S12.E10: The Frogman's Daughter

[thewhiteowl]

When Sam’s daughter is kidnapped after leading citywide protests, he will stop at nothing to find her. Deeks rejoins NCIS and Callen searches for answers about Anna.

[CheshireCat]

I don't think Covid is doing this show any favors and the writing for this show is suffering more than for the other two NCIS shows (which makes sense because LA has always been very action based with a lot of interaction). This is yet another episode I'm not sure what to make of. The beginning was weird. What was the point of the scene between Eric and Fatima? Were they trying to recreate the Nell-Eric dynamic? Then it's not working. At least, Eric ditched the weird mustache.

And what was the point of having a DHS agent who looks similar to Meghan Markle and has a similar name?

I thought Deeks' hair couldn't get worse but I was wrong. Did he cut it himself? Although, I don't think it's the cut but the non-existent styling.

Is there still someone in charge at NCIS: LA or is everyone just doing what they want now?

Uh, so Sam completely loses his temper with everyone in this episode and we get a cutie scene with his daughter at the end? How many times has he gone rogue now, lost his temper with someone in the process because it was a personal case he went rogue on and gotten away with it? I get that they're not benching agents when they're personally involved but maybe Sam could face some consequences after using excessive force as much as he did in this episode?!

Since when does Sam have Gibbs-like rules?

Why were Sam's daughter and the others kidnapped exactly?

 

[KittenPokerCheater]

4 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

I thought Deeks' hair couldn't get worse but I was wrong. Did he cut it himself? Although, I don't think it's the cut but the non-existent styling.

Haven't watched for awhile but Deeks' hair is a catastrophe.  I don't know if the actor is going bald and they are "styling" his hair to cover it up, but at this point, just give him a hairpiece of some kind.

[LittlePeas3]

4 hours ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

Haven't watched for awhile but Deeks' hair is a catastrophe.  I don't know if the actor is going bald and they are "styling" his hair to cover it up, but at this point, just give him a hairpiece of some kind.

I've been thinking this for a while, the going bald bit.  My guess is ECO is in denial about it and the show is helping him out.

Why do I feel they have run out of storyline ideas?  Yet another member of Sam's family missing or under attack, therefore, Sam goes rogue.  Predictable much?

There seems to be no direction anymore.  The storylines are boring and non-descript.  The only storyline with potential was the guy who got out of jail by pardon and threatened Kensi.  And then nothing comes from it, so far.  I get COVID has effected the number of people in the same place for filming, but seriously, it seems like NCIS LA have decided no more than 3 people together.  This just makes everything seem more disjointed.  There have been no scenes with the team together, which makes it feel like they aren't working together, which makes it feel to me like it isn't working anymore. I miss the banter between Callen and Sam and Kensi and Deeks.  The first two are pretty much non-existent these days and all the second two talk about is babies.  Did Deeks actually sell the bar?  I know he was talking about it.  The episodes have been so boring I have no enthusiasm to go back and rewatch them to check.

I never thought I would say this, but I miss Nell and Eric together. He and Fatima annoy me even more than later episodes of Nell and Eric. 

Random observation, does CO'D look fitter than he has of late?

[Maverick]

 I missed the beginning so I didn't know why Fatima was so hell bent on not helping find Sam's daughter.   The lack of the team interaction is a huge problem.  As is the nonsense in the office, which has dragged on for years.   It looks like the office has been shut down and the gang (at least the ones that show up that week) are squatters running random ops out of a deserted facility.   The biggest laugh I got last night was when the douchy suspect wanted to talk with Sam's manger.  Good luck with that, so would he. 

[Sweet Tooth]

Re: Deeks' hair. Here's my take.

I'm sure he's wanted to cut it for a while, but the show wants him to maintain his California surfer boy aura and have forced him to maintain that messy style.

I'm thinking the compromise is that he could cut his hair, but he had to keep it in the same style, which is how we get the disaster we see now.

