S19.E10: Pledge of Allegiance

[thewhiteowl]

NCIS is called in when Navy Chief Warrant Officer Rafi Nazar is suspected of trying to sell stolen classified Navy software used to pilot combat drones.

[CeeBeeGee]

I thought the female guest star looked familiar and looked her up--it's Jody Sawyer with the bad feet from Center Stage! her acting has certainly improved (although I loved her in CS).

[Xeliou66]

Another strong episode - I thought it was just mediocre until the final twist, which was awesome. I never saw it coming that the fiancé would be the culprit - that was one of the few times the show has managed to really surprise me. I knew the suspect would be innocent but I was certain it was one of the people he worked with, likely the white dude who made comments about his ethnicity, that would turn out to be guilty. The fact that it was the fiancé really surprised me as I was certain it would be a happy ending for her and the suspect. This show has really been good as of late, and this was another pretty good episode. 

Torres can be a crybaby, he really annoyed me when he asked why Palmer put the money in a trust for his daughter, I mean gee Torres, his daughter can use that money when she goes to college and all. I get sick of his whining. I like Parker and Knight a lot. Vance got a good role in this one after not being around much in the last few episodes.

I liked that it was Gibbs who gave the money to Jimmy and McGee, and I think they are hinting that Gibbs will make a cameo at some point. 

[Poohpoohpooh]

Quite a slow-moving and forgettable episode imo (perhaps because there was no dead body?)

Agent Parker was almost mechanically robotic. He's my favorite but he was near expressionless in this episode. It's cool that he helped the paramedic (shows his work dedication). Gary Cole is starting to carry himself a little creakily/ show his age. Love him.

Jessica Knight had fun banter with Torres especially and McGee. She's fun and kinda likeable. I could get behind a Knight/Jimmy Palmer spark the writers are pushing, as they are both likeable.

I blame the writing for how slooow the pacing was. It was one-directionally "Nazar is bad" until the 45min mark where it was suddenly revealed by Nazar "can facial recognition be done on a sleeping face?".

The show director of this episode was Rocky Caroll, who is the actor playing Director Leon Vance. Vance the character was in this episode a lot. Imo the episode suffered because it's hard to be an actor in (many) scenes and direct the scene's vibe as well.

[Trey]

Since the accused appeared to me to be innocent I figured this would have to be a two-parter to establish his innocence, even though it wasn't listed as such.

So, I'm glad the actual thief turned out to be his fiance - it made a pretty good twist that I did not see coming.

[Aliconehead]

I figured it was Jody Sawyer, mainly because of the whole most known guest star is always the culprit.  I did figure she did it for the money though. I almost changed my mind when the reveal happened since she was not overly suspicious. 
I also knew right away Gibbs gave the money, he lived very frugally and also probably inherited some money from his father and maybe had a life insurance on Shannon, I know most of my friends got LI after having kids.  I could see him doing this for agent kids since he has always shown a soft spot for kids. 

[OperaLover1229]

It was obvious from the very first of the show that the fiance did it. Very slow, boring cliche episode. My theory of TV shows is that they mimic the main character of the show and NCIS did for many years mimic Gibbs. Now that Cole is the main character replacing Gibbs the show is slow & boring just like him. Of course, all of this is just my opinion.   

[GHScorpiosRule]

3 hours ago, Poohpoohpooh said:

The show director of this episode was Rocky Caroll, who is the actor playing Director Leon Vance. Vance the character was in this episode a lot. Imo the episode suffered because it's hard to be an actor in (many) scenes and direct the scene's vibe as well.

This isn’t the first time Rocky has directed an episode. He’s directed several over the years while still appertaining in the episode.

