S14.E16: A Many Splendored Thing

[MyAimIsTrue]

Bishop is more determined than ever to seek revenge for the murder of Qasim, her late boyfriend, after Gibbs and the team find a new lead in the Chen case. Also, Torres teaches the agents the art of pickpocketing.

[stuckin60s]

Cant believe they are giving Bishop the episode.  Such a bad/dull character

[mommalib]

Bishop was so annoying this episode. Not to be cruel but I don't care about that boyfriend of hers. And what did that lady mean by if their was a vacancy in the directors chair? I hope they not killing off Vance.

[roamyn]

20 minutes ago, mommalib said:

Bishop was so annoying this episode. Not to be cruel but I don't care about that boyfriend of hers. And what did that lady mean by if their was a vacancy in the directors chair? I hope they not killing off Vance.

I hope they boot her ass.  I've never liked her.  Maybe -now that her other show is over - Kate's identical twin sister can join the team instead (my re-write, not show fact).

uh, yeah, I caught that slip w/reference to Vance, too.  Maybe they're going to demote him, since he doesn't seem to realize what's going on out in LA.

[stonehaven]

A very long hour..and way too much Bishop....I wish Gibbs had read her the riot act....I was wondering whatever happened to that little girl? Did they let the girl know?

Thanks NCIS..you are now placeholder TV 'till This is Us starts...

[Amore22MC]

I don't dislike Bishop the way many others seem to; in fact, I like her more -- compared to the 3 new characters.  But I do agree with:

Quote

Not to be cruel but I don't care about that boyfriend of hers

[pally]

2 hours ago, mommalib said:

Bishop was so annoying this episode. Not to be cruel but I don't care about that boyfriend of hers. And what did that lady mean by if their was a vacancy in the directors chair? I hope they not killing off Vance.

This whole story arc fell flat because they didn't give us a reason to care about the rebound guy.  First he's a victim, then we see 30 secs of him as a boyfriend then boom he's dead.  We got why Gibbs killed Hernandez.   We got why Vance and Ziva went afte Bodnar.  We got why Tony got to blow away Kort.  But this, blah, maybe if they had killed off Jake we might have cared.  They put more time into that relationship than this one (though I was thinking her announcement to Gibbs was that she was pregnant..maybe then we could understand).  IMO, its time to fire Bishop..how many times does she get to go rogue without consequences.  

This whole season has felt disjointed...story lines not fleshed out ie why was this Chen guy so evil that he was worth an arc?  new characters not being truly integrated into the team.  They really made a mistake trying to bring in so many new characters.  There just doesn't seem to be any chemistry among any of them.  I think were are seeing that it really has been Michael Weatherly/Tony DiNozzo that was the glue for the show.  He was the character that allowed Tim to have a personality and Ellie to be that little sister.  He brought the charisma and balance to the team that allowed their interactions to stand up to Mark Harmon's/Gibbs.  I also wonder how much the loss of Gary Glassberg threw the whole team into disarray.

Did I mishear...did they really name the unseen Syrian terrorist Haswari?  Hmm...did Ari have yet another sibling out there

Edited February 22, 2017 by pally

[enoughcats]

Each show is about 40 minutes when we ignore commercials, intro, closing and previews of coming attraction.

Count the characters:

Vance, Gibbs, Abby, Tim, Ellie, Brit, new woman, hispanic guy, Ducky, 2nd guy in the morgue.....  that's ten, how much character development / advancement do we get with four minutes per.

Then subtract:  female who died and why, newish female congresswoman, oriental bad guy, survivalist guy 1, guy with RV....each of these took two or three minutes just to make a story. taking away maybe ten or fifteen minutes.

Then there is the stair elevator walking through doors time, the computer screen techie stuff.

We may be lucky to get as much character development as we do.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Such Bullshit. Bishop can go now.

So, she's not afraid of Gibbs? She doesn't care what her boss and his boss tell her to do? She steals the phone of a Congresswoman, so she can kill the guy who killed her boyfriend of a few months?

I thought Ziva should have been canned when she went Rogue. 

