S08.E11: Tidings We Bring

[MostlyC]

NCIS looks into the disappearance of a Navy lieutenant commander who is working on foreign cyber threats with the NSA; the team celebrates the holidays.

 

Will there be Hetty Re-gifting?  Will there be "Go for Santa?"  Or scary strong EggNog?

 

Hey!  Maybe, if we've been really good this year, we'll get to see who the mole is.

[anna0852]

Thank goodness!  Once again, we have it demonstrated why promo monkeys can't be trusted.

[Jaybird]

7 hours ago, anna0852 said:

Thank goodness!  Once again, we have it demonstrated why promo monkeys can't be trusted.

It could have been worse, but really what was the point? 

[anna0852]

Now that I have more time to reflect on the episode, I think it was reasonably well done. The Christmas episodes tend to be somewhat lighthearted and I appreciate that. 

What stood out for me was Kensi dealing (or not dealing) with her fears about her physical state. She's clearly very frustrated and starting to worry that she is never coming back, that she is going to be replaced and that all those things that made her who she is are now gone forever. In someways I wonder if it wouldn't have been easier for her if the injuries had been worse. A permanent limp or a total loss of use of her hand would in a way be something that she could work on accepting. Right now she is *almost* there and being so close but stalling out must be hell for her and ultimately more frustrating. 

While I am really glad that "fight" turned out to be all in her head, it was a decent way to illustrate just how frustrated and out-of-the-loop and just plain *scared* Kensi must be feeling. 

Love seeing Callen and Deeks working together and actually bonding a bit. I think they are starting to realize just how much in common they have regarding their childhoods. And while Deeks might tease Callen a bit, he doesn't push the way Sam does. For all that Sam and Callen are brothers, I don't think Sam really gets what it was like for Callen growing up and I think Deeks does. And I think Callen is starting to both recognize and appreciate that.

The meerkats are *so* dating! I do appreciate how subtle they are being though. I'm fully expecting for them to just walk in one day and have it come out that that got married over the weekend or something.

Edited December 19, 2016 by anna0852
I swear I can spell

[Trey]

5 hours ago, Jaybird said:

It could have been worse, but really what was the point? 

Exactly what I thought about it too.  anna0852 does have a good explanation for it though, which is probably what they were going for.  But they could have left it out as far as I'm concerned.

I really enjoyed this episode; it seemed more cohesive and less ott than some of their episodes. I do like Anna and laughed at her calling Arkady "her pain in the ass". 

And I liked all the Christmas gift giving.

But Grainger was absent.

[Zahdii]

At the end, I was struck by Hetty standing above them all on the second level just watching.  To me, it looked like she was both looking into the camera and looking down on her people as they celebrated when she said so solemnly, "Merry Christmas". 

I was tired when watching, so I may have missed a few things, but I wondered if Hetty was foreshadowing her retirement, Grainger's health problems, or the sadness the unveiling of the mole would bring.

[MissLucas]

I really enjoyed that - the COW was a bit meh but there were so many great character beats that I did not mind (same goes for the mole plot being put on the back-burner).

I loved all the unexpected pairings: Kensi and Nell blowing the Bechdel test to kingdom come ('Nobody is perfect' had me in stitches - best Nell moment ever). Deeks and Callen, I might have had something in my eye when Deeks handed the Christmas lights to Callen. Sam and Anna bonding over their respective father - daughter dynamics. Eric giving Kensi the Kevlar scarf (she also got a deadly eyeliner brush - girl's slowly building her own Bond arsenal). Eric is also doing a pretty mean Hetty LOL! Aww. to the meerkats being in sync. I also enjoyed the fight at the Christmas buffet, it was great comic relief ('Never surrender!') but it was also giving us as outlined above some insight into Kensi's state of mind.

Plus: The return of Pyro Eric!  All in all - 9/10 for a Christmas episode.

Edited December 20, 2016 by MissLucas

[enoughcats]

Heck, I'm just glad that I remembered to save the NCIS hour as well as the show that followed it, so when I wanted to watch without commercials, I could get the end of the show. 

I hate that this show follows 60 minutes and I wonder who at CBS they PO'ed to earn this time slot. 

Later at night I had a chance of stumbling on it to watch it live.  Now...not much chance because football always runs late and then 60M begins and then NCIS.

I wonder how much this has impacted ratings in the east coast time zone?  

As the list of shows I watch has decreased, this one is still on the list.  But I look forward to it surviving long enough to be watched more easily.

Is this just my east coast problem?

[kassygreene]

You don't need CBS All Access to watch CBS programs in the month or so after they air.  You just need to be in the U.S.  CBS programs pop up on the website about three hours and five minutes after the East Coast broadcast finishes (five minutes after the West Coast).  You can't FF through commercials, but you don't get the end of the show cut off either.