S13.E03: Incognito

[MyAimIsTrue]

After a Marine is found murdered in Quantico hours after calling Gibbs to discuss a possible case, Bishop and McGee go undercover as a married couple to run surveillance on a Marine Lieutenant and his wife.

[JessDVD]

I thought they were going to have Bishop's trip turn out to actually be with some other guy that she's seeing on the side or something, so at least it turned out to be that she was trying to surprise Jake. That said, I am not digging this, Tony having problems with Zoe, Bishop having problems with Jake thing. I liked my NCIS with everyone in stable adult relationships and we will return there now, thank you. At least McGee called her out on not mentioning that it was supposed to be a surprise. Duh....

 

Tony and the DNA history - STUPID. Please leave seasons 9-10 Tony humor, by which I mean not humorous at all and Tony being the butt of every joke, back in season 9-10. It's not like any of us thought for a second that his ancestor actually would be British royalty, so there was really no need for all the supposed "anticipation".

 

Generally I like the undercover episodes but this one wasn't doing it for me. Of course the guy was going to come back while Bishop was in the house. Of course she was going to use the smoking scissors. The other guy coming up to McGee and blowing his cover was an interesting change-up though.

[Ohmo]

I liked seeing McGee and Bishop undercover.  I like their friendship, but I'm not a fan of Ellie's marital strife.  While not smart to go in the house by herself, Bishop is a probie, so I thought that rang true in terms of where she is professionally.  I'm glad that she was shown as being able to defend herself.

 

All of this talk of family with Tony...I did think the Jack the Ripper bit was a litle much.  I figured that he was just going to get scammed out of his $29.95, just like the wife's death was also tied to money.

[roseha]

 

Generally I like the undercover episodes but this one wasn't doing it for me. Of course the guy was going to come back while Bishop was in the house. Of course she was going to use the smoking scissors.

 

Agree.  Really, Gibbs should have bawled out Bishop for putting herself in danger and maybe also contaminating a crime scene with what she did. Her overpowering a much larger person was so unbelievable.  I saw the scissors as weapon coming since it was so reminiscent of a well known Hitchcock film....Are we supposed to interpret all this as her anger at McGee coming out, that she didn't want to work with him on the assignment so she went in alone?   If anything, she should have apologized to McGee at the end, not the other way around.

It's too bad since I generally enjoy the less violent episodes but I don't see why they should let Bishop act so dumb, and Gibbs not call her on it.

I also saw Tony's last line coming for just about the entire episode.  I think they should drop Tony's fascination with his British family.

[mommalib]

I liked this episode it had a nice flow to it.

[brgjoe]

Generally thought the episode was OK.  Though am getting a bit tired with all the married/relationship strife. 

 

I'm not married, nor have I ever been (to this point, anyway).  And I'm sure marriages aren't always filled with fun and happiness 24/7.  But I am a bit annoyed that whether it's Bishop/Jake, Tony/Zoe, Gibbs and his 11.5 billion ex-wives, there is seemingly *always* relationship angst.  Obviously there is more "stuff" going on behind the scenes with Jake/Bishop.  I'd wish they would just address it and get on with it.  The "surprise trip" was really lame.  If it was supposed to be a secret, you'd think Ellie would have just said, "I set up a surprise trip for both of us, but if you see or hear from Jake, do NOT say anything -- it's a secret!".  That way poor McGee wouldn't have been in the doghouse for revealing it.  Good thing for McGee he didn't tell Bishop that Jake from State Farm was wearing khaki's while he was on the phone with him.  McGee would have totally ruined yet another surprise.  Poor guy.  ;)

 

Another thing I thought was silly was Bishop entering the house by herself.  Doesn't she still need a warrant to go in?  I mean, I didn't see where she spotted something in "plain sight" that could warrant (so to speak) her going in to that house at that moment.  And without backup.  And without HER FREAKING PHONE WITH HER.  What's the point of her telling Abby to watch that house if she couldn't be contacted?  Sigh.