[Daff]

I didn’t think the story exposition was necessarily slow, but the plot was less “active.” I liked the stakeout scene- Torres ticketing, Parker (booting? or was it DPW coffee consumption?) while McGee and Knight got to sit at the cafe table. Some things I appreciated: Kasie had no excitable outbursts, and came across as the competent, adult tech she is. Happy they gave up her direction to fill those “Abbey” shoes (it’s old, and disrespectful to both actresses). Another was the look on Vance’s face when the SecNav dropped the bottom line on him. Shocking news turns Vance’s face kid-like (maybe a good thing, makes him look younger). The money-it had to be either Ducky or Gibbs (only ones with the ready), but for a brief moment I thought they might be targeted for some set-up. One problem with that, though, “monetary gifts” (for years now, and at present, but who knows what this admin will subject us to now) have to be UNDER 10K per annum ($9,999) to avoid the recipient having to pay taxes on it. I definitely could have done without the nasty bigot at Rafi’s workplace, even if it was thrown out as a red herring. We were so over that crap a long time ago, and I’m sick of seeing this portrayal again and again on TV.  

[Daff]

Ah, the fiancé was immediately recognizable, but I couldn’t think where. Her name is Amanda Schull and I know her from “Suits” and “12 Monkeys”. 

[threebluestars]

So McGee has two kids and 10K and Palmer has one kid and 10K ... ? Is Gibbs bad at math or am I bad at math?

 

[preeya]

1 hour ago, threebluestars said:

So McGee has two kids and 10K and Palmer has one kid and 10K ... ? Is Gibbs bad at math or am I bad at math?

 

Did Vance say $10k per kid? I didn't hear that.

[milkyaqua]

21 hours ago, Daff said:

One problem with that, though, “monetary gifts” (for years now, and at present, but who knows what this admin will subject us to now) have to be UNDER 10K per annum ($9,999) to avoid the recipient having to pay taxes on it.

My thought with the money especially when Jimmy said he'd set-up an account for the college fund, is that the Government is good about coming back on people when they think you owe them money even if it was their fault in the first place and having you write a check to the U.S. Treasury Department.  Same thing with banks.  Government/government-controlled agencies don't just let people keep extra money that they haven't earned; they are going to track that down no matter how long it takes.  If Vance hadn't told them that it came from Gibbs, I'd have been trying to get that money out of my account for as long as it took...

[Rambler]

I’m pretty sure it's virtually impossible to put money into someone's bank account without their prior knowledge or consent unless you work for the bank and did it by accident. Maybe Gibbs was the one who paid the Russian hacker to hack his way into the bank's server to put the money into Jimmy's and McGee's accounts and then killed him afterwards so he wouldn't spoil Vance’s surprise announcement. Did they ever think of that? Hah! Anyways it was rude of Gibbs to put money into their accounts without telling them first. If I was a government agent and I saw money suddenly appearing in my bank account, I would worry that some enemy spy agency was trying to frame me for embezzlement or taking bribes.

[Ceindreadh]

9 minutes ago, Rambler said:

I’m pretty sure it's virtually impossible to put money into someone's bank account without their prior knowledge or consent unless you work for the bank and did it by accident. Maybe Gibbs was the one who paid the Russian hacker to hack his way into the bank's server to put the money into Jimmy's and McGee's accounts and then killed him afterwards so he wouldn't spoil Vance’s surprise announcement. Did they ever think of that? Hah! Anyways it was rude of Gibbs to put money into their accounts without telling them first. If I was a government agent and I saw money suddenly appearing in my bank account, I would worry that some enemy spy agency was trying to frame me for embezzlement or taking bribes.

I know it's possible to do once you have the account number and sort code. 

But yeah, putting the money in without giving them a heads up was not a good move.  Heck, wasn't one of the points against the suspect in this ep, the fact the money was put into *his* account?  (or did I mishear part of the plot).

[MommySusan1]

Did anyone else think Nazar turned on his fiancé' on a dime?  It seemed like all it took was to find out the gun case was empty and BAM- she's the guilty one.    I am also still a little confused on how exactly she did it.  I know the key isn't a physical key that she could steal, but wouldn't she have to be at Naval facility to access it even if she had the password, card and facial recognition?  Did she just pull it all up on her iphone?

