S13.E05: Divided We Fall

[thewhiteowl]

When an NCIS mission to protect a compromised undercover agent goes completely sideways, the agents are individually interrogated to find out what really happened. Kilbride must make a difficult decision.

[Maverick]

 I enjoyed this one for the most part, except for Roundtree and Fatima.  They're so boring together and he's boring with everyone.   

 I knew there would be some twist at the end but I was expecting it to be her death was faked because OMG THERE"S A MOLE Y'ALL and that's how she was compromised forcing them to "kill" her and flush the traitor out.   So finding out Kilbride busted a cap in her was a nice twist.   I think he's more hardcore than Grainger.  

[MissLucas]

Agreed, that was interesting. Although I should have known the twist once I recognized Sandrine Holt. Third show in a row I see her being cast as a traitor.

Why exactly did they go full on Rashomon with Rountree and Fatima? Do I spot a sail on the horizon? The investigator also looked like he was about to crush on Fatima. Speaking of Fatima: all it took for her to finally match her hijab to the rest of her outfit was a bullet. Seriously, most of the time she looks as if she took fashion advice from Nell, who would have combined plaid with a flower print *shudders*

I liked the investigator, he wasn't written like a trope: antagonizing and implying someone screwed up. He was diligently doing his job. Even went the extra mile to get additional video footage much to Kilbride's annoyance. And then he gave Sam a little bit of his own medicine and agent Hanna didn't like it one bit. But a guy who expects you to show up 15 minutes early to be 'punctual' (aka anal retentive) would make a fuss about the whole bourbon/scotch mix up. I would also have liked to see how that phone call between Deeks and Sam was going to play out.

Deeks: There's something about Laura Song that you should know.

Sam: What is it?

Deeks: She lost her husband when her daughter was still a kid and then went back being operational. Seems odd to me.

Sam: *crickets*

Oh, Kilbride has a son and they don't get along? How many episodes until we get to see Kilbride junior? I wish they had let him be a badass without hints of additional family drama. But then that's not how the franchise rolls.

[milkyaqua]

Decent epi and I hadn't expected Kilbride to be the one to take out Song but of course there had to be a twist.

I don't mind Fatima and Roundtree but obviously there's always going to be comparison to Eric and Nell because they were there for so long.  Frankly, I only really liked Eric in the first couple of seasons before he become all about the quirk and even Nell was fine in the beginning before they sent her down the rabbit hole with Eric so I wasn't that sad to see them go.

Agree the investigator was trying to do his job as best he could and not trying to be a complete jerk.  He just wanted the facts.

Deeks and Kensi didn't completely annoy me this epi so progress?  And yes, it would have been interesting to see how Sam would have processed Deeks' observation about Song.

Re: Song the fact that she kept insisting on a gun and didn't want to go into the safe room felt odd (especially not wanting to go into the safe room).  I'm also guessing she let her compatriots know where she was?

I'm also not interested in Kilbride's family drama.  It's fine if it stays in the background but not interested in having the son turn up to stir up trouble and please let's not have the son get kidnapped to get back at Kilbride or get something out of him.  That trope is old and dead and tired.

[ymeagain]

It was okay, but not great. Who puts a safe house on the top floor of an apartment building with only two possible exits, one when the power's cut? Laura seemed squirrely from the get go--always wanting a gun and refusing to go in the panic room. A skylight in the roof of a safe house? Seriously? And that entry door to the apartment was solid wood, not steel, so where were the steel doors?

So, the bad guys come down through the skylight, take Laura and then go down six floors? Why? Why not leave the way they came in? Didn't make sense.

That comment by Deeks about Laura . . . Did he realize what he was saying about Sam?

I didn't like Ali much. He seemed too wimpy and asked stupid questions (did it matter if Laura was drinking bourbon or scotch?) and his moves on Fatima were lame. The guy's an Inspector General. He's not gonna be asking dumbass questions or making moves on some field agent.

The ending was definitely a twist, but it seemed like Kilbride killed Laura to save face. He recruited her, so he was embarrassed that she became a traitor. Didn't like that he kept the truth from the team and he came off as pretty much a snide, self-centered b*stard. I wouldn't work for him.

[LittlePeas3]

I agree with most of the comments above.  DId anyone seem to feel that the investigator guy is going to be a romantic interest for Fatima?  Why must they insist on romantic relationships?  The first couple of seasons were awesome without knowing too much of their backgrounds and watching undercover ops.  

[123BP]

There was a lot of action, but after watching it, lots didn't make sense. This episode really missed Beale and Nell because there should've been somebody in OPS watching the neighborhood and checking video or whatever they check for foreign agents. There was no intelligence by anyone in NCIS. It would've made more sense to have Fatima & Rountree in OPS doing that work and put Kensi & Deeks at the safe house with Callen & Sam. Why have two of your most experienced agents babysit? Somebody else mentioned the skylight. Woo boy, that was stupid. "Let's make the windows bulletproof, but don't bother with that skylight." lol That interrogator was way too polite and quiet, especially since he didn't know Laura was a traitor. A major source of intelligence has been killed while in protective custody and he cares about what she was drinking and wonders why some guy wasn't Fatima's "type"? Isn't his job to see who failed? And Kilbride. He was everything I don't like in a boss: snarky, rude, belligerent, and condescending. And no more slo-mo action scenes, PLEASE.

On 11/9/2021 at 9:52 AM, milkyaqua said:

I'm also not interested in Kilbride's family drama.  It's fine if it stays in the background but not interested in having the son turn up to stir up trouble and please let's not have the son get kidnapped to get back at Kilbride or get something out of him.  That trope is old and dead and tired.

Second this. I could care LESS about Kilbride's family OR his past There are already enough storylines on the table. The writers should finish at least one before they start another.

[judyri]

On 11/9/2021 at 10:01 PM, ymeagain said:

That comment by Deeks about Laura . . . Did he realize what he was saying about Sam?

Her spouse died and she went back to work.  Isn't this normal? Don't most people have to work, and may actually help the grieving process?  Would he have said the same if the agent had been a man?  What a stupid plot point.  And yeah, steel doors except the MAIN ENTRANCE