S15.E10: Double Down

[MyAimIsTrue]

As Torres and Sloane run protection detail for U.S. Senator John Phillips in Afghanistan for the holidays, they must urgently return to the states after hearing the senator’s son is in the ICU. Also, Gibbs and the team investigate the altercation that caused the life threatening injuries to the senator’s son.

[enoughcats]

This episode felt as if I had returned to the earlier years of NCIS, when the writers knew their characters and celebrated them.  Lots of speaking roles in this one, but memorable, in a very good way.  

[david gideon]

Agree with the above. It was better than I expected. JAG did some really memorable Christmas episodes and this wasn't quite up to that level, but it was pretty darn good.

[Kelda Feegle]

Are there no consequences for the Senator's actions regarding the unauthorised route change that got one man killed and risked the life of a civilian?

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, Kelda Feegle said:

Are there no consequences for the Senator's actions regarding the unauthorised route change that got one man killed and risked the life of a civilian?

Not seeing a lot of consequences for all sorts of things these days. But yeah, it would be good to see them in fiction, at least.

I liked the episode. I couldn't quite see what was on the box Sloane had (except for her name). 

I was surprisingly moved by the comedian - being moved by the senator's reflection on how he'd failed his kid. I kind of wanted a scene with him calling his dad.

[Rambler]

Poor corporal Humvee driver should have worn his red shirt since it was kinda obvious what was going to happen to him once he walked up and the general said they would be taking a shortcut.

[MDL]

I missed the opening credits. Was the comedian played by the same actor who played Oleg (?the chef) in "2 Broke Girls"?

[stonehaven]

I love the NCIS Christmas episodes...this was a good one...but I wanted to see Mcgee's first Christmas with his kids....I was also surprised at how little promotion a new episode got from CBS..they offered no teaser for last week's episode...

[honeydo7]

Will we ever get to see McGee's newborn twins or will they & Delilah be shuffled off-camera, infrequently mentioned like Palmer's wife & little girll?

[MyAimIsTrue]

I tuned in about 10 minutes late and obviously missed something because the episode didn't grab me or hold my attention.

[TheGreenWave]

1 hour ago, stonehaven said:

but I wanted to see Mcgee's first Christmas with his kids

I thought they would have at least one parting picture or something (I do like a cheery montage).  Was surprised that he wasn't on paternity leave or something through the holidays.

[HurricaneVal]

What was in the box?

[TheGreenWave]

40 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

What was in the box?

I just had a Seven flashback....

I don't think we saw what was in it? 

Were you able to read what was inscribed?  I couldn't catch it.

[MissLucas]

We did not see what was in the box. Written on the lid were four names followed by some numbers:

Anshiri 995.71.2085

Hale 973.83.4942

King 152.00.82.93

Sloane 968. 59.2174

No guarantee that's correct - there was a glare on the lid.

[enoughcats]

could those be social security numbers?  One of them will tell where the owner was born, ( First three, according to my husband, are the state where the holder was born.)  (That changed in 2011, but that  box looked older than six years.)  Middle two numbers are "group numbers" and last four are individual.

Edited December 14, 2017 by enoughcats

[HoneyBadgerJr]

If they're supposed to be, then they're the equivalent of TV 555 numbers:

Anshiri 995.71.2085 - Invalid (no Area Numbers in the 9XXs)

Hale 973.83.4942 - Invalid (no Area Numbers in the 9XXs)

King 152.00.82.93 - Invalid (no group of numbers can be all 0s)

Sloane 968. 59.2174 - Invalid (no Area Numbers in the 9XXs)

[VinceW]

On 12/13/2017 at 1:25 PM, TheGreenWave said:

I thought they would have at least one parting picture or something (I do like a cheery montage).  Was surprised that he wasn't on paternity leave or something through the holidays.

The McGee family life now seems to be lost on the writers since the big buildup to the wedding and twin announcement. No after thought on screen now about what lies ahead for McGee with his new responsibilities. A new mother at home, disabled, confined to wheelchair with 4 week old twins and no mention about some level of outside care being provided to the McGee household to help care for the twins. McGee babbling at work about taking a case near the holidays, but seems totally oblivious to what Delilah might be going through at home with the twins. Makes no sense.  I enjoyed Delilah as an accomplished intelligence analyst working cases with the team, but all that history now seems lost for future episodes since the takeover by the new show runners after the passing of Gary Glasberg.