[jabRI]

It would have been much cleaner if Gibbs had made donations to a 529 plan for the kids, then there would be no issue with taxes.  But whatever.  Someone mentioned earlier, they are recylcing characters, making gary cole the new gibbs.  they did the same thing with kasie, as abby's replacement.  but it seems the writing is getting better for her, hopefully the writers see she can hold her own with a dramatic (or at least non-comedic) writing, and will continue in this vein.  I think she's a good actress, but there's only so much she can do with the writing and direction given to her.

 

I think Torres is due a good storyline, as others have mentioned, he's become a bit of a prop.  needs some depth.

[Xeliou66]

I strongly disagree with Parker being the “new Gibbs” - Parker is extremely different from Gibbs - he is very connected with the team, he seems to work alongside them, he smiles a lot more than Gibbs, he jokes some, he embraces new technology, he’s very different from Gibbs and how Gibbs became so emotionally detached from everyone, it feels like more of a team with Parker there now whereas Gibbs was so detached he didn’t even seem like a part of the team. Personally I think the show has gained new life with Parker, and I’m enjoying it. 

[Poohpoohpooh]

54 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

I strongly disagree with Parker being the “new Gibbs” - Parker is extremely different from Gibbs - he is very connected with the team, he seems to work alongside them, he smiles a lot more than Gibbs, he jokes some, he embraces new technology, he’s very different from Gibbs and how Gibbs became so emotionally detached from everyone, it feels like more of a team with Parker there now whereas Gibbs was so detached he didn’t even seem like a part of the team. Personally I think the show has gained new life with Parker, and I’m enjoying it. 

Yep. I'm not familiar with Gibbs, but it's a nice change that the wardrobe dept has Parker dressed in sharp suit jackets as his usual attire too.

I love Gary Cole, he has show comedic and dramatic chops and leading man charisma in this role already. Imo.

To play Devil's advocate, sometimes Parker can come off as a bit dismissive/ gruff/ impersonal. In "Peacekeeper", when Kasie was in ballistics asking him if she should own a gun, that scene was like pulling teeth trying to get Parker to stay and talk for 2 minutes to her! The vibe he gave her was like it was a lot of effort to talk to her.

In this episode, he almost-snides at Knight "YOU'RE the hostage negotiator, make her tell you!" (when she asked what if Kay keeps mum. Which was kinda funny), then Parker barks "McGee." like how I imagine Gibbs would.

 

3 hours ago, MommySusan1 said:

Did anyone else think Nazar turned on his fiancé' on a dime?  It seemed like all it took was to find out the gun case was empty and BAM- she's the guilty one. ...

Agree. As I said in my first reply, the show only did its proud twist right at the end. Since fiance Kay was bad and was setting up Nazar, why did she warn Nazar to run away when he was being baited at the pizzeria? (Answer as we know is to pad out the episode and give a nice chase scene)

Edited January 6, 2022 by Poohpoohpooh
Clarity

[twoods]

I wish the fiancé wasn’t an actress I recognized or I wouldn’t have figured out she was the bad guy. I liked that Nazar’s team believed him and didn’t throw him under the bus. 

[mythoughtis]

On 1/4/2022 at 2:26 PM, Daff said:

one problem with that, though, “monetary gifts” (for years now, and at present, but who knows what this admin will subject us to now) have to be UNDER 10K per annum ($9,999) to avoid the recipient having to pay taxes on it

Not true.  It’s been tied to inflation for years. I believe the 2021 limit was around $15,000. 

However deposits $10,000 or over in cash have to be explained.  This amount has not been changed ever.  It’s meant to catch money laundering.  And possibly undeclared income too. 

Edited January 7, 2022 by mythoughtis

[jabRI]

On 1/4/2022 at 2:23 PM, OperaLover1229 said:

It was obvious from the very first of the show that the fiance did it.

I thought it was a little ridiculous that the fugitive asked her to bring his passport.  He can't even get on a train, how did he think he was going to fly out of the country as a suspected terrorist?