When Gibbs went after Hernandez, it was days after he'd been told of Shannon and Kelly's murders and his rage and grief were fresh. And he wasn't abusing the power of the agency he worked for because hey-he wasn't an employee of NIS!

Bishop has some hall and nerve to stomp into Gibbs's garage to demand answers from him. And I'm pissed at Gibbs for not ripping her a new one.???

And the reason she was so intent on going after Chen was because she didn't say yes to his proposal? Guilty? ?????

Bishop may be smart, but she can't carry off or convince me she's this bad ass agent. I spent a good portion fast forwarding all the flashback scenes because that's how fascinating I found them.

And oh look! She said yes on the night Qasim died. My cold black heart didn't give a fuck.

And what was that dinner between Congresswoman and Leon about? A shout out to when horrid Jenny and Gibbs had the same dinner of Steak Au Pauve???

And his name is LEON, not Lee. And I say this as someone who doesn't even like Vance. He should have suspended her ass when Quinn and Gibbs caught her and Reeves.

UGH.

[Bobbin]

They never said that Chen had the little girl, just that he knew where she was if mom didn't shoot herself. Chen's comeuppance was satisfying, echoing Deeks' dispatching of Sullivan Sunday on NCIS-LA. But Gibbs should have fired Bishop, as Mac Taylor did on CSI-NY when an underling falsified evidence. Gibbs did tell Bishop that there was a price to pay, and soon. Transfer to another agency?

I wonder if Vance is going to be sent to LA to help with their mess. Or if he's just retiring to spend time with the kids.

[threebluestars]

Ugh, all the new characters are making this show unwatchable. Along with Bishop. I can't tell you how much I wish Gibbs had fired her.

Gibbs. McGee. Delilah joins the team. Fornell joins the team. Ducky, Jimmy, Abby support. I guess we can keep Vance as long as there is at least a throw away line about LA being cray. 

Give me back my show. Between this, New Orleans' bad casting and Criminal Minds bloating their cast too, all of my shows are murdering themselves. 

[betsyboo]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Such Bullshit. Bishop can go now.

So, she's not afraid of Gibbs? She doesn't care what her boss and his boss tell her to do? She steals the phone of a Congresswoman, so she can kill the guy who killed her boyfriend of a few months?

I thought Ziva should have been canned when she went Rogue. 

When Gibbs went after Hernandez, it was days after he'd been told of Shannon and Kelly's murders and his rage and grief were fresh. And he wasn't abusing the power of the agency he worked for because hey-he wasn't an employee of NIS!

Bishop has some hall and nerve to stomp into Gibbs's garage to demand answers from him. And I'm pissed at Gibbs for not ripping her a new one.???

And the reason she was so intent on going after Chen was because she didn't say yes to his proposal? Guilty? ?????

Bishop may be smart, but she can't carry off or convince me she's this bad ass agent. I spent a good portion fast forwarding all the flashback scenes because that's how fascinating I found them.

And oh look! She said yes on the night Qasim died. My cold black heart didn't give a fuck.

And what was that dinner between Congresswoman and Leon about? A shout out to when horrid Jenny and Gibbs had the same dinner of Steak Au Pauve???

And his name is LEON, not Lee. And I say this as someone who doesn't even like Vance. He should have suspended her ass when Quinn and Gibbs caught her and Reeves.

UGH.

But how do you *feel* Robert/Robin/Uncle Mac??? Lolol

i came here just to say WHAT. IN THE. FUCKITY FUCK. WAS THAT. 

i will return tmrw less disjointed. (I hope. But still with hate in my ♥️)

[Katy M]

I feel like they were trying to turn Bishop into ziva this episode.  I also didn't really care about the boyfriend.  How many episodes was he in?  I feel like they had the flashbacks to try to get us to care, but I just didn't.  And, just like it was odd that Palmer didn't tell anyone that he was a doctor, I found it odd that Ellie didn't tell anyone that Kasim asked her to marry him and that she was on the verge of saying yes.  Bishop has always struck me as a discuss your feelings type of person. 

