S17.E09: IRL

[thewhiteowl]

The team investigates a petty officer's murder that was livestreamed on a popular gaming app. Gibbs watches his 11 year old neighbor.

[Bobbin]

All of the segment photos have people smiling for a change. I'm trying to think of something more noteworthy to say about the episode, but I've got nothing.

[SamBeckett]

There was NO ONE at NCIS with the skill level to compete at that game? We know they have a cyber unit. Plus they were probably breaking all kinds of laws using the kid. Conceivably, they were endangering him. Which leads me to another point: Gibbs always says he can protect people. Yet we have seen times when he wasn’t able to. The kid’s mother had one hell of a lawsuit. But, of, course, then there’d be no show.

[twoods]

I found it rich of the mom to say no screen time when the kid obviously has tons of screen time since he’s so good at video games. At least she walked back on Gibbs not being in his life, I’m sure because she realized she doesn’t have to pay for a babysitter if he watches her kid.

Usually there are multiple dead bodies, so it was a nice change to only have one. Plus there was no scene in autopsy which is strange (budget cuts?). I do wish Jack would go away- she provides nothing to this show.

Edited November 27, 2019 by twoods

[HurricaneVal]

I thought it was sweet that Phin left his old laptop with Gibbs so they could talk.  The kid needs a dad/grandpa just as badly as Gibbs needs a son/grandson.  I didn't mind this plot.  It seemed like vintage NCIS.

I also like the call back to disarming Ziva when Gibbs was confiscating all of Phin's screens.

Edited to add:  I forgot to say that I also very much liked Ellie confronting the misogynist proto-incel jerk in interrogation.  Only it didn't go far enough, I really wanted to see her take him down to the nubbin.

Edited November 27, 2019 by HurricaneVal
Boo misogyny!

[SG11]

Re: the OP, the kid said he was 9, not 11.

I thought the combination stereotypical woman hater gamer/incel was just a little more boring that the combination incel/kidnapper (which there’s no precedent of) from a couple weeks ago. Are the writers proud of themselves that they finally heard of an Incel years after Elliot Rogers and the TO Van Guy? Nice that you caught up.

Still, pretty good episode, the kid and Jethro play well together. Too bad Moms not a little cuter, Gibbsie could have himself a ready made family.

[LuvMyShows]

Gibbs would never have shown that extreme level of uncertainty about being around a kid, as he did by going to Jack for advice. 

Bringing a young kid into a show in later seasons = jumping the shark [looking at you, Cousin Oliver]. 

Torres saying something about the "cool kids" and then excepting only McGee?  No way would he have lumped Ellie in with the 'cool kids'.

And it is far, far too much of a stretch to think that the old man would go murder someone because of fear that his ID thefts would be discovered.

[ForReal]

On 11/29/2019 at 5:20 PM, LuvMyShows said:

Gibbs would never have shown that extreme level of uncertainty about being around a kid, as he did by going to Jack for advice. 

I agree, that conversation seemed to exist to give Jack a purpose and to show that Gibbs trusts her opinion (somewhat). I can't quite decide if they are going for a father/son or grandpa/grandson relationship here. Either is fine, I guess it's on me to adjust to thinking of Gibbs as a grandpa instead of a dad.

I saw some of the older episodes where McGee looked super skinny. While he did look unhealthy, he also seemed more confident and alert, and when he faced off with bad guys I believed he could hold his own. Now he's kind of soft.

And all of them are still so lazy about investigating. It feels like they are always looking for the easy answer and the least activity-requiring solution. When Bishop and Torres went to the gamer guy's house and he ran, they were several steps behind him and Torres wouldn't have caught up to him. Bishop didn't even really run, and she should have been trying to head him off from another direction. Clearly the show knew they were going to have him fall in the trash bin, but still. 

[UnikornRainbowz]

The smile on McGees face during the MTAC gaming cut scene was worth it all.