S08.E20: From Havana With Love

[betsyboo]

“From Havana with Love” – The NCIS team investigates a defense contractor, Rebecca Larmont (Shanna Collins), designing a nuclear attack weapon after her estranged husband, Victor Larmont (Lou Ferrigno Jr.), says he has proof she is selling Navy secrets to a foreign government. Also, Kensi goes undercover as a professional dancer at the Cuban club where the husband works, while Deeks is undercover as the bathroom attendant, on NCIS: LOS ANGELES, Sunday, April 9 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Edited April 9, 2017 by betsyboo
misspelling

[betsyboo]

TVLine: (potentially spoilery - read at your own risk)

NCIS: Los Angeles: Daniela Ruah Previews Kensi's Sexy Salsa Dancing, JAG Nods and a 'Lovely' Proposal

[anna0852]

Great article!

[123BP]

2 hours ago, anna0852 said:

Great article!

It was a good article. Looking forward to the dancing (I think I read that Senor Bianco is actually a professional dancer) and to finally getting the proposal over with (OMG, that's been going on almost as long as the mole story XD!). Also found it interesting that Dani confirmed what I--and others--have said about the difference between Callen-Anna and Kensi-Deeks; Callen and Anna are hot (that fireplace scene was HOT) and Kensi and Deeks have moved past that initial hot phase (they're in a more comfortable, stable relationship). Also nice that she mentioned how much she enjoys working with Bar and recognizes Bar's chemistry with COD (for all the Anna haters).

Edited April 9, 2017 by 123BP

[dirtydi]

Cute episode.  I like it when the all the regular pairings are together.

[betsyboo]

I love when Callen eats a DumDum and makes fun of Sam and his eccentric trivia knowledge. Tee!

Even if the doctor swept the girl off her feet and fed her a line of "we can save the world," she still snuck the drawings in and out. I'm not sure why they gave her a pass. (I think they still arrested her, but seemed to cut her some slack.)

[123BP]

29 minutes ago, betsyboo said:

I love when Callen eats a DumDum and makes fun of Sam and his eccentric trivia knowledge. Tee!

Me, too! That's one of the things that makes their banter so good. BTW, did Deeks cheat with the word count game?!? Naughty guy.

I didn't get the drawing bit, either (saying she wasn't the one?), although the drawings were a cool idea.

Edited April 10, 2017 by 123BP

[Rascotes]

2 hours ago, 123BP said:

I didn't get the drawing bit, either (saying she wasn't the one?), although the drawings were a cool idea.

I'm pretty sure they were saying she wasn't the doctor's one true love, not that she wasn't a criminal.  Just a moment before Callen was speculating ironically that the woman and the doctor might run off together with their ill gotten gains and live on an island or something.  Seeing as they had footage of the woman sneaking plans out for many days, she certainly will be charged with treason and espionage.  

[Jillibean]

That was fun. It only took them eight seasons to bring Daniela's dancing skills into the plot. And might I just say, kudos to her trainer (and her), because she looks back to pre-baby shape already. I really liked the character of the ex-husband--it was interesting to see the writers give him some depth beyond comic relief and bring a real empathy element in. The poor guy was just so helpless. The dancing at the end was cute, and yay for the return of stake-out origami. 

Nitpicks: the plans disguised as bird artwork reminded me of a Nancy Drew mystery I read as a teenager. I'm still a bit confused about why Perez had the ex-husband shot at in his own club, but whatever. I at least understood the main points of the COTW, which is more than I can usually say. With two people on the inside (Deeks and ex-husband) it seems like Kensi should have been able to get everyone out of the way to do her snooping more effectively. And, finally, the word tracker competition is a pretty good example of what I think falls too far on the side of "clownish" for me to enjoy. Deeks' behavior in service to the competition when interviewing Rebecca clearly bordered on unprofessional. I did like the dance at the end, though.

[betsyboo]

Lou Ferrigno Jr looks like his father! He was good.

[MissLucas]

stake-ou

3 hours ago, Jillibean said:

yay for the return of stake-out origami.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one getting excited about that detail LOL!

[UncleChuck]

So what was the end game for the club manager/dancer pulling a knife and attempting to stab/kill Kensi while dozens of club patrons watched the spotlighted couple??? 

[HawaiiTVGuy]

1 hour ago, UncleChuck said:

So what was the end game for the club manager/dancer pulling a knife and attempting to stab/kill Kensi while dozens of club patrons watched the spotlighted couple??? 

Obviously these Cuban spies didn't pass their KGB training on effective assassination techniques.

[123BP]

6 hours ago, HawaiiTVGuy said:

Obviously these Cuban spies didn't pass their KGB training on effective assassination techniques.

I don't think Perez was a Cuban spy--and the doctor was working as an independent agent.

What I did love was when Callen asked Sam if he'd ever heard of the expression, "Get a life." OMG, this question coming from a guy who's practically a recluse. That was funny!!

8 hours ago, UncleChuck said:

So what was the end game for the club manager/dancer pulling a knife and attempting to stab/kill Kensi while dozens of club patrons watched the spotlighted couple??? 

Well, when Sam and Callen went after the two guys at the end of Parallel Resistors, the bar patrons thought it was part of the "act." Same here maybe?

[enoughcats]

11 hours ago, 123BP said:

20 hours ago, UncleChuck said:

So what was the end game for the club manager/dancer pulling a knife and attempting to stab/kill Kensi while dozens of club patrons watched the spotlighted couple??? 

Well, when Sam and Callen went after the two guys at the end of Parallel Resistors, the bar patrons thought it was part of the "act." Same here maybe?

It's a California-performance art thing?

[123BP]

1 hour ago, enoughcats said:

It's a California-performance art thing?

Don't think it's specific to CA. I imagine it could happen anywhere--NYC, NO, Seattle, Atlanta, Philly, even Austin--given the right venue. ??

[123BP]

On April 10, 2017 at 11:14 AM, Jillibean said:

I really liked the character of the ex-husband--it was interesting to see the writers give him some depth beyond comic relief and bring a real empathy element in. The poor guy was just so helpless. The dancing at th I'm still a bit confused about why Perez had the ex-husband shot at in his own club, but whatever. I at least understood the main points of the COTW, which is more than I can usually say. 

Agree about Victor--an empathetic character, but even his ex-wife (soon to be) was believable and not a bitchy person. It was understandable that she might want to be with someone more ambitious who could help with finances (but turning to crime obviously wasn't the answer). I was confused about the attempts on Victor's life, and the only thing I could think is that they were trying to get rid of him because the divorce was taking so long--and their clients wanted the drawings now (and Rebecca maybe was reluctant to go all in as long as she was still married).

[HawaiiTVGuy]

16 hours ago, 123BP said:

I don't think Perez was a Cuban spy--and the doctor was working as an independent agent.

 

The implication was the doctor was definitely trained by the KGB.  Perez seemed a little on the young side, so he probably wasn't, but still, talk about a bunch of incompetent noobs.  

[123BP]

On 4/11/2017 at 3:51 PM, HawaiiTVGuy said:

talk about a bunch of incompetent noobs.

True, but being trained as a spy doesn't make you the best. They can't all be Bond, Smiley, or NCIS material; if they were, how would we ever get illicit information? XD