And, then I was wondering if it was none of the characters, or none of the writers, had ever seen or read Sophie's Choice. Sophie didn't choose between herself and her child, or between one death or another.  She had to choose between her two children.  So the comparison didn't make sense either time they used it.

On a totally unimportant note, I though Bishop's hair looked cute in the ponytail she had it in when she went on her date with Kasim.

[brgjoe]

<crawls up from under my rock>  <hoping it is safe for someone to post here who actually likes Bishop a little bit>  ;)

Ok, I am not the biggest Bishop fan in the multiverse.  But over time she has grown on me a bit.  I think it didn't help that at first they made her far too quirky.  And now they dialed back her personality so much, she's about as boring as you can get.  But at least now she doesn't annoy me a whole lot.  ;) 

I still don't know why the Powers That Be decided to break up her marriage.  I thought it was nice having a main character who was in a nice, stable, marital relationship.  And then after that, have her in a relationship with someone for what seemed like 10 minutes of screen time and then *poof* have that guy killed off as well.  I think the writers realized that bit of disconnect with the character and had those Bishop flashbacks to help us see what happened behind the scenes over that time period.  And make us essentially care about that relationship.  Didn't quite work for me either.  But...I can imagine how Bishop might have felt to finally accept his proposal and never did get the chance to tell him while he was alive.  Can easily understand how that would make her bitter and guilty at the same time.  So, I did give a fuck or two about it in the end.  :)

Didn't like her going rogue.  But in the end, I thought that ending on how she dispatched Chen was utterly badass.   Enjoyed that part of it.  Ok, maybe "enjoy" is kind of a bad way to say it.  :)   I wonder what the consequences will be though.  Will she get sent away for awhile?  Like Tony to the ship or McGee to the records basement?   Or will she join NCIS: Red for awhile?  Heh.   Anyway, I still like her character a lot more than the newer ones from this season.   Ok, maybe that's in the "damning with faint praise" department. 

Or will this cause Gibbs to be transferred somewhere else?  Maybe Mark Harmon wants to cut down on his schedule somewhat and they can have his character off screen in another position with NCIS.

Chen was an idiot though.  Here this guy is super paranoid, would only deal with others through 2nd and 3rd party folks.  And then just waltzes into Gibb's house like it was nothing.  Ok, everybody seems to walk into Gibb's place.  But still, didn't seem so supervilliany to me.  

And where the heck is Fornell?  Was really hoping to see him at some point in this arc.  Or just have him on screen in any capacity.  Really do miss him.

Overall, I still liked it.  Though not nearly as much as the Jimmy-centric one of a few weeks earlier.

[Katy M]

4 minutes ago, brgjoe said:

Chen was an idiot though.  Here this guy is super paranoid, would only deal with others through 2nd and 3rd party folks.  And then just waltzes into Gibb's house like it was nothing.  Ok, everybody seems to walk into Gibb's place.  But still, didn't seem so supervilliany to me.  

Now, the way I'm understanding this, is that Ellie put the disk in place, and gave Chen the option of popping it in all the way.  If I were him, I would wait to see if she lied, who was showing up, NCIS, or the bad guys.  If it's the bad guys, then pop the disk in.  Take everyone out, or the chance for life. Or pop it in before  Ellie leaves.  Take her out, too.  And a floppy disk?  Really?

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 hours ago, Bobbin said:

Gibbs did tell Bishop that there was a price to pay, and soon. Transfer to another agency?

I think Gibbs meant an emotional price-how this would haunt her, eventually, since right now, she has no regrets killing Chen and is saying she'd do it all over again.

Whatever, Bishop.

[Chaos Theory]

I know I am in the minority but I like Bishop and I always have.  I also like that the show mirroring her in a lot of ways to Gibs.   I did think they sprung that the romance had progressed so much with Bishop a little quickly.  However Bishop is my favorite character on the show these days so I will give that small detail a pass,  I dislike the new characters and I never really liked McGee,  Bishop at least is fun.

[Bobbin]

16 minutes ago, Katy M said:

And a floppy disk?  Really?