Edited December 14, 2017 by VinceW

[BookWitch]

We can only assume that Delilahs never seen family is around at this point.  At least a mother and a sister right? 

[Sarnia]

On 13/12/2017 at 6:11 PM, MDL said:

I missed the opening credits. Was the comedian played by the same actor who played Oleg (?the chef) in "2 Broke Girls"?

That's why he looked somewhat familiar! But I couldn't place him. So it's him indeed (Jonathan Kite). Vastly different roles for sure.

[eel2178]

On ‎12‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 5:27 PM, enoughcats said:

could those be social security numbers?  One of them will tell where the owner was born, ( First three, according to my husband, are the state where the holder was born.)  (That changed in 2011, but that  box looked older than six years.)  Middle two numbers are "group numbers" and last four are individual.

First three numbers are the state in which your SSN was issued. For most, it is also the state of birth, but if you move before applying for a newborn's SSN, it will be state of issue, not state of birth. The middle two numbers indicate whether you are male or female. The last four numbers are unique.

[chitowngirl]

2 hours ago, eel2178 said:

First three numbers are the state in which your SSN was issued. For most, it is also the state of birth, but if you move before applying for a newborn's SSN, it will be state of issue, not state of birth. The middle two numbers indicate whether you are male or female. The last four numbers are unique.

The middle two numbers can't be for gender. My B/G twins have the same first five numbers.

[lh25]

4 hours ago, eel2178 said:

First three numbers are the state in which your SSN was issued. For most, it is also the state of birth, but if you move before applying for a newborn's SSN, it will be state of issue, not state of birth. The middle two numbers indicate whether you are male or female. The last four numbers are unique.

I don't think it's just the state.  My husband and I were born in the same city 9 months apart, and grew up about 20 miles from each other(even though we didn't know each other!) and the first three of mine are are 4 higher then his.  Something like 991 and 995.

[Clanstarling]

Here's an article on what the social security numbers mean. https://people.howstuffworks.com/social-security-number2.htm

As I'm older - the first three numbers were for the state I applied for an SSN (which I didn't have to do until I went to college).  Here's the list of which states get which numbers: https://www.ssa.gov/employer/stateweb.htm

[enoughcats]

If the numbers aren't social security numbers, what could they be?

[secnarf]

9 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

If the numbers aren't social security numbers, what could they be?

Some sort of army/marines identification number? That's what I assumed the numbers were. SSN never even occurred to me.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Sadly, this episode didn't do a thing for me. Took me nearly a week to watch it, while it sat in my dvr queue.  And I found myself not paying attention and being irritated at how Bishop got the son's file from Metro, and her smug face when the cop handed over the entire file to her.

Who did Mark Harmon piss off? Because the hairstyle he is sporting is atrocious. Mark doesn't deserve that.

It says a lot that there are more comments about the numbers on that box that Jack dug up than the actual episode.

[Clanstarling]

10 hours ago, enoughcats said:

If the numbers aren't social security numbers, what could they be?

I think they are supposed to be - but are faked, like telephone numbers on tv. I think military ID numbers switched to SSNs at some point - but I wouldn't lay a bet on that.

[UncleChuck]

6 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I think military ID numbers switched to SSNs at some point - but I wouldn't lay a bet on that.

The Army switched away from Service Numbers and began using SSANs in July of 1969.  I remember this because I entered the Army on June 23, 1969 and was issued a Service Number (which I still remember) and a week later all orders, paperwork, etc., began using the Social Security Account Number.  I was an Administrative and Personnel Specialist and we used nothing but the SSANs.

However, with today's heightened sense of privacy and security, I do not know if the modern Army, Navy, etc., still use the SSANs.  I know that the Veterans' Administration uses a different account number, but they also use the LAST 4 digits of the SSAN.

[enoughcats]

Let's be up to date, ha!  In dealing with a family member's Estate, I found that those numbers are called "Socials" because the other take too long to say.  

 

One thing I liked about this episode was the way Jack dealt with the negative Nellie entertainer and the way she turned the crowd to support the General.  She knew the crowd think and knew how to bring it out.  Sometimes watching buttons being pushed can be educational, if only we listen.

[VinceW]

On 12/14/2017 at 2:05 PM, BookWitch said:

We can only assume that Delilahs never seen family is around at this point.  At least a mother and a sister right? 

The mother I would hope so, but the sister lives overseas.

