service which probably pays a lot of stock into how you dress and behave in a bid to blend in and display a very professional image of yourself to NCIS which seems a bit more relaxed as long as you get things done and acknowledging that the job can be rather dirty and not always suitable to wearing suits. I know I would be feeling a bit uncomfortable with such a change and maybe that's why Kate's so uptight. It's what she knows in a world that leaves her out of her comfort zone.

Aside from that - those gifts Tony brought them at the end: I think he deliberately picked something that he knew both would hate or not know what to do with. Fanon has Tony as the prankster and I don't remember how much of it came from canon, but if it's a canon thing - this would be a prime example :)

Those episodes certainly have wet my appetite to watch more. It was jokier than I remembered, but that's perfectly fine with me :)

They're a bit all over, but they're written after the fact and some things just blend together for me when I watch several episodes in a row :D