 

I actually liked Tony's search for relatives via DNA.  I thought about doing that myself.  And I thought once he spent the $29.99 (or whatever it was) that it was just some sort of scam.  And that the 17th Earl of Trent (or whomever it was) was just some ficticious person.  Which is what I thought when Ducky didn't know who he was.  Now if he was a possible suspect in the Jack the Ripper case, you'd think Ducky wouldn't have heard of him before.  <shrug>

 

One question though.  Didn't Abby say she got that woman's name from fingerprints on the knife (where she found the VA Driver's license of that woman)?  How could she have done so when the woman was an imposter in the first place? 

 

Anyway, I thought it was an OK episode all in all.  I did like McGee and Bishop undercover.  And liked the Tony DNA search thing.

[kazza]

Nice old-fashioned, stand-alone episode with no ties to anyone's past (I'm not counting the random story about Tony looking for ties to British royalty.)

 

McGee kissing Bishop undercover gave me the icks. I get it's part of the act, but ew. Can't we just let Eliie and Jake be a stable, happy couple?

 

Loved the shout out to "Man from U.N.C.L.E" on the theater marquee behind the coffee shop, where McGee ran into the imposter wife.

[dju]

Didn't mind this episode but wasn't particularly moved by it. The Bishop/McGee uncovers routine was lackluster, and something about their energy when they're in scenes together aways falls so flat to me - but I won't hold that against them.

 

I don't where we're going with this 'Tony is questioning his life and his purpose etc' arc but I'm very intrigued to see what the utility of it is. If anything it's starting to feel like this is Tony's last season, and not Gibbs' like some have been predicting.

Edited October 7, 2015 by dju

[brgjoe]

Yes, I forgot about that "Man from U.N.C.L.E" on the marquee when McGee was meeting with imposter-lady!  Nice touch.

 

Only way it would have been better, is if Ducky were there and the sign was visible while he was in the scene.  :)

[MissLucas]

The plot was decent. However I don't like it when there's a subplot involving Jake and I don't get to see Jamie Bamber, hrmp!  (And yes, it seems odd that Ducky fountain of knowledge about British history and criminal history would not recognize the name of one of the many suspects in the Jack the Ripper case.)

[Mama No Life]

I actually took Ducky's response to Tony's query to be instant recognition but then deciding to not mention it.  While Tony didn't say why he was asking, it was obvious it was impt to him so Ducky played dumb. Or that was my take.

 

Boring ep, honestly.  Bishop is just so zzzzzzzzzzzz

[Colorado David]

anyone notice how loud the electronic dance music was in Abby's scenes??? totally worked my nerves. it's normally not so intrusive, but UGH this time.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Nice old-fashioned, stand-alone episode with no ties to anyone's past (I'm not counting the random story about Tony looking for ties to British royalty.)

 

Yes, and that's why I found it enjoyable.  The episode wasn't great but I think NCIS is at its best when doing stand-alone cases and not tying into some season long arc.

[Clanstarling]

The "surprise trip" was really lame.  If it was supposed to be a secret, you'd think Ellie would have just said, "I set up a surprise trip for both of us, but if you see or hear from Jake, do NOT say anything -- it's a secret!".  That way poor McGee wouldn't have been in the doghouse for revealing it. 

 

Another thing I thought was silly was Bishop entering the house by herself.  Doesn't she still need a warrant to go in?  I mean, I didn't see where she spotted something in "plain sight" that could warrant (so to speak) her going in to that house at that moment.  And without backup.  And without HER FREAKING PHONE WITH HER.  What's the point of her telling Abby to watch that house if she couldn't be contacted?  Sigh.

 

One question though.  Didn't Abby say she got that woman's name from fingerprints on the knife (where she found the VA Driver's license of that woman)?  How could she have done so when the woman was an imposter in the first place? 

McGee answering the phone in the first place was a little out of line - but I do get that he's friendly with Jake. I don't think it had occurred to Bishop that anyone would talk to Jake at all, and therefore didn't feel the need to explain that it was a surprise trip. I don't blame her that her first reaction was anger.

 

Warrants and "fruit from a poisoned tree" aside, it was the phone that ticked me off the most. That is just basic stupidity - not probie mistakes. Plus - opening boxes doesn't make for a sneak peek, even if she got out undetected.

