{ NCIS, 6x13, Broken Bird. }

[delga]

David McCallum is a powerhouse.

This episode is completely different to things we've seen before on the show, and it was so delicately handled. From Ducky's guilt, to Jethro's frustration, to Jordan's affection and Ziva's patience, there were a lot of things not being said in this episode. Also, the re-emergence of Kort (which I'd been waiting for, though I didn't think it would be like this) was an interesting touch in the middle of an emotional character piece.

Parts of the episode that especially touched me: the very end; the scene where Jethro takes the films to Ducky, and the latter shakes all through the narrative about the bird. As I said above, McCallum is a powerhouse. He played all of his scenes with this edge of defensiveness and guilt-infused sadness. There was a hint of desperation in there, too, in his unwillingness to confess openly to Jethro the events, and in those rambling monologues as he tried to ward off the inevitable questions. McCallum made me cry in that last scene, and I was nervous for Ducky throughout the episode. The narrative structure* was different to what we've seen before in this show, especially in the scene where Jethro reads Ducky's file and we get Ducky's voice-over (which segues into a conversation with Jordan). I thought that was a very effective way of (a) beginning to tell the audience what was going on in Ducky's mind and (b) subtly indicating the distance between these two friends, where one is leaning on (I'm guessing) a lover, and the other is having to look up information in the background.

I'm biased when it comes to Jordan Hampton because I'm very fond of Torri Higginson, the actress who plays her; but I was particularly fond of the way in which she was re-introduced, and I was fond of how her relationship with Ducky wasn't made into a joke (in the grand tradition of the show). I also liked the scene when she returns to the house and sees Jethro exiting: how quickly Jethro adjusts to the new information, and how kindly he is with her. I also liked how that set up the phone conversation between the two of them: their shared affection for Ducky leads each one to trust the other so that when Ducky disappears, Jordan does't hesitate to call Jethro. Mostly I liked that it didn't feel forced. Plus, you know, Torri Higginson omg.

Kort! Understandably, not much happens with Kort; most of it is ominous foreshadowing/set-up work for an arc. But I did like seeing him on (what I like to think of as Tobias') bench and then later, again, in Gibbs' basement. Obviously Kort is setting up more of Vance's story, and the file he hands Jethro reminds me of the one Vance shredded at the very end of season 5. What I like about Kort is that he is the guy who does things for himself; his involvement in the La Grenouille/Jenny plot was one of my favourite parts of that arc because his moral compass was so dubious, and so keyed into his viewpoint of the world. He's very self-serving and that, naturally, is something that will come back and stab Jethro in the back eventually. I don't find Kort threatening, but he does evoke a sense of foreboding which elicits glee in me. I am all for stirring the pot.

Finally: Ziva David. It was interesting to me that in an episode that was so much about Ducky (and, necessarily, Jethro, as he was the one who was trying to implement a 'fix'), Ziva had a handful of scenes where she was acting deliberately on her own - by which I mean, instead of it being Ducky; Jethro; (Jordan) || Tony; Ziva; McGee || Abby; Palmer there were whole instances where Ziva didn't belong to the 'group' she is usually assigned to. The first time I noticed this was when she's the one who chases after Mosuma Daoub, and she was the one who made assumptions about Daoub's ethnic roots. Then, later, she visits the Afghani Embassy to see Jethro, and their body language is in sync. In the absence of Ducky, Jethro speaks quite candidly and openly to Ziva. It occurs to me that this would not have been possible with DiNozzo or McGee because of the way that they look up to Jethro; Ziva's relationship with Jethro has always been more complex. Ziva plays Jethro's subordinate but more often than not she is his equal, and the relationship between the two of them has been this way ever since Kill Ari (though it becomes more explicit in Silver War and then later in episodes such as Dead Man Walking). Initially it struck me as an odd choice to have Ziva be singled out that way in this episode, even if it served the plot (shenanigans in the Middle East) and then I thought about the peculiarities of the Jethro&Ziva relationship and it made a lot of sense to me.

But that's only a small portion of the episode. A lot of different things happen here (including a discussion of Mrs Mallard's Alzheimer's - the actress passed away at the beginning of December, hence her not reappearing - but in a way that worked better, because it highlighted a sense of alienation in Ducky's life) and the episode could have been a bit choppy, but instead each part moved seamlessly into the next, and the tenderness was offset by small slices of humour that juxtaposed in way that didn't shake you from the story, but rather carried you with it.

--
*) It turns out the director was James Whitmore Jr. who has previously directed some of my favourite episodes, including a fair few character showcases. Notable episode credits include: Lt. Jane Doe (another Ducky-centric episode); Kill Ari Pt.2 (Ziva kills her brother); Jeopardy (suspect dies in elevator on Ziva's watch); Grace Period (PAULA CASSIDY); Recoil (Ziva's PTSD).