Look, I understand Sam is uber-protective of his family and will stop at nothing to keep them safe, but he's also supposed to be trained military. A man who can stay calm under pressure and get stuff done.

Throwing around a young boy without knowing what was going on, was for me, a step too far. I'm really, REALLY glad they had Roundtree there to calm him down, but the brand-new agent having to calm the pants of the veteran agent and legendary Navy SEAL, isn't a good look.

 

[secnarf]

4 hours ago, Sweet Tooth said:

Re: Deeks' hair. Here's my take.

I'm sure he's wanted to cut it for a while, but the show wants him to maintain his California surfer boy aura and have forced him to maintain that messy style.

I'm thinking the compromise is that he could cut his hair, but he had to keep it in the same style, which is how we get the disaster we see now.

 

 

If they wanted the hairstyle so badly couldn't they just have a wig? That is what they did in Criminal Minds for Paget Brewster. She no longer wanted to dye her hair and so cut it short to grow out her natural hair and colour. She used a wig after that on CM to mimic her previous hairstyle.

[Sweet Tooth]

3 hours ago, secnarf said:

If they wanted the hairstyle so badly couldn't they just have a wig? That is what they did in Criminal Minds for Paget Brewster. She no longer wanted to dye her hair and so cut it short to grow out her natural hair and colour. She used a wig after that on CM to mimic her previous hairstyle.

I'm thinking the hair is so identifiable, and so central to the character, that they put it in his contract or something.

I don't think they'd allow him a wig at this point, and I doubt he'd enjoy wearing one, so he's stuck with his surfer 'do.

[ymeagain]

18 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

Uh, so Sam completely loses his temper with everyone in this episode and we get a cutie scene with his daughter at the end? How many times has he gone rogue now, lost his temper with someone in the process because it was a personal case he went rogue on and gotten away with it? I get that they're not benching agents when they're personally involved but maybe Sam could face some consequences after using excessive force as much as he did in this episode?!

Since when does Sam have Gibbs-like rules?

Why were Sam's daughter and the others kidnapped exactly?

Yea, for a Navy SEAL who's a "legend" and an NCIS Special Agent with 10+ years experience, Sam seems to lose his temper a lot. And I wondered why Kam didn't step in and say something at the end when her dad's actions were like the use of force she was protesting against. Guess it's different if family's involved. The rules don't work when they're introduced in season 12--and I bet we never hear about them again (I hope we never hear about them again). Tired of writers using ideas from other shows and doing a bad job of it. If you're going to use an idea, you should improve it, not make it worse.

I guess Kam and the others were kidnapped because they were organizers, but they were low-level because the protest was going ahead without them and they weren't the face of the movement. Did the kidnappers think the protest would stop because those three weren't around? And what was the point of the noise and lights? The kidnappers didn't have any questions? I didn't get it. Convenient that the abandoned sheriff station still had power and water though.

Did it take forever for Kensi and Deeks to get to work and finally hook up with Sam? And why would someone from DHS meet with Rountree? I'd think she'd have the authority to interrupt Sam's worry session and deliver her message from Sec Nav and the NCIS Director to the most senior agent in the office. And did the writers have Callen out of the picture for so long (if Callen left Santa Cruz at midnight, he'd be in LA by 8 am), so the two black guys could "relate"? It didn't make any sense to me to have Callen gone the entire morning. And where the heck was Nell? I hate that when team members are missing, nobody says anything.

I liked Kam, but that's about it for this episode. Like the looks of next week's episode, but hope the writing is better.

[Twilight Man]

On 2/15/2021 at 6:52 AM, CheshireCat said:

Since when does Sam have Gibbs-like rules?

I also remember wayyyyyy back (when most of us were on TWOP) that Criminal Minds had Gideon creating a bunch of rules as well (which led to us making up a bunch of silly rules ( Rule #47 - Reid should not tell knock knock jokes ) ).   I miss that.

