Blade

"Hard Candy Christmas" was sung by Kelly Clarkson. Hearing that song left me with the hope that somewhere down the line the team inadvertently gets involved and brings Kyle down in an epic and tragic fashion.

I agree. I think that Rose's motivating factor was to protect first her husband and secondly her MIL. I understand why she'd want to spare her husband what she herself has had to endure because of her parents' divorce (namely the way she's been treated by her father-in-law). By saving Daniel, she saved all of them from the social repercussions, including the mistress and the illegitimate son. Even still, I can see why she'd want to protect him for her own sake. Having to deal with scandal from both sides of her family would be misery.

I'm not sure how I thought they were going to handle it, but I was worried it to be either too morose or too lighthearted. I was wrong on both accounts. I think the way they handled Mrs. Wolowitz's death was done wonderfully and with respect. I teared up and smiled at the same time. Kudos to both the cast and the writers.

I can understand the frustration of going from sharing just about everything to not being able to discuss much of anything related to work, but if they aren't supposed to discuss anything, Jake wouldn't know he was withholding anything potentially helpful unless Bishop was giving him explicit details about the case. Regardless, if Gibbs had asked that their conversation stay private, I admire Jake for waiting for Gibbs' go-ahead before saying anything at all. Not only has the team has been in on the case from the start of Sergei's vendetta, but with the recent bombing that took place at the beginning of the episode that was apparently meant for Pavlenko. I tend to think it was Gibbs' place to bring Bishop in the loop, not Jake's. Even when the team found out, it served no tactical purpose. Gibbs and Pavleko had a plan which thankfully worked. One thing that I took away from this particular episode was that Jake can be trusted personally and professionally.

The Gibbs and Fornell dynamic made this episode one of my favorites for the season. Good thing because the way things ended with Sergei left a lot to be desired. Though I didn't know for sure that Pavlenko was in on the plot, I had my suspicions, which is a good thing. I like suspecting, but feel let down when the outcome is so obvious I'm left wondering why the team didn't see it coming. Sergei's demise/execution was a bit underwhelming. Agreed. I've given her 31 episodes to grow on me and it's yet to happen. Thinking of her going home to give her husband a hard time for not clueing her in on his and Gibbs diner conversation rubs me the wrong way. If Gibbs (or anyone) spoke with him in confidence, added to the fact that he's a NSA attorney and would (hopefully) hold privacy to a higher standard, I can't imagine why she'd think she'd be privy to their conversation. Then again, this isn't the first time she's come off as the office busybody. Love, love, love Ducky. His and Gibbs relationship is like no other.

LaSalle told Brody that Pride got the nickname "King" because he cleaned up a whole neighborhood through his drug busts.

It was Kate who asked Gibbs, and what a wonderful shout out that was! :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFp-rsQEpxM

I found this episode to be one of the more interesting mainly because it was the first and only time I've seen anyone bring duct tape as their tool of choice. I was duly impressed at how handy it proved to be, not only being used for fashioning a cup, to making mats, supporting the shelter, and marking the machete, it came in handy for supplying some make-shift clothes. Kudos to Josh for the insight and creativity. What baffled me and the husband was how Josh's nausea was blamed on quitting smoking. Having grown up in tobacco country, I've seen more than my fair share of people quit smoking over the course of many years, including my husband, sister, mother, niece, and way too many friends to count. Absolutely none of them suffered from nausea when they quit. Sure, they were 'bitchy', as to be expected, but not a single one complained of vomiting or nausea. And believe me, they did complain. Nausea is not even listed as one of the symptoms on the QuitSmokingSupport.com website, though I'm not doubting some people may indeed experience it when quitting. Now that Naked & Awkward has aired, Josh's reason for ceaseless vomiting has come to light. Seems he is lactose intolerant and the night before the challenge began, he indulged in some of the local cheeses. Obviously, not a good idea. Then again, neither is smoking. At least me and the Mr. are no longer baffled. Loved the duct tape.

^^^I agree. The suspense level was near zero. I knew the minute I saw the doctor that he was the bad guy. The main thing that kept me guessing was why Tony was thrown in the mix. I have no issues with crossovers, but I couldn't see any purpose being served by DiNozzo coming to town. Couldn't he have told them via a phone call to check the trash? It came off as a bit too contrived for my liking. Like many, I totally agree about the oversell of New Orleans. It's like they're sending some kind of subliminal message that if you live there you're special. If you don't, then you're not. They need to take the love of city down a notch or ten. Why oh why they didn't go the route of King being a returnee instead of being raised in the great city of NO is beyond me. How easy would it have been to have him being born there, moved away at a young age and then returned when he got married? New Orleans could have been his first love and his hometown, yet it would have made it totally believable and understandable as to why he didn't have an accent. Then SB could talk naturally and I could relax. So far, I haven't been overly impressed, but my love for SB, LB and CCHP will keep me coming back for more.

Double points if they get Dean Stockwell for a guest appearance. :-)

This. There's no denying the great divide between generations is there, and there's no crossing the river with a majority of the characters. Nichols' Tucker was one of the few who could volley between both generations (both romantically and business-wise) and not seemingly stand out like brown shoes with black pants. But alas, there was the writing, which apparently isn't doing the show any favors to this day.

Ziva served in the special forces in the Israeli army for two years, so she too, has military training. She then served in the MASAD. Her father raised her to be a killer. No doubt some of the tactics used in her training wouldn't be considered fair, even in war. Size doesn't matter. In the 2012 Olympic Judo competition, Guam`s Ricardo Blas Jr., who weighed in at 481 pounds, was beaten severely and soundly by opponent Oscar Bryson, who weighed in at 238 pounds – less than half the size of Blas. Technique overcomes size and power in the martial arts,

"I like the character - he seems kind of like what the mothership's Gibbs could have been with less tragedy in his life - a bit less cynical and more hopeful." Excellent point! I could totally see Gibbs being more like King had Shannon and Kelly survived. I'm hoping they'll do more crossovers in the upcoming season. Nothing more delicious than Mark Harmond and Scott Bakula sharing a scene.

Pearlite - you are definitely not alone. Count me in! The show really screwed up when they lost Stephen Nichols. He was pair-able with most of the female characters (whereas Cotton Top definitely was not). SN oozed a debonair billionaire aurora and certainly came off as someone who could take Victor down. With the loss of Katherine, Tucker could have kept the Chancellor legacy alive and kicking. Like I said, TPTB totally screwed up in losing Stephen Nichols. Snaporaz - Totally agree about Miss Devon. Tremendous potential lost there. Of course, I'll never understand why Devon was so quick to forgive the ones who were to blame for keeping him and Tucker apart, yet held Tucker responsible for global warming. Sadly, when SN left, so did my interest in Miss Devon.

Deacon Sharpe - Don't know if he's totally gone, per se, but I'd love to see the look of I smell piss and vinegar on Victor and Nikki's face whenever they happen to share the same room with him. Love it when Victor gets all kinds of uncomfortable and constipated. Tucker - Would love to see him back, and not as the cotton-topped Colonel Sanders who was originally cast. Nichols' Tucker was the best by far, and his Tucker wasn't destined to be permanently chained to Jill. Never liked the fact that Jill always came off so needy and greedy with both of the Tuckers. Of course, Nichols was so much easier to look at ;-) Since Jack is destined to always lose to Victor, Nichols' Tucker would be a breath of fresh air if he were to return and knock him down a peg or ten. Emily Peterson - Tragic waste of massive story potential.