S13.E16: MWD

[thewhiteowl]

NCIS investigates the kidnapping of Master Sergeant Boomer, a military working dog. Also, Sam looks to sell his boat so he can take care of his father who is suffering from Alzheimer’s.

[milkyaqua]

The good:  No Deeks or baby talk drama.

The case was fine.  It was nice seeing Nate.  I'm really not interested in Callen's origin story drama or even Sam's father drama.  I'm fine with the personal stories as long as they don't become the primary focus.

 

[wlk68]

I can't recall us ever hearing about Sam's dad before. Is this a first or did I just miss it? 

[Twilight Man]

I was hoping for a few more replies before I posted.

 

So, Gibbs gets suspended for punching a dog fight operator (and killing one dog), but the LA team get

a hearty congrats for shutting down a dog fight ring (and throwing one of them thru a window).

Good thing Gibbs is out God-knows-where in the middle of Alaska; chances are he STILL KNOWS what just happened,

and he's shaking his head in disbelief.

 

For the last time, taking care of a goldfish is WAY HARDER than taking care of a dog.

If the water is too hot, it dies.  If the water is too cold, it dies.  If the water is too dirty, it dies.

If you feed it too much, it dies,  If you feed it too little, it dies.

Parents just don't care if they spend a few bucks on a fish (and those small tanks),

and then have the kid ignore the fish a few days later as IT DIES!!!!!

as opposed to the parent now having to take care of the dog itself

because the kid, once again, starts to ignore the dog.

[Maverick]

 Roundtree bores the crap out of me.  Normally I  just tune him out (or skip the rare episode where he's the focus) but he--and Fatima for that matter--really bugged in this episode.   "So we're looking for a lost pets now.?"    No, dumbass, you're looking for a military service dog.   You work for the Navy, yet don't know about the important role animals play in the military and much less the status they are afforded for their service?   The cluelessness and borderline disdain did nothing to improve either characters standing.   They've had so many guest agents over the years that would fit in well with these characters that adding the dullard Roundtree is mind boggling.  I'd gladly give up Roundtree and Deeks if we could get Agent Duchamp or Agent Hamilton.

[MissLucas]

I'm baffled by Callen's plot. He already knew that he had been groomed by Hetty, why go there again? Obviously it's much worse than what was implied the first time but it's still repetitive as hell. But we got Nate back, and that is a good thing.

I'm not a particular dog lover (more a cat person) and even I got annoyed by Roundtree's attitude. Was that supposed to show his trauma from the last episode?

What was up with Shylah starting an argument with God in OPS?

[Sweet Tooth]

Did anyone notice that Kilbride got HUGELY UPSET to the point that he whined and moaned about what he "has to put up with," which was two agents deftly saving a third agent's life?

He wanted them to stop and give him a SITREP while Kensi was fighting for her life? SERIOUSLY?

His "Do I still have to hold on?" was just stupid. 

When you send agents into life-or-death situations, you have to understand they may not be able to roll over on command when you need them to, as they're doing their job!

Kilbride as the cranky "get off my lawn!" guy is getting really old.

[mythoughtis]

I would like to know what is going on behind the scenes on this set.  Where was Deeks?  Why do we have Shylah?   What can’t one of the techs that are always in the background become the leader in ops? 
are we limiting the number of highly paid cast per episode in favor of the newbies ( who are presumably less well paid?)

is there a list of social issues that every show is required to write scripts about?  This episode  being Alzheimer’s?  

[LittlePeas3]

On 4/22/2022 at 2:32 AM, mythoughtis said:

I would like to know what is going on behind the scenes on this set.  Where was Deeks?  Why do we have Shylah?   What can’t one of the techs that are always in the background become the leader in ops? 
are we limiting the number of highly paid cast per episode in favor of the newbies ( who are presumably less well paid?)

is there a list of social issues that every show is required to write scripts about?  This episode  being Alzheimer’s?  

My educated guess is that the main actors have various other projects they are working on and while they want the freedom to do something different, they also want the $ that comes with NCIS LA, so they don't want to give that up.  

They often use the "_____ is testifying in court today" to explain why someone isn't there.  It is old, but they use it because it is vaguely plausible.  So many shows are now bringing in the social issues, Gray's Anatomy is the King of Social Issues! They even force them which is becoming a bit much, but like NCIS LA, I have been watching from the beginning and need to see the end.  

In regards to the ops issue, I got so excited the mention of Beale, I thought they were going to bring him back for the episode.  Even though him and Nell became very crazy at the end, at least it was crazy we knew.  

