Ziva David-Mossad Bad Ass

[StarBrand]

Since there does not seem to be a solo Ziva thread (if there is, I missed it), I thought I would provide the honors..:)

[StarBrand]

I believe D.B said on commentary that, to replace Kate, he wanted someone unlike her, someone European-the kind of person who would would have no shame when it came to sex, or talking about it. And right away we see that right away, with Ziva teasing Tony about fantasizing about his partner, telling him nothing was abnormal about it, then looking Tony...down...then up.  (Although at the time he was in no mood to be messed with.)  It's fair to say the writers gave Ziva more than enough personal tragedy and anguish.  It all started with the reason she joined NCIS in the first place.  Having heard what Ari had to say about her family, she admitted she joined NCIS to get away from her father. I liked at the end of her 1st season, Ducky was exasperated she didn't know what hospital Gibbs was at, then was accused by Abby of being cold and uncaring. And this...bothered her quite a bit.  There was that scene with her washing her face and looking at herself in the mirror, as if to ask "are they right, am I really that awful of a person". Of course, if she were truly as awful as she thought, such a thing would not have bugged her at all.  That vauge sense being a broken and bad person kept coming up at various times.  And she allowed herself to feel anguish over kiling her brother in front of Gibbs, something that allowed him to fully remember his life after his brief amnesia.

I saw more than enough that first season, to convince me Ziva would be a very interesting character.  She was someone who always seemed to be on the verge of falling into complete darkness, only to always be pulled back out by her friends in NCIS.

[StarBrand]

In terms of self-loathing (or at the very least, self-disliking), as I said, this comes up several times in the series.  One such moment where Ziva truly seemed to slip into darkness, (and in fact, seemed to be welcoming it) was after her boyfriend was killed by DiNozzo, decided to go back to Isreal and leave NCIS.  She ended up on what probably was a suicide mission, captured and tortured with no hope at all of rescue...and yet NCIS...and Tony in particular...came to bring her back to what was truly her home. Her whole demeaner during the experience was one of someone truly beaten. She was just....tired. Her friends had come back for her, but that did not lift her spirits.  She couldn't fathom why Tony, or anyone else...would have taken all this trouble just to get her back. Even when brought back to NCIS, the look on her face is NOT that of someone glad to be back.  It's not really until a few episodes later, where she is pushed to show where her true allegience lies-Mossad or NCIS-and Gibbs stands up for her, telling Eli through his proxy, he's better back off and leave her the hell alone.  It's at that point, I think, she really starts to believe NCIS is where she belonged.   And she would need her adopted family because before long, her actual family would all be gone.   But where she was at in "Truth Or Consequences" was a true low point.

[coffee drinker]

I've always enjoyed the theme music they used for Ziva/Eli scenes.  Cote and Michael N. were excellent as daughter/father, for me.  I think the show did a great job casting all the parents (Ralph W., Robert W. and Jamie S.).