The targeted generators were all old, obsolete and vulnerable.

[Packerbrewerbadger]

I fell asleep half way thru, woke up , rewound and fell asleep again, woke up watched This Is Us in its entirety without so much as a yawn.  

[St. Claire]

5 hours ago, Katy M said:

And, then I was wondering if it was none of the characters, or none of the writers, had ever seen or read Sophie's Choice. Sophie didn't choose between herself and her child, or between one death or another.  She had to choose between her two children.  So the comparison didn't make sense either time they used it.

The phrase "Sophie's choice" has come to mean something similar to "a rock and a hard place" (i.e., a decision in which either choice is bad), which I think takes away from the intricate and meaningful plotline of the book and movie.  But, like "Jekyll and Hyde," we've taken a literary nuance and turned it into a throw-away expression. 

I usually like Mary Stuart Masterson, but the Congresswoman annoys me. As does Bishop. So, all in all, I was fairly annoyed by much of this episode. My crochet project held my attention more thoroughly than the plot did.

[Packerbrewerbadger]

I would have cared more if Jake had been killed and that's who Bishop was " avenging " .

[buckboard]

5 hours ago, Katy M said:

On a totally unimportant note, I though Bishop's hair looked cute in the ponytail she had it in when she went on her date with Kasim.

OTOH, I thought Bishop looked as if she was about 14.

[MyAimIsTrue]

4 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I know I am in the minority but I like Bishop and I always have

I haven't always liked Bishop (mostly early on when they tried to make her far too "special" to be believable) but I liked her a lot last night, even though she was stupid for going against Gibbs' directive.

[betsyboo]

27 minutes ago, St. Claire said:

The phrase "Sophie's choice" has come to mean something similar to "a rock and a hard place" (i.e., a decision in which either choice is bad), which I think takes away from the intricate and meaningful plotline of the book and movie.  But, like "Jekyll and Hyde," we've taken a literary nuance and turned it into a throw-away expression. 

I usually like Mary Stuart Masterson, but the Congresswoman annoys me. As does Bishop. So, all in all, I was fairly annoyed by much of this episode. My crochet project held my attention more thoroughly than the plot did.

ha! yes to both of these!

and, no disrespect @St. Claire, but as i scrolled i read "My crotch held my attention..." HA! <am secretly a 12 yo boy)

4 hours ago, Katy M said:

Now, the way I'm understanding this, is that Ellie put the disk in place, and gave Chen the option of popping it in all the way.  If I were him, I would wait to see if she lied, who was showing up, NCIS, or the bad guys.  If it's the bad guys, then pop the disk in.  Take everyone out, or the chance for life. Or pop it in before  Ellie leaves.  Take her out, too.  And a floppy disk?  Really?

Right??? I thought he took her at her word about the Syrians a little too quickly. No way did i think he would push it in. SO RIDICULOUS

Chen looked really young for a madman terrorist. Don't you have to work at that for years before moving to the top of the pile?

I guffawed at Quinn & McGee: "He purchased the abandoned radio tower last year on eBay."  "Oh, I actually think I bid on that."  "What really impresses me is I have no idea if you're joking or not."

I was uncomfortable with the comfortable-ness and familiarity of MSM and "Lee." Did we establish they've known each other before this? Or was that little flirtation last time we saw her their first interaction? (To be clear, I think plenty of time has passed where he can date again. But she just skeeved me out.)

Edited February 22, 2017 by betsyboo

[Katy M]

2 minutes ago, betsyboo said:

Chen looked really young for a madman terrorist. Don't you have to work at that for years before moving to the top of the pile?

I don't know why, really, but when I read this it just made me laugh.  I guess it's because I think there are no rules to becoming a madman. It's kind of the definition of "mad."  Now, I'm picturing people interviewing to be a madman.  "No, sorry, you're just slightly too sane.  We can't have that kind of normality in our organization.

[Chaos Theory]

11 hours ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

I haven't always liked Bishop (mostly early on when they tried to make her far too "special" to be believable) but I liked her a lot last night, even though she was stupid for going against Gibbs' directive.