On 2/15/2021 at 4:47 PM, Maverick said:

The biggest laugh I got last night was when the douchy suspect wanted to talk with Sam's manger.  Good luck with that, so would he. 

I think earlier this season they had a member from another agency actually say to Sam and Callen that they were going to "have a word" with their supervisor, to which Callen did reply (paraphrasing) "If you find her, tell "US" where she is."

Edited February 17, 2021 by Twilight Man

[wlk68]

On 2/16/2021 at 12:57 AM, Sweet Tooth said:

I'm thinking the hair is so identifiable, and so central to the character, that they put it in his contract or something.

I don't think they'd allow him a wig at this point, and I doubt he'd enjoy wearing one, so he's stuck with his surfer 'do.

I think part of the reason that his hair always looks so terrible is the sheer amount of product they put in it. It looks hair does when you put a bunch of mousse in while the hair is wet and it all the strands stick together and get "crunchy". But instead, it just looks lank and dirty like he never washes it.

I wish they'd let him really cut it.  

[123BP]

On 2/15/2021 at 3:52 AM, CheshireCat said:

This is yet another episode I'm not sure what to make of. The beginning was weird. What was the point of the scene between Eric and Fatima? Were they trying to recreate the Nell-Eric dynamic? Then it's not working.

This was another strange episode. So, it takes Callen 24 hours to drive from Santa Cruz to L.A.? It's less than 400 miles, so how fast does he drive? It made no sense to have him not there. And the Beale-Namasi "banter" didn't work for me and Fatima is now just a caricature to me (If she was an actor for 5+ years, when did she become an intelligence analyst and a tech wizard? What DID she study at uni?).

I couldn't figure out why the DOD lady was talking to Rountree or the point of their conversation since nothing happened after it. Their conversation seemed like it wasn't the right protocol. If Callen wasn't there, shouldn't she be talking to Sam?

And maybe I missed it, but why was Kam kidnapped? I know it was because of the protests, but what were they going to do with her and the others after the protests? Just let them go?

And Sam was pretty much out of line and out of control, but lucky for him, the kid, Rountree, was there to settle him down. lol

Not my favorite episode.

[HurricaneVal]

I knew Sam had "house rules" because that came up early in the series when his CIA agent wife, Michelle, was still alive.  There didn't seem to be as many as the...what, 52?...mentioned last night, but they were all designed to keep the family of two agents as safe as possible.  There might have been a family harmony rule or two slipped in there, like "he who spills the orange juice, cleans up the spilled orange juice before it dries up all sticky" but I think most of them were alllll about keeping each family member accountable to the security of the family.  And that went for the secret agent dynamic between the parents as well as making sure the kids were safe.  I also have the feeling that the rules were started by Michelle, but they built the full set together.

It did seem to take forever to get Callen to LA from Santa Cruz, and it seems there's a whole story there--probably one to be told in a future episode, since all flavors of NCIS lately seem to like to play fast and loose with the timeline.  But I liked how Callen was 100% there when he got there, and knew that his #1 job was keeping the ticking bomb that was Sam Hanna with a kidnapped daughter carefully handled with kid gloves.  He just immediately dropped into that role, and it is one I believe he's played before.  It is also a role nobody else there could play, with the exception of perhaps Hetty.

Resourceful and clever Kam was great.  Idealistic Kam was great.  But stupid Kam was not.  She starts out by doing some things that were really smart.  She immediately figured out that they were not being held in any sort of legal prison, and that they had not been officially detained by any real agency.  She also realized that the strobes and loud music were as distracting and as disorienting to her kidnappers as they were to the prisoners, so she used that as cover to break out.  Stupid Kam came in when rather than directly escaping and getting to her father or Callen or anyone else for help, she snatched up the keys to go rescue her useless compatriots. 

I bet Sam gets her lojacked with some sort of intramuscular RFID capsule chip.