I don't know what others felt about Nate and Callen, but it seemed really stilted and off.  Callen and Nate always had a pretty free flowing relationship and this seemed forced. 

[CheshireCat]

I didn't know that service dogs can have military ranks. I'm certainly someone who humanizes their pet and treats them as a member of the family but that feels a bit excessive. At the end of the day, it is a dog. I would also hope that no one would actually pull people from something like hunting down the Deep Fakes to help finding a dog, no matter who that dog is. The Deep Fakes are an active and very high threat to national security, especially when they concern an agent of Callen's caliber and I consider that infinitely more important than finding a dog.

Other than that, it was a good episode in terms of story and flow etc and I enjoyed the character's interactions.

 

On 4/18/2022 at 7:39 PM, MissLucas said:

I'm baffled by Callen's plot. He already knew that he had been groomed by Hetty, why go there again? Obviously it's much worse than what was implied the first time but it's still repetitive as hell. But we got Nate back, and that is a good thing.

I have similar feelings about that. I like Callen as a character and I like Callen and Nate, so I don't mind the plot about Callen's past per se. But why? Why go there now? What's the point? Why do they feel that Callen needs to have this story? I wonder if O'Donnell wanted something for Callen (which is understandable) but I'm sure they could have come up with something else and/or build on something that already existed that is not a new element to his past.

 

On 4/18/2022 at 11:02 PM, Sweet Tooth said:

Did anyone notice that Kilbride got HUGELY UPSET to the point that he whined and moaned about what he "has to put up with," which was two agents deftly saving a third agent's life?

I rolled my eyes at that. As if he would have appreciated having to give a status update in the middle of combat. But I guess, he's become a typical bureaucrat who has no idea what it's like out in the field anymore. Maybe they should have a ride-along and remind him.

At least, they toned him down a bit and he's not as bad as he was at the beginning.

 

On 4/21/2022 at 12:32 PM, mythoughtis said:

I would like to know what is going on behind the scenes on this set.  Where was Deeks?  Why do we have Shylah?   What can’t one of the techs that are always in the background become the leader in ops? 
are we limiting the number of highly paid cast per episode in favor of the newbies ( who are presumably less well paid?)

That would be my guess. It might also be to accomodate Covid protocol. Depending on the kind of protocol they have, the more actors they have, the easier it is to accomodate the absence of an actor if they either had exposure or test positive. So, I guess, two birds, one stone.

I think they added Shylah because they realized that they need a tech person and stability within the team. And if you have five agents in the field, you have to pass one agent around. I don't think that works well because it always changes the dynamic.

 

[Sweet Tooth]

On 5/16/2022 at 2:38 PM, CheshireCat said:

I rolled my eyes at that. As if he would have appreciated having to give a status update in the middle of combat. But I guess, he's become a typical bureaucrat who has no idea what it's like out in the field anymore. Maybe they should have a ride-along and remind him.

At least, they toned him down a bit and he's not as bad as he was at the beginning.

Sometimes when they're trying to establish a character, they go way OTT with them and then dial it back. In their effort to give Kilbride a certain "I've seen it all, and you're just a bunch of snot-nosed kids running around" persona, they've gone way overboard.

They had dialed him down, and he had some compassion, etc., so I thought that was the end of his ridiculousness, and then this happened, and he took a giant step back. 

[MissLucas]

8 hours ago, Sweet Tooth said:

Sometimes when they're trying to establish a character, they go way OTT with them and then dial it back. In their effort to give Kilbride a certain "I've seen it all, and you're just a bunch of snot-nosed kids running around" persona, they've gone way overboard.

They had dialed him down, and he had some compassion, etc., so I thought that was the end of his ridiculousness, and then this happened, and he took a giant step back. 

Maybe that's due to different writers for different episodes? I admit that I enjoy McRaney chewing scenery and taking Kilbride's curmudgeonly demeanour to the max. I take it as desperately needed comic relief even though the characterization is indeed uneven.

[Sweet Tooth]

9 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Maybe that's due to different writers for different episodes? I admit that I enjoy McRaney chewing scenery and taking Kilbride's curmudgeonly demeanour to the max. I take it as desperately needed comic relief even though the characterization is indeed uneven.

Yes, I don't mind the curmudgeon deal. I mind the disrespect he shows for those he supervises, especially when it's undeserved.

The constant gripes about L.A. and his team isn't a good look.

He can keep the personality, but maybe he can direct it where it's earned.

[catsitter]

I felt sad for all the other dogs when the team rescued the Master Sergeant. I guess the rest of them would be put down?

I know some people don't like Deeks but personally I thought the dog plot would have been a lot more fun if he was involved in it.