S02.E07: Vanishing Act

[blackwing]

When the mother of a young boy goes missing, the NCIS team sets out to find her and learns they aren't the only ones searching for her. Air Date: Nov 14, 2022

[blackwing]

I did not care for this episode, if only because the whole time I kept saying it doesn't make sense.  If the woman was really being framed for embezzlement, why didn't she go to the authorities earlier?  She thought the solution was to be on the run for ELEVEN years?  Constantly uprooting her son every time the bounty hunter (who has also been apparently chasing her for eleven years) got close?  Doesn't make sense at all.  She could easily have gone to the FBI or some other federal agency and gotten into some kind of witness protection program.  I get that she thought nobody would believe her and she didn't want to risk going to prison and leaving her son alone, but the alternative of constantly looking over her shoulder wondering if someone is going to kill her (and leave her son alone) doesn't seem great either.

Bounty hunter gets charged with obstruction.  One of the thugs is dead, I'm assuming the other will get charged with something.  And the three execs presumably will stand trial and go to prison.  What happens to the woman?  I hope she gets some kind of restitution from the company, but at the same time, I think some of her choices led her to where she was.  How is it that she was always able to find a job in whatever city she moved to, with a spotty work history and no references?  I'm assuming she disappeared suddenly from each previous job, which doesn't exactly lead to a good reference.

I missed how NCIS was connected to this case.  Is it purely because the boy was brought to Pearl?  Why wouldn't they turn the case over to Hawaii Five-0 or some other agency?  Had nothing to do with the military.

As for Lucy and her assignment, I really did feel for her dilemma... until the very end when we learned that the assignment was FOUR MONTHS.  Seriously?  Four months goes by in no time flat.  The way she went on and on, she acted like it was a two year assignment with no opportunity to come home at all.

Best part of the episode was the amazing leap by Noah Mills / stunt double to the balcony across and one floor below.  Also, no Alex!  Can they send him off to Europe already?

[Daff]

38 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I missed how NCIS was connected to this case.  Is it purely because the boy was brought to Pearl?  Why wouldn't they turn the case over to Hawaii Five-0 or some other agency?  Had nothing to do with the military.

Early in the episode, when the kid first talks to Jesse, Jesse tells him they need to contact the police. The boy tells him that his mother instructed him to go to “Pearl” if there’s ever any trouble. The boy said his “dad” is on a ship (or sub). I was shocked when the mother said he was the boy’s stepdad as her explanation unfolded. Shaky, but but it explains why the mother never felt safe going to authorities. If they didn’t believe her, or the real culprits were able to destroy her proof, she’d lose her son for good.

[nx74defiant]

I figured out she wasn't guilty of embezzlement a lot faster than the team begins to think of it.

[jabRI]

5 hours ago, blackwing said:

As for Lucy and her assignment, I really did feel for her dilemma... until the very end when we learned that the assignment was FOUR MONTHS.  Seriously?  Four months goes by in no time flat.  The way she went on and on, she acted like it was a two year assignment with no opportunity to come home at all.

THIS! same people who can't be separated from their spouse for a plane ride and try to insist people switch their seats. 

Would a male NCIS agent be questioned by everyone on his team about how it might affect his relationship?? I highly doubt it.  Only one was 'Noah?' who called on it only being for a few months.  Who would pass that up when it would look so good on your NCIS resume?  Lucy and Whistler are fine apart, but a really annoying couple.

[milkyaqua]

I also found this storyline hard to swallow.  If she's married to a sailor on a sub, I find it hard to believe that her husband hasn't filled out one of those in-depth security background documents where they ask you about everything and everyone in your life.  No way they wouldn't have flagged the guy for having a wife with holes in her background.

And yes, Lucy acting like she was going to be gone for four years instead of months was silly but that's how they've been writing this couple from the start.   Agree, that if this had been a male colleague, all this hand wringing never would have come up.  As someone said, Lucy could have withdrawn the request regardless of Tenant going to bat for her.

[mythoughtis]

4 months.  4 months.   Good grief.  She is so immature 

[Raja]

2 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

I also found this storyline hard to swallow.  If she's married to a sailor on a sub, I find it hard to believe that her husband hasn't filled out one of those in-depth security background documents where they ask you about everything and everyone in your life.  No way they wouldn't have flagged the guy for having a wife with holes in her background.

Or being family members aboard a submarine with more limited communications something like the Army's family readiness group holding standing instructions from the sailor would have stepped in while NCIS were fretting that they couldn't contact the father directly.

[HurricaneVal]

At first I thought they were setting the mom up to be some sort of retired super-ninja super-spy in the witness protection program or something, with how they portrayed her escaping the trunk and stealing the car and communicating through the Switch.  It got less interesting after that hypothesis got blown out of the water.  I really liked Boone's interactions with the kid, and how immediately understanding Jane was with the mom, and that Boone should always be the kid's escort/contact since as a father he "gets" kids. 

But, seriously?  Four months?  I've got dirty laundry in the bottom of my hamper* that's older than that! 