Edited December 20, 2017 by VinceW

[ForReal]

On 12/18/2017 at 5:29 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Sadly, this episode didn't do a thing for me. Took me nearly a week to watch it, while it sat in my dvr queue.  And I found myself not paying attention and being irritated at how Bishop got the son's file from Metro, and her smug face when the cop handed over the entire file to her.

Who did Mark Harmon piss off? Because the hairstyle he is sporting is atrocious. Mark doesn't deserve that.

It says a lot that there are more comments about the numbers on that box that Jack dug up than the actual episode.

I'm totally with you on this. I just watched it last night, and it didn't do anything for me, either. I knew Torres and Sloan would make it home, so there was no suspense there. I couldn't understand why the comedian happened to know and care so much about the senator's relationship with his son. Never found out what Sloan's deal was with the name and the box and, after being left hanging, am not sure I care. 

I found it both jarring and yet normal that they would all be complaining about working over a holiday, but since they always do stay on a case over a holiday, why keep harping on it? It didn't sit well with me that McGee was so ready to let the case go in order to go home to his kids; I mean, I would do that, in his shoes, but given his history and career, I felt like he should have listened more carefully to Bishop's reasoning -- he was no better than the detective who relinquished the case to Bishop, and quite frankly I expect more from him.

At this point, I don't know who knows Sloan better -- Vance or Gibbs. That whole situation is confusing to me. I still don't get who decided who should follow the senator and why and what it means to anyone other than as a plot device. So much in this episode felt contrived, to little effect. 

I hate to be such a downer, but I've always enjoyed this show as a nice little bundle, and this season it seems uneven and loopy.

[IrishPirate]

Can we recognize that Delilah is not "confined to a wheelchair," please? She uses a wheelchair, she's good at her job, she's quite capable. The only thing she doesn't do is walk. She's not "confined."

[Rus-L]

I couldn’t understand/hear the dialog when the Senator realizes and tells Sloan why WINGOS is written on the wall.  Would someone explain that to me, please?

[Rus-L]

On 12/23/2017 at 11:07 AM, ForReal said:

I'm totally with you on this. I just watched it last night, and it didn't do anything for me, either. I knew Torres and Sloan would make it home, so there was no suspense there. I couldn't understand why the comedian happened to know and care so much about the senator's relationship with his son. Never found out what Sloan's deal was with the name and the box and, after being left hanging, am not sure I care. 

I found it both jarring and yet normal that they would all be complaining about working over a holiday, but since they always do stay on a case over a holiday, why keep harping on it? It didn't sit well with me that McGee was so ready to let the case go in order to go home to his kids; I mean, I would do that, in his shoes, but given his history and career, I felt like he should have listened more carefully to Bishop's reasoning -- he was no better than the detective who relinquished the case to Bishop, and quite frankly I expect more from him.

At this point, I don't know who knows Sloan better -- Vance or Gibbs. That whole situation is confusing to me. I still don't get who decided who should follow the senator and why and what it means to anyone other than as a plot device. So much in this episode felt contrived, to little effect. 

I hate to be such a downer, but I've always enjoyed this show as a nice little bundle, and this season it seems uneven and loopy.

The comedian had a similarly difficult relationship with his father.  When he was arguing with the Senator, he was basically arguing with his father, using the Senator as a proxy.

 

The reason Sloan was there was to deal with something that happened when she was stationed there many years ago (thus, the name on the wall and the buried box).  I believe Vance and Gibbs knew this, or at least one did, thus their willingness to let her go in place of Gibbs.  Who actually made that decision was confusing to me, too, but that was the reason she was there.  [Also, remember the first episode she was in, at the end we saw scars that appeared to be from torture all over her back?  I’m guessing that is all related.]

Edited January 7, 2018 by Rus-L

[Raja]

On 12/13/2017 at 8:49 AM, Rambler said:

Poor corporal Humvee driver should have worn his red shirt since it was kinda obvious what was going to happen to him once he walked up and the general said they would be taking a shortcut.

Just the other day I was watching a show where a Los Angeles businessman had a two car security detail and then learned that the Marine base was not safe enough to fly into. Then to watch a single Humvee and Corporal drive off. Even without a US Senator and with his own security detail and just a USO performer that seemed odd. Maybe a couple of other Marines would have been with him and our NCIS Agents took their seats but it seemed they were just to cheap to hire a few Marine actors and blow up the escort instead of just leave a crater in the road.