Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0
4
With all the hype of Ellie Bishop returning on NCIS, I’ll admit that I was worried the show wouldn’t make the most of it.
After all, so many TV shows have had cast members returning for episodes, only for us to question whether the return was even all that necessary.
When it comes to NCIS Season 23 Episode 10, the return was necessary, and the episode hit it out of the park.
It’s Finally Time for Closure
One of the most important aspects of Bishop’s return is the closure it brings.
We’re reminded that Bishop just left without saying goodbye, and some are holding a grudge more than others.
Nick Torres was hurt, and that’s not all too surprising considering it turns out that they were together.
Sure, we got to see that kiss when Bishop left, but NCIS opens with a flashback to the two of them in bed together, making it clear that they had been together for some time.
While they knew they had to keep their relationship a secret from the team, they promised not to keep secrets from each other, and that betrayal hits deep for Torres.
Not only did Bishop keep a secret from him, but she hasn’t been in contact since, leaving him wondering whether the relationship meant anything to her. Was it all worth the pain?
It’s telling that Torres hasn’t really moved on with someone else since Bishop. Sure, he had the fling with Knight’s sister, but it didn’t stick.
There is clearly a part of him that fears the betrayal again, and I think he’s needed the closure at the end of NCIS Season 23 Episode 10 more than any other character.
This time, they did get to say goodbye. Bishop even offered him the chance to come with her.
In the end, they know their hearts are in different places right now, but there is hope that they could end up working together once more.
As for the rest of the team, they get their own closure.
I did have to chuckle when Bishop told Kasie she would give the jacket back at the end of it all.
Kasie literally pointed out that it was Bishop’s jacket that she left, so why would Bishop return it?
Was this Bishop noting that Kasie would like something of Bishop’s to keep hold of? They were good friends, after all.
Although I did have to wonder if this was ad-libbed in by mistake, and nobody realized.
Now, the more I think of it, the more I start to question it.
Then there was McGee, who spent time with Bishop in MTAC.
One of the best things was that McGee didn’t hold a grudge. He understood that Bishop had done what she needed to do, and he wasn’t going to hold that against her.
While he mentioned that he would have liked to say goodbye, he didn’t do so in a malicious or hurtful way.
It was a healthy conversation between the two of them, after five years of radio silence.
At the end of the day, McGee has been with NCIS for more than 20 years, so he knows what it’s like to form connections.
He’s even seen multiple people move on, and he’s accepted it, because he knows the nature of this work.
Bishop’s exit and the characters’ reactions are similar to Gibbs’ exit during NCIS Season 19. Torres was hurt and felt abandoned, while McGee simply understood.
There’s a consistency in their attitudes that helps us understand and accept who they are.
On top of that, Bishop knew how McGee and Torres would react.
She didn’t try to explain her reasoning or change their opinions. Instead, she accepted their anger, disappointment, and sadness, showing what made them such a great trio back in the day.
It helped to believe that Torres would show up at the very end to say goodbye, without animosity or begging for her to stay.
My only complaint about the goodbyes and the closure is that Palmer wasn’t a huge part of the ending.
Neither was Kasie at the end, but at least Kasie was a bigger part of the episode as a whole.
I am glad that Parker was left out of the episode, though. As much as I enjoy him, he didn’t know Bishop, so he couldn’t have helped.
Keeping him out meant we didn’t have him debating whether Bishop was good or not — and there just wasn’t time for that.
A Somewhat Easy-to-Guess Case
The series certainly used Bishop fully throughout the case.
There were constant questions about whether she was the mole or the one going against the country.
We didn’t want to believe it, but the way she tied people up and knocked them out raised some questions.
In the end, the mole was somewhat easy to guess.
After all, the opening of the episode didn’t show the death on screen, and we always know in the world of TV that if a death isn’t shown or fully mentioned, then it likely didn’t happen.
Having the red herring of the man who would turn out to be Bishop’s husband, and then Patricia coming back as the real mole, was so on-the-nose for NCIS.
We’ve become used to the killer or the perp being the first suspect on this show, and the whole reason the formula works is seeing the team work together to get to the bottom of it.
Was it a let-down? Slightly, but not too much.
I would love to see NCIS shake things up a little to keep it a must-watch CBS series.
However, considering this episode was more about Bishop’s return than the actual case of the week, I’ll let the series get away with it.
One thing I appreciated was that the DOD was not behind the attack on Bishop’s base at the very start of the episode.
Usually, we get a mole somewhere higher up trying to blame it on the easiest scapegoat, and the series did break the mold for this one.
I guess that’s why it didn’t quite feel like a letdown and why it worked so well, timed with Bishop’s return.
While I kept saying that I didn’t think Patricia was dead, I also wondered if the head of the DOD was also heavily involved with Patricia to take down Bishop.
Twisting the story so the DOD had no idea it was Patricia the whole time certainly helped avoid a roll-of-the-eye ending, and it opens the door for more in the future.
It’s clear that Bishop will remain on the DOD’s radar, as she hasn’t been fully cleared, which could mean she needs her former team’s help once more.
This time, NCIS will be able to keep in touch with Bishop in some sort of way, knowing that she’s out there doing some good for the world. They’ll step in to help without question.
Overall, the episode delivered what was needed for such a monumental return.
Not only did the characters get closure, but so did we, and it made this story worth the wait.
It’s not going to be easy going back to regular programming!
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