*Lest you think I'm gross, the laundry is of the rarely worn "hand wash, lay flat to dry" ilk and I don't wanna.  It isn't stinky socks or crusty t-shirts or anything like that.

[secnarf]

I was pleased that Lucy and Whistler dealt with this like adults - Lucy told her with minimal delay/drawing out, Whistler was supportive, they discussed it instead of expecting the other to intuitively know what the other one was thinking. So pleased. And then to find out it was only for four months!

I spent most of the episode thinking Lucy wouldn't go because she wouldn't be leaving the show for a season or more. Four months is nothing. Although, if this leads somehow to Lucy/Whistler drama I will not be happy.

[Maverick]

 I didn't care for this episode either.  I figured the mom was innocent when they made the bounty hunter--who was professional, legal and had his i's dotted and t's crossed--as some sort of villain.  Oh, and also because of all the tinkly music playing as Tent couldn't believe a mother could do such a thing. 

 In addition to her not have the resources and skills to be on the run for over a decade (and being pregnant in her first year on the run when pursuit would be most intense) it also made no sense the had to grill the son on how he was communicating with the mother.  Tent and Boone are both parents and Tent was a spy, presumably versed in all manner of covert communication.  And neither of them thought it was an issue giving him an internet-connected device?  Or worse realized immediately it was how he was talking to the mom once that fact came to light?  

 Lucy and Whistler.  Can they not do anything without teenage angsty drama?   How do these two figure out what to do about dinner without consulting others for relationship advice?

[Snazzy Daisy]

Why are they investigating this case? Shouldn’t it be handed over to the FBI instead? It doesn’t quite make sense.

It is more interesting to watch Theo Acosta than Alex Tennant. Sorry Janey!

I used to like Lucy, before all the relationship dramas with Whistler. Now I find her so f-king annoying. Lucy this, Lucy that.

🙄🙄🙄

It’s always about Lucy. We don’t see Jane’s daughter anymore. We never meet Jesse’s wife, only a glimpse of her during a video call. No mention whether Ernie has reconciled with Det. Dalia Reed from S1. Is Kai dating Melanie, the cute wildlife agent?

The best part of this episode is the impressive balcony stunt, great shot too! 👍🏻

Edited November 16, 2022 by SnazzyDaisy

[dwmarch]

40 minutes ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Why are they investigating this case? Shouldn’t it be handed over to the FBI instead? It doesn’t quite make sense.

I think it's both a bug and a feature of this show that the "Navy" connection is sometimes that someone who is involved in the case once walked by a Navy recruitment office or had a third cousin twice removed who was in the Navy or they just wore a navy blue shirt one day. It's the same kind of proactive assumption of jurisdiction that 5-0 used to use all the time. "You're not even supposed to be here today" seems to be readily defeated by a hearty shout of FEDERAL AGENT.

[Drummermom]

We are very open minded folks. But we have noticed the increasing amount of episode time devoted to Lucy/Whistler. I thought this was supposed to be a drama not a soap opera! My husband has bugged out, he can’t take it any more. We record so I just fast forward. No other show that is not devoted to the topic shows so much PDA. I’m hoping Lucy falls overboard.

[immortalfrieza]

Lucy Lucy Lucy... on the one hand, she didn't take too long to fess up to Whistler about what was wrong. On the other, Lucy didn't just walk up the Whistler and tell her the second she heard about the agent afloat position like she should have. Lucy/Whistler are SO annoying as a couple, not helped by the fact that not an episode goes by without having to deal with their drama.

[MissLucas]

I must be hardened by the mothership because they made Tony's time as agent afloat miserable AF so I kinda understood Lucy. Plus she hates water - bit dumb to join NCIS but that boat has sailed a long time ago. At least they stopped writing Whistler like a doormat for Lucy to stomp over in her tiny combat boots. The relationship has a better power-balance so I don't mind it's eating away screen-time. 

Of course mom was innocent but I also thought some of her choices a bit of a head-scratcher. 

The balcon jump was a great stunt - gotta give it to this show: stunt work and fight choreography are always top notch.

Edited November 18, 2022 by MissLucas

[Andyourlittledog2]

It's not just the annoying Lucy/Whistler relationship drama all the time. It's that from the beginning the writers had to write every single episode with some CIA and later some FBI aspect in order to pull Whistler into the case. It's like they cast her and like her and now need to find some ridiculous reason to have her be prominently involved in every case even though she does not work for NCIS. It's stupid. It doesn't help that I can't stand either Whistler or Lucy and hate them both together even more.  What other NCIS show has one third of their airtime devoted to relationship drama between two characters?  This show is just so unbalanced overall.  And I fully expect that the writers, instead of removing Lucy as absent while agent afloat will find some reason to have the team, including Whistler of course, be pulled into shipboard drama of some kind. I don't think the writers can help themselves.

I agree that the major plotline of this episode was pretty stupid. So many plot holes. But again, if the fugitive wasn't from the mainland and accused of financial fraud there would be no reason to bring in Whistler so there you go again.

Can't we have a nice marine sergeant is murdered because his wife is doing something nefarious (and no link to FBI or CIA please)? The other franchises seem to be able to pull it off.