 

The imposter's fingerprint was on the VA license - and Abby connected her to the name of the woman she was impersonating. The original wife's print was on a license in another state (Maryland?). That's part of how Abby found out she was an imposter. I liked the subtle hint that she was an imposter in the surveillance footage of the dead guy seeing her at the cafeteria with her "husband." She rushed to put her glasses on when he came up to the table.

 

Abby wasn't infantile at all in this episode, I enjoyed that very much. Kind of back to the quirky but very competent person I always liked.

[Julia]

Yeah, but this was their version of Dial M for Murder (a Hitchcock movie about a scoundrel tennis player who marries his - blonde - wife for her money and then hires someone to kill her. She takes the hitman out while he's strangling her with a pair of sewing shears in the back). So, Bishop needed to be somewhere stupid alone so he could get into strangling distance.

Edited October 7, 2015 by Julia

[roseha]

 

Dial M for Murder

 

 

Yes, that's the Hitchcock film I hinted at above. 

Good point that Bishop didn't have a warrant either.

[Cranston]

I agree re the  loud and distracting background music...in the scene in Abby's lab with Gibbs.  Good grief, it was hard to concentrate on what they were saying.  Why do they do that sometimes?

[MyAimIsTrue]

 I liked the subtle hint that she was an imposter in the surveillance footage of the dead guy seeing her at the cafeteria with her "husband." She rushed to put her glasses on when he came up to the table.

 

Ah, thank you.  I could tell in the video clip that the imposter wife did something but didn't realize she put glasses on.

[catray]

This episode felt a little paint-by-numbers for me. Not that NCIS is notorious for breaking new ground and not that it was a bad episode, just felt a little rote to me. Despite that, it was a decent stand-alone episode.

 

I liked the change up of McGee and Bishop going undercover and for a good reason... until it got blown. Bishop was dumb to take a risk like breaking into the suspect's house, and I agree, she should have been dressed down for it, as they had evidence the wife was not who she said she was. The body in the moving box was suitably horrifying, though.

 

McGee probably shouldn't have answered the phone, but I'm pretty sure that's happened before within the show-- didn't Tony answer Ziva's phone once? Not saying it's right (if they each have their own private lines/extensions, no one else should be answering it). And he does know Jake, so it's not unprecedented. And I do sympathize-- wouldn't you preface something like that by saying it's a surprise? It's not like Jake talks to the team every day, but everyone is friendly with each other and Bishop knows this, so I think both McGee and Bishop failed here.

 

I was unhappy with Tony acting like a dunce again this episode. It's not uncommon to do DNA testing these days, and I think it's cool to take an interest in your background and heritage, but ugggggh, he was acting like such an idiot. And surely a quick Google search of the "17th Earl of Trent" would have revealed everything he learned from his cousin? Not a fan of buffoon Tony.

[mommalib]

I like the Bishop/Mcgee friendship. And I didn't mind that kiss either.

[Passing Strange]

One question though.  Didn't Abby say she got that woman's name from fingerprints on the knife (where she found the VA Driver's license of that woman)?  How could she have done so when the woman was an imposter in the first place? 

 

No, Bishop got the fake wife's name from a medicine bottle when she broke into the house.

 

Abby was suspicious that the wife had gotten a new driver's license soon after moving, when she hadn't changed her old one after another move. That's when she compared the fingerprints and pictures on the two licenses and determined it wasn't the same woman. At that point she was still lacking the real name of the fake wife.

[Clanstarling]

The body in the moving box was suitably horrifying, though.

Having just done some reorganizing with those vacuum sealed bags - my mind went to what size they would have used. After which I decided those bags weren't quite so appealing anymore.

[Subrookie]

I thought the ending was totally unbelievable. We're supposed to believe Bishop is going to go unarmed and without her phone into the house of a murder suspect. That was after they'd already said that they had enough to bring in both the man and his wife. So, why the urgency to break into the house? Just arrest the two and search it without all the ridiculous nonsense with Bishop, her phone, no gun and a bathroom window. I also didn't get why they would keep the body in a vacuum bag stored in a box. The show is better than this.