That's kind of what I liked.  They are painting Bishop as a version of Gibbs.  Gibbs would so have gone Rogue in her place.  One of the things I have noticed which might or might not have been intended was NCIS is often written as how men treat their daughters.   In Ziva it worked as a lesson in which father she would ultimately chose.  They often write Abby as the daughter he wished had grown up.!  In Bishop it is looking like it is being written as a female version of him.  I might be reading too much into a tv show though.  And a not very well written one.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[betsyboo]

21 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I don't know why, really, but when I read this it just made me laugh.  I guess it's because I think there are no rules to becoming a madman. It's kind of the definition of "mad."  Now, I'm picturing people interviewing to be a madman.  "No, sorry, you're just slightly too sane.  We can't have that kind of normality in our organization.

"Also, like the President, you have to be at least 35 to serve."

[Katy M]

34 minutes ago, betsyboo said:

"Also, like the President, you have to be at least 35 to serve."

As a madman?  No, you have to be under 25:)

Edited February 22, 2017 by Katy M

[roamyn]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

As a madman?  No, you have to be under 25:)

Esp in N. Korea.

I'm probably one of the few that liked Ziva, tho I liked Kate the best.

Quirky is okay.  Nell on LA is quirky, and badass, and smart.  But she has other facets to her personality, too.

Edited February 22, 2017 by roamyn

[valen]

I think Vance will get fired, transferred, or demoted because of Bishop's actions. He can't control his team, so he has to go. That's the price he will have to pay for her behavior. I usually don't mind her they way that other people do, but I HATED her in this episode. I was hoping they'd fire her. She should have been fired. I really hope she faces a suspension or some sort of consequence for her behavior.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I guess it's a eye in the beholder thing, but I've been watching this show since Day One, and in no way, shape or form, is Bishop anything like Gibbs or a female Gibbs. She doesn't have his same life experiences, nor has she suffered the many losses and betrayals that have made him the person he is, as he has. Ziva came close to that, and I detested her.  I've liked Bishop until this stupid ass storyline.  And as has been stated above, no work was done to show us who Qasim was or their relationship other than a throwaway line and then the episode where he was killed. So no investment. And show expected last night's flashbacks to make up for that? Please.??

Realistically, her ass should be fired, but this is television, and unless the actress is leaving, ain't nuttin' gonna happen to this special snowflake she's become.???

Edited February 22, 2017 by GHScorpiosRule

[MissLucas]

Look show, Bishop had a decent relationship with someone most people cared about. We also got some insight into their marriage and its inner workings and it was a nice change of pace. Then Jaimie Bamber got too expensive (just speculation) and you sent that relationship to kingdom come with a big serving of 'meh'. And now you want us to care about a relationship we hardly ever got to see - to be honest I had forgotten about Quasim's existence (and I think others too) - and think you can make up for that lack of story and character building by making us insta-care with a clip-show? Look at this thread: not going to happen. If you had wanted us to connect with Bishop and her trip down revenge road you should have killed off Jake - that might have worked.

And what makes this even worse: it looks as if you killed off Quasim to clear the path for Bishop and Reeves.

[threebluestars]

If they fire Vance, it has to be because he ignored all the crap going down in LA lol.

[Starscream]

This episode was like one long endorsement of Rule 12.  I guess "Le" and the congresswoman technically don't apply, but they were still messy and sorta gross all the same.

[betsyboo]

6 hours ago, valen said:

I think Vance will get fired, transferred, or demoted because of Bishop's actions. He can't control his team, so he has to go. That's the price he will have to pay for her behavior. I usually don't mind her they way that other people do, but I HATED her in this episode. I was hoping they'd fire her. She should have been fired. I really hope she faces a suspension or some sort of consequence for her behavior.

times a fafillion.

[CarpeDiem54]

The Good:

• Ducky referred to Jimmy as Dr. Palmer.

