S11.E15: The Circle

[thewhiteowl]

Anna Kolcheck returns to warn Callen that he's in danger and he must now work with an archenemy to stop an underground trafficking ring.

[MDL]

Wow, 12+ hours and no comments! I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Two things:

The plot seem needlessly convoluted, perhaps having an excess of characters.

Was anyone really fooled when Callan left the bar? That is, was anyone surprised that he wound up going to see Anna?

Was she at Callan's place, or was that her own, or some safe house?

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by MDL

[EtheltoTillie]

20 minutes ago, MDL said:

Wow, 12+ hours and no comments! I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Two things:

The plot seem needlessly convoluted, perhaps having an excess of characters.

Was anyone really fooled when Callan left the bar? That is, was anyone surprised that he wound up going to see Anna?

Was she at Callan's place, or was that her own, or some safe house?

 

Yes, so convoluted.  I lost interest after a few minutes.  Absolutely had no idea what was going on.  Barcelona?  Three people killed?  Could not understand explanation.

[preeya]

33 minutes ago, MDL said:

Was anyone really fooled when Callan left the bar? That is, was anyone surprised that he wound up going to see Anna?

Was she at Callan's place, or was that her own, or some safe house?

Callan lives above the bar. I'm of the opinion she was at his place waiting for him to do the . . . . . . . . . .

The show itself is rapidly losing me.

[123BP]

WOW! What a great episode after the awful one last week! This is the kind of writing I wish this series had every week! I was sure Bartels wouldn't disappoint; I loved everything about it.

1 hour ago, MDL said:

The plot seem needlessly convoluted, perhaps having an excess of characters.

This plot was FAR less convoluted than the ridiculous plot of so many recent episodes this season and last, including last week's and even "Mother" which so many people raved about. This plot was tight, focused, and wrapped up the Comescu storyline in an intelligent way, and everyone's role made sense--and Beale acted like a "normal" person! Thank you, Bartels! This is definitely one of my favorite episodes of this season and season 10. Everything worked: the story, the acting, the action, the plot twists, and the return of Hetty and Anna. One of the things I like best about the Callen-Anna relationship is that there's no sentimentality, it's not melodramatic like both Densi and Neric tend to be (I like all the relationships and characters, but the writing for those two sometimes sucks). This episode got it all right, and that ending is one of my favorites even though I saw it coming. 💋

1 hour ago, MDL said:

Was she at Callan's place, or was that her own, or some safe house?

Of course she was at Callen's place. He lives above the bar. 🙄

[123BP]

1 hour ago, GussieK said:

Absolutely had no idea what was going on.  Barcelona?  Three people killed?  Could not understand explanation.

Really? I thought the explanation was simple. The murders in Barcelona were even mentioned in last week's episode: there had been multiple murders in Europe, including the 3 in Barcelona, of people, some of whom had obvious criminal connections but others who seemingly had none. Darius was a suspect and Anna was tracking him in her work for the CIA, and when he showed up in L.A., she came back to L.A. undercover to warn Callen because Darius was using the name Comescu--and Anna knew all about the blood feud between Callen's family and the Comescus.

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, 123BP said:

Really? I thought the explanation was simple. The murders in Barcelona were even mentioned in last week's episode: there had been multiple murders in Europe, including the 3 in Barcelona, of people, some of whom had obvious criminal connections but others who seemingly had none. Darius was a suspect and Anna was tracking him in her work for the CIA, and when he showed up in L.A., she came back to L.A. undercover to warn Callen because Darius was using the name Comescu--and Anna knew all about the blood feud between Callen's family and the Comescus.

Yes, I remembered Barcelona from last week, and I was eagerly awaiting the answer.  But it was convoluted to me, and I lost interest.  I may go back and try to rewatch.  I had already watched Better Call Saul last night, and it was so much better than this!

[123BP]

54 minutes ago, GussieK said:

I lost interest

That happens to me when the episode is ALL about Densi (I like the characters individually but find the couple incredibly boring). 😁

[JayDub]

Horrible show. Too much personal issues crap and a extremely convoluted story line.

This will be my last year for this show.

[Rambler]

Sam and Callen are searching high and low for a field agent to replace Callen if he takes over Hetty's job, but try as they might, they can't find anyone worthy. Meanwhile, in totally unrelated news, we have Anna moaning about her job in the CIA and wanting to get out, but where oh where would she go??? Gee for the life of me I can't figure out how both of these problems are going to be resolved. The suspense is killing me...

[ymeagain]

1 hour ago, Rambler said:

Sam and Callen are searching high and low for a field agent to replace Callen if he takes over Hetty's job, but try as they might, they can't find anyone worthy.

I have serious doubts that Anna will become an NCIS agent, and even if she did, she'd hardly be considered a recruit in need of training. lmao To get back to the episode . . . I liked it. That's one of the things about NCISLA - it focuses on the personal lives of ALL of the characters a lot, and some of those episodes have been good ("Uncaged." "The Silo," "Searching," "Warrior of Peace," "Answers"). And I like seeing Mama Deeks and Arkady, both part of the agents' personal lives. The way Darius got involved made sense and Anna coming back to warn Callen because of his family history made sense. Nothing was too over-the-top like some episodes, and there were a lot of scenes that were good. I'd like to see more episodes like this.

Edited February 25, 2020 by ymeagain

[theschnauzers]

I’m glad Hetty was live and in person for this one. We will miss Linda Hunt when she leaves the series. It’s been headed that way for a season and a half. And she one of the reasons I started watching NCIS:LA at the beginning. The show is so different when she’s there.

[LittlePeas3]

Oh Wow! I loved this episode!  It was captivating, which is something I can not say about any of the previous episodes this season.  No Nell/Eric rubbish, the Kensi/Deeks banter was more case related than anything else, and Anna and Callen are back together.  The part about Sam having dinner with Catherine is a bit MEH! but otherwise it was great.  

In relation to finding a new agent, I know some have suggested Anna, but what about Darius?  Surely there is some potential for him, as he is now defecting to the US with his partner.  

It was really good to see Hetty back in the swing of things, the block out glass was so Hetty and I did like Eric's reaction to that.  

[Lambsilencer]

11 hours ago, Rambler said:

Sam and Callen are searching high and low for a field agent to replace Callen if he takes over Hetty's job, but try as they might, they can't find anyone worthy. Meanwhile, in totally unrelated news, we have Anna moaning about her job in the CIA and wanting to get out, but where oh where would she go??? Gee for the life of me I can't figure out how both of these problems are going to be resolved. The suspense is killing me...

 

Medalion Rahimi will be joining the show as a regular later in the season. So it looks like they' ll choose Fatima as a new agent. Maybe Anna gets added, too. But then the team is a bit big, IMHO. If Callen gets Hetty's job, it would make more sense, but no way Chris O'Donnell will be relegated to mainly desk duty with a few field trips here and there.

So, we'll have to see what happens. I like Bar Paly in that role, so I would like to have her as a regular on the show, too.

Edited February 25, 2020 by Lambsilencer