[Driad]

 

Knowing a thing or two about DNA testing, I'd say Tony got scammed.  No "find your ancestry" DNA test can tell you that you are descended from a particular individual.  A real test might have told Tony that he was related to the Whoever family, but not specifically Lord Whoever.  If Tony believed that Lord Whoever was his father or grandfather (not much farther back than that) he could try to have Lord W. exhumed to see if testable DNA could be found; then a different DNA test could tell him whether the relationship was what he thought.  Basically I think Tony didn't read the fine print before he ordered his first test.

[Julia]

 

 

Knowing a thing or two about DNA testing, I'd say Tony got scammed.  No "find your ancestry" DNA test can tell you that you are descended from a particular individual.  A real test might have told Tony that he was related to the Whoever family, but not specifically Lord Whoever.  If Tony believed that Lord Whoever was his father or grandfather (not much farther back than that) he could try to have Lord W. exhumed to see if testable DNA could be found; then a different DNA test could tell him whether the relationship was what he thought.  Basically I think Tony didn't read the fine print before he ordered his first test.

 

The fact that the 'ancestry' site wouldn't tell him who he was supposedly related to unless he payed the extra thirty bucks sort of suggested to me that it was a scam.

[jennifer6973]

I thought the ending was totally unbelievable. We're supposed to believe Bishop is going to go unarmed and without her phone into the house of a murder suspect. That was after they'd already said that they had enough to bring in both the man and his wife. So, why the urgency to break into the house? Just arrest the two and search it without all the ridiculous nonsense with Bishop, her phone, no gun and a bathroom window. I also didn't get why they would keep the body in a vacuum bag stored in a box. The show is better than this.

 

 

They kept the body in the bag, so the neighbors wouldn't be alerted to the smell. (It was mentioned on the show)

[itsmeyousee]

I like the ep. Not good , not bad.

 

As for Bishop and Jake , i like that's it's the same problem they have been having.and not a new one. With her mention of Jake going to "Asia" and not knowing where. She seems to be the one not dealing with being left out of the NSA loop now that she changed jobs,

 

The Jack the Ripper thing was over the top and the description of the Lord sounded more like Senior than serial killer. But i liked Tony reasons for searching.

 

As for Bishop in the house it wasn't the phone left or going in alone or the well placed scissors. It was the opening of the boxes that got me. Firstly wouldn't the couple have noticed that someone opened them and isn't that illegal. Doesn't stuff have to be in plain sight for you to look ?

[Ohmo]

CBS | NCIS (16.9 mil/2.2) and NCIS: New Orleans (14.2 mil/1.7) were flat and Limitless (9.6 mil/1.7) slipped 10 percent.

 

Ratings

[immortalfrieza]

Yet another case of a normally perfectly intelligent and capable character having to act like a complete idiot for the sake of the plot, but this wasn't even to keep the plot intact, everything would have been case closed whether Bishop snuck into the house or not. The whole thing happened solely to soak up a few minutes and to create false drama. I hate it when shows do this but it's pretty standard, making all the characters as competent and intelligent as they are supposed to be and still have a plot and drama is something only really really good writers that actually care can pull off.

 

Tony was very predictable this episode. I generally like Tony, being a jokester, prankster, and just general buffoon all the time with the exception of when the chips are down and he shows what a competent agent he can be is the entirety of Tony's character and always has been, and normally he's very good at that. However I could see every single joke he was going to make and be made at his expense from the moment he first talked about the DNA testing and thus none of it was funny.

[Subrookie]

They kept the body in the bag, so the neighbors wouldn't be alerted to the smell. (It was mentioned on the show)

 

But, they alluded to the fact that she had been killed somewhere else before they moved. It made no sense that they would keep the body/evidence with them.

[Ina123]

I have a theory.

They mention that Tony and Zoe are having relationship trouble. Then Tony goes on about not really having
"family".

I'm not sure this is a spoiler so quit reading if you have a problem with hints. It was on Michael
Weatherby's Twitter feed afterall.

He posted a picture of himself and Jeanne, the Frog's daughter, and it said, "Guess who's back". We know if Tony loved any of the women he has been with it was Jeanne. So, if she returns and sees in her heart to
forgive, let's say Tony wants that relationship back? They have to prepare us for a Zoe breakup, thus, this week he and Zoe are having relationship problems. Maybe next week he and Zoe breakup, then here comes
Jeanne.