The Bad:

• Bishop.
• The fact that Gibbs didn't kick Bishop's 12 year-old ass all over his basement and then fire her.
• The woman Senator.
• Trying to make Alvarez (or whatever his name is) into a humorous Tony character.  Ain't working.  Will never work.
• Tim was a background character again.

The Ugly:

• The Vance and woman Senator romance.   

[BBG]

Quote

Then Jaimie Bamber got too expensive (just speculation) and you sent that relationship to kingdom come with a big serving of 'meh'.

I watched all the Hornblower movies.  I watched some Law & Order UK and a bit of BSG.  I had no idea that Jamie Bamber played Jake.  Maybe the glasses threw me off, in a Clark Kent sort of way?

Quote

I think Vance will get fired, transferred, or demoted because of Bishop's actions.

I'm thinking more of a 'kicked upstairs' sort of thing.  Hell, maybe he will end up as the new SecNav.

Edited February 23, 2017 by BBG

[MissLucas]

2 hours ago, BBG said:

I watched all the Hornblower movies.  I watched some Law & Order UK and a bit of BSG.  I had no idea that Jamie Bamber played Jake.  Maybe the glasses threw me off, in a Clark Kent sort of way?

 

He! Maybe it was the accent?

[honeydo7]

All those new team members is making it kind of crowded in that Squadroom,  maybe Bishop's going get suspended,  assigned desk duty, transferred to another team or resign when she learns she's carrying her "almost" fiance's child? 

[chitowngirl]

I like all the new characters, but there are so many of them! They should rotate them in and out of shows.

On a shallow note, Mary Stuart Masterson looks great for 50! And she doesn't look like she's trying to be 1/2 her age.

[MortysCleaningLady]

From must watch programming to 'when I get around to it'.   Way too much Bishop (which in a good episode for me is less than 2 minutes).   The fiancée story was ridiculous (didn't she just admit she was dating, so they got engaged after 4 dates? and don't get me started on the 27 Dresses clothing changes.   Gag!)   Yes, Gibbs avenged his wife's death, but they were married for 10 years and had children.   This was a two or three month rebound.  

 

Let's get rid of Bishop (won't happen) and deal with the newbies.  

[ForReal]

I don't actively dislike Bishop, but when she went rogue (and it makes me cringe when someone says that about herself) it was just ridiculous. She went from being the brainy, quirky girl who "keeps people at a distance" to the tough girl who takes no prisoners. I bought that with Ziva, given her upbringing, but I don't see how standing up to some big brothers makes Bishop able to step so easily into being such kick-ass agent. Her actions, to me, were not so understandable or justifiable that she should be excused for them, by Gibbs, Vance, or anyone else. This was not like what Gibbs went through, and she should be punished. Gibbs should make her feel the weight of his distrust from here on out.

[MelinaBallerina]

I had a really hard time with this episode and still haven't finished it.  I abhor "This Time It's Personal!" storylines so much!!!  Is it worth finishing the episode?  Or should I just skip the rest?  

[MortysCleaningLady]

3 hours ago, MelinaBallerina said:

I had a really hard time with this episode and still haven't finished it.  I abhor "This Time It's Personal!" storylines so much!!!  Is it worth finishing the episode?  Or should I just skip the rest?  

I vote skip.   I'm sure we'll be completely looped back in next week.   **sigh**

[MyAimIsTrue]

20 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

On a shallow note, Mary Stuart Masterson looks great for 50! And she doesn't look like she's trying to be 1/2 her age.

I can't imagine MSM as anything but Watts in "Some Kind of Wonderful" so it throws me a bit to see her playing an adult.

[Clanstarling]

On 2/21/2017 at 9:18 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

She steals the phone of a Congresswoman, so she can kill the guy who killed her boyfriend of a few months?

Which I assume is actually a breach of national security and grounds for arrest, not just wrist slapping.

On 2/21/2017 at 6:03 PM, mommalib said:

Bishop was so annoying this episode. Not to be cruel but I don't care about that boyfriend of hers. And what did that lady mean by if their was a vacancy in the directors chair? I hope they not killing off Vance.