--

The lighter parts of the episode: McGee's regression to adolescence (?) was a little bit ham-fisted (in the way that it was supposed to be a referent to the A-plot) but was also endearing. Abby's line about being surprised he started off with a Mac was so funny to me (the NCIS team work on Dells, lol, so I think there were some product-placement issues) and McGee's initial excitement at the arrival of the box was wonderfully played. "Goody!" I admit it: I laughed, and DiNozzo's reponse ("Who says 'goody'?") was spot on. Speaking of Tony: there were a lot of McBastardisations this week! (McEggHead is one of my favourites; I love when he reaches to stroke McGee's head, lols.) I also liked his inoperative Gibbs Clock. The rapport between him and McGee didn't in any way detract from or diminish the A-plot, and I'm all for that kind of humour-break.

Jimmy Palmer kind of broke my heart a little bit. Firstly because that conversation/argument he initially had with Ducky about getting lost/failing his test was such a father-son moment, where Ducky's disappointment was so parental. And secondly because of all the ways he tried to deal with Ducky's absence: the way he catalogued Ducky's injuries when talking to Abby, the way he tried to talk to the corpse, the way he wanted every thing to be perfect for Ducky's return. And lastly: the way he'd looked up the information in Ducky's absence.

Abby's demeanour at the hospital was wonderful and I don't think it uncharitable; she was obviously distressed and controlling herself tightly. I thought that scene was funny and sensitively done - with Abby's somewhat humorous emotionally-defensive position balancing out Jimmy's frenetic distress.

--

This is easily one of my favourite episodes. I can't believe there's not another episode until the end of the month!

Comments

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Apparently you and I are in the minority about that, but whatever: I loved the episode.

[hibernate.livejournal.com]

I think I love you. This is a fabulous review! I need to rewatch this episode first thing tomorrow night - don't think I gave it a proper chance the first time (should really not watch NCIS while I'm busy writing reports). Thanks for writing this!

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Things you will get used to eventually: every now and then I end up talking about the show like a monkey on crack.

I'm told I'm in the minority (re: loving this) but I don't really care because I really do think it was solidly put together.

[curly-the-sue.livejournal.com]

I just finished watching the episode, so sorry for the delay. This was a wonderful recap and I agree with it completely. It was an intense episode and nothing like we saw on the show already.

Naturally my favorite parts of the episode were the ziva-parts you already summed up so well. I for my part wasn't too fond of her over some episodes in the last two seasons, because I always had the feeling that she could do much better, but in this episode she was on the spot. I wish we could see more of her like this. And of course her moment with Gibbs was a great display of their relationship. As you already said, they're equals and both have a deep genuine respect for the other.

And OMG, somebody else who loves Kort? I didn't expect him to show up again, but when I read his name in the credits and then seeing him again made me really excited. I love his character (not only because I find him quite sexy xD) because he has kind of an enigma around him. That he so self serving makes him unpredictable. As you said, he's not really a threat for Gibbs or the team, but with him you can never know what happens, because he plays only on his own side. He really is an interesting character and I'd love to see more of him.

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

lols, I'm forever watching the episodes late.

Really? Ziva's a favourite of mine, but the out-and-out best scenes in this episode went to Ducky/David McCallum. As for Ziva across the previous seasons: I beg to disagree, but then, I'm totally biased.

re: Kort: what I meant was I don't find him threatening, but I like how underhand he comes across (even though, looking at his track record, he's not actually done anything that's 'wrong' per se - other than possibly telling La Grenouille about DiNozzo) and I like that's he's being brought back as an instigator of plot - or even as an adversary of some sort because I think his motivations are interestingly cut and dry in a lot of ways, and I also think he has a begrudging respect for Jethro. I don't know: I feel that interaction is very, very straightforward (mutual dislike; mutual respect - it reminds me of how Fornell could be before he and Jethro became BFFS) (sidenote: I love Fornell), but interesting because of the character of both men and how they both play by this complicated set of rules. By that I mean: Jethro shouldn't ask Kort for favours because it will cost him, but he does it anyway. Kort shouldn't help Jethro, but he sees the currency in doing him a favour, so he gets that file. What's ESPECIALLY interesting to me are Kort's motivations behind giving Jethro Vance's file because that is all trouble. I love that.

[curly-the-sue.livejournal.com]

Ducky/David was great in this episode, no doubt about that. But Ziva as my favorite character was quite sometimes throughout the last seasons not as good as she could/should've been, as I mentioned earlier, so it was just awesome to see more of the Ziva I like. I prefer the "old" Ziva of season 3, i should probably add.

"re: Kort: what I meant was I don't find him threatening, but I like how underhand he comes across" - I was just seconding that. :D I agree with everything you said about him. he's definetly a great addition to the show, and I hope that we get to see him more often.
Who doesn't love Fornell?

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

re: Ziva, I'm confused (because I don't really see a clear distinction between the two parts of her arc). You mean before she was interested in DiNozzo?

(I sometimes think that I don't approach shows the way that other people do because characters' romantic entanglements/interests don't make me dis/like a character more than their actions.) (I'm aware that fandom is very ship-led, but I don't really swing that way.)

I'm excited for more Kort, either way. lols.

[curly-the-sue.livejournal.com]

I actually do see a distinction between an "old" and a "new" Ziva, but it hasn't much to do with her affection for