Just my thoughts.

Edited October 8, 2015 by MyAimIsTrue
Added spoiler tags

[twoods]

Can't one couple be happy on this damn show? They killed the wife of the only stable couple, then bring in another stable couple only to have them have some issues. I don't understand why Bishop is not liking the secretive job her husband is involved in- she used to be NSA so should be supportive.

She was also dumb this episode, and I wish Gibbs called her out on it.

[AimingforYoko]

No comment about Newton's CO videoflirting with Gibbs in MTAC?

[secnarf]

Can't one couple be happy on this damn show? They killed the wife of the only stable couple, then bring in another stable couple only to have them have some issues. I don't understand why Bishop is not liking the secretive job her husband is involved in- she used to be NSA so should be supportive.

She was also dumb this episode, and I wish Gibbs called her out on it.

Who was the wife of the stable couple that was killed? I don't remember this at all.

[Julia]

Who was the wife of the stable couple that was killed? I don't remember this at all.

 

Fornell's wife/Gibbs' ex.

[secnarf]

Fornell's wife/Gibbs' ex.

Weren't Fornell and Diane divorced but maybe-reconciling? I'd hardly call that "stable". They weren't even stable in terms of their dislike for each other.

[j5cochran]

 

Who was the wife of the stable couple that was killed? I don't remember this at all.

 

Fornell's wife/Gibbs' ex.

 

 

Vance's wife was also killed, and they appeared to have a stable relationship.

[secnarf]

Vance's wife was also killed, and they appeared to have a stable relationship.

Thanks!! I definitely do remember that happening :P

[twoods]

Vance's wife was also killed, and they appeared to have a stable relationship.

Yep I was talking about Vance's wife, who was also a kick ass female. What a waste of an awesome character just for some angst.

I like Vance's relationship with Gibbs so looking forward to next week.

[torqy]

  Good thing for McGee he didn't tell Bishop that Jake from State Farm was wearing khaki's while he was on the phone with him.  McGee would have totally ruined yet another surprise.  Poor guy.  ;)

 

 

 

Excellent!! You owe me a new keyboard!

 

I thought Tony's ancestor would be a horse thief or similar.

 

One thing that always distracts me regarding Bishop is that her facial features remind me of a former coworker.

[Raja]

 

Warrants and "fruit from a poisoned tree" aside, it was the phone that ticked me off the most. That is just basic stupidity - not probie mistakes. Plus - opening boxes doesn't make for a sneak peek, even if she got out undetected.

 

 

 

 

I thought the ending was totally unbelievable. We're supposed to believe Bishop is going to go unarmed and without her phone into the house of a murder suspect. That was after they'd already said that they had enough to bring in both the man and his wife. So, why the urgency to break into the house? Just arrest the two and search it without all the ridiculous nonsense with Bishop, her phone, no gun and a bathroom window. I also didn't get why they would keep the body in a vacuum bag stored in a box. The show is better than this.

Few shows meet the Law & Order standard on these types of issues. In any case so long removed from JAG they are now in the Tommyverse with nu Hawaii 5-0 thanks to the NCIS Los Angeles crossover

[Betweenthisandthat]

The Jack the Ripper thing was over the top and the description of the Lord sounded more like Senior than serial killer. But i liked Tony reasons for searching.

 

 

I was glad the Lord was someone who actually existed, not a fake person to make Tony look foolish.  The reason he didn't was because of his reasons for searching, which I liked too.  He wasn't looking purely out of vanity and I was surprised to hear about that family in England because they haven't been mentioned since season 6.  Also liked when he went to autopsy to make his peace with the guy who died and who he judged incorrectly.  When Tony is used for comic effect like he was in this episode it's too easy to overlook the scenes he gets when he is written as a more complex character.  

 

Forgot to add I liked Gibbs' scenes with Tony.  It was the first time this season that things felt alright between them. 

 

I like Bishop and while she shouldn't have gone in that house by herself, it isn't the first time an agent on this show has done something that in the real world would be foolish.  Would have been good for McGee to answer his phone when she called but I didn't get hung up on that either.

Edited October 16, 2015 by Betweenthisandthat