My take on it was that she and Vance might get married, and they couldn't keep the same working relationship if that happened.

On 2/21/2017 at 6:28 PM, stonehaven said:

A very long hour..and way too much Bishop....I wish Gibbs had read her the riot act....I was wondering whatever happened to that little girl? Did they let the girl know?

The girl was taken by family services, and then they said she went to live with her grandmother.

On 2/22/2017 at 4:04 AM, Katy M said:

And, then I was wondering if it was none of the characters, or none of the writers, had ever seen or read Sophie's Choice. Sophie didn't choose between herself and her child, or between one death or another.  She had to choose between her two children.  So the comparison didn't make sense either time they used it.

It took me out of the show for a moment.

On 2/22/2017 at 9:50 AM, St. Claire said:

The phrase "Sophie's choice" has come to mean something similar to "a rock and a hard place" (i.e., a decision in which either choice is bad), which I think takes away from the intricate and meaningful plotline of the book and movie.  But, like "Jekyll and Hyde," we've taken a literary nuance and turned it into a throw-away expression.

I guess I haven't heard the devolution of the meaning - but for me, anyway, it still doesn't apply because I believe for most parents it wouldn't be a difficult choice. Scary and sad, maybe. But I think most of us would give up our lives to save our kids.

Edited February 24, 2017 by Clanstarling

[catray]

I agree with a lot of the comments here that this story might have had more meaning if we had actually seen Bishop and Qasim's relationship develop, instead of introducing it and killing Qasim in the span of two episodes. I wasn't a big fan of breaking Bishop and Jake up in the first place but they did and this is where they go with Bishop... ugh. And getting Chen seemed waaaaaaay too easy after all the talk about his brilliance of outwitting the authorities and never getting caught.

Vance/Senator romance: setting up for Vance to move and Gibbs to retire from being a field agent? That's what came to my mind.

[St. Claire]

15 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

On 2/22/2017 at 0:50 PM, St. Claire said:

The phrase "Sophie's choice" has come to mean something similar to "a rock and a hard place" (i.e., a decision in which either choice is bad), which I think takes away from the intricate and meaningful plotline of the book and movie.  But, like "Jekyll and Hyde," we've taken a literary nuance and turned it into a throw-away expression.

I guess I haven't heard the devolution of the meaning - but for me, anyway, it still doesn't apply because I believe for most parents it wouldn't be a difficult choice. Scary and sad, maybe. But I think most of us would give up our lives to save our kids

That's sort of my point- Sophie's Choice was about the complicated, no win, kind of choice she had to make to

Spoiler

actually choose which child had to die [this may be in the realm of pop culture knowledge not to require spoiler tag, but since so many people mis-use the phrase, it's possible that most people don't know this twist].

Sophie's wasn't a choice of save her child or save herself, which is a choice that every parent I know (myself included) will say is a painful-yet-clear one. But I've heard it used very often to just mean an emotionally-charge decision in which neither choice seems good.  Tonight's woman had an emotionally wraught choice to make, but it is no way a "Sophie's choice" moment.

[Clanstarling]

15 minutes ago, St. Claire said:

That's sort of my point- Sophie's Choice was about the complicated, no win, kind of choice she had to make to

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actually choose which child had to die [this may be in the realm of pop culture knowledge not to require spoiler tag, but since so many people mis-use the phrase, it's possible that most people don't know this twist].

Sophie's wasn't a choice of save her child or save herself, which is a choice that every parent I know (myself included) will say is a painful-yet-clear one. But I've heard it used very often to just mean an emotionally-charge decision in which neither choice seems good.  Tonight's woman had an emotionally wraught choice to make, but it is no way a "Sophie's choice" moment.

We agree then. :)

[GHScorpiosRule]

As to Congresswoman's cryptic remark to Gibbs about the Director position, 

next episode in two weeks has her suggesting that Leon try his hand in politics

, so no, nothing to do with her and Leon dating now.  But Gibbs hates playing politics and he hated being acting Director back when Horrid Jenny was Director. So I can't imagine him accepting the position. He's too much of a maverick.