[CheshireCat]

On 1/4/2022 at 10:31 PM, threebluestars said:

So McGee has two kids and 10K and Palmer has one kid and 10K ... ? Is Gibbs bad at math or am I bad at math?

I wondered the same thing. Also, how much money does the account Gibbs set up for Kelly yield per year since Vance said that he's helped multiple agents.

 

On 1/5/2022 at 5:27 PM, Rambler said:

 Anyways it was rude of Gibbs to put money into their accounts without telling them first. If I was a government agent and I saw money suddenly appearing in my bank account, I would worry that some enemy spy agency was trying to frame me for embezzlement or taking bribes.

Good point!

At first, I thought they were revisiting a version of McGee has bank/hacking/computer troubles but once Palmer also said he'd gotten 10k, I wondered if Gibbs had something to do with it. I just couldn't figure out a reason or where Gibbs would have gotten the money.

I thought the episode was fairly predictable; I wondered if the fiancée was involved right from the start, although, I thought that she was maybe sending coded messages to whoever via her online shopping thing.

And once the suspect was shot, I figured that he had been lured/forced into the embassy by whoever was behind it; I thought that the meeting point had probably been chosen for that reason, so that he would seek protection in the embassy if/when he ran.

I have difficulties believing that Vance or SecNav would not have called the State Department. After all, diplomats can be removed from US soil and diplomatic immunity claims can be rejected. And I don't think that the US considers relations with Afghanistan too important to make those threats or go as far as expell diplomats. It was about a suspected terrorist who had the capabilities of launching an attack against the US with their own drones and treason after all.

I still enjoyed the episode because I enjoy the cast/dynamic of the cast and the ambulance ride and Palmer's reaction were funny.

[Daff]

8 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Not true.  It’s been tied to inflation for years. I believe the 2021 limit was around $15,000. 

However deposits $10,000 or over in cash have to be explained.  This amount has not been changed ever.  It’s meant to catch money laundering.  And possibly undeclared income too. 

That may be true for federal, but each state would have its own limits (mine remains at 10K).  I would even venture a guess that some states without income tax per se might have a little-known gift tax applied. I recently explained VAT to my 72 year old sister, who immediately rankled and proclaimed it preposterous! She asked, “Who would ever allow that?”, obviously missing the trade-off to income tax. 

[Magnumfangirl]

What language was Knight speaking when they were interviewing the co-workers?

[JessDVD]

On 1/11/2022 at 10:53 PM, Magnumfangirl said:

What language was Knight speaking when they were interviewing the co-workers?

My subtitles on Paramount+ said Mandarin.

[UnikornRainbowz]

On 1/4/2022 at 3:26 PM, Daff said:

I didn’t think the story exposition was necessarily slow, but the plot was less “active.” I liked the stakeout scene- Torres ticketing, Parker (booting? or was it DPW coffee consumption?) while McGee and Knight got to sit at the cafe table. Some things I appreciated: Kasie had no excitable outbursts, and came across as the competent, adult tech she is. Happy they gave up her direction to fill those “Abbey” shoes (it’s old, and disrespectful to both actresses). Another was the look on Vance’s face when the SecNav dropped the bottom line on him. Shocking news turns Vance’s face kid-like (maybe a good thing, makes him look younger). The money-it had to be either Ducky or Gibbs (only ones with the ready), but for a brief moment I thought they might be targeted for some set-up. One problem with that, though, “monetary gifts” (for years now, and at present, but who knows what this admin will subject us to now) have to be UNDER 10K per annum ($9,999) to avoid the recipient having to pay taxes on it. I definitely could have done without the nasty bigot at Rafi’s workplace, even if it was thrown out as a red herring. We were so over that crap a long time ago, and I’m sick of seeing this portrayal again and again on TV.  

The military literally makes its soldiers kill people like the suspect everyday. Why would it surprise anyone a member of the military hates Middle Eastern people? I thought that fellow probably represents a lot of soldiers. How can you kill a person you have not been trained to see as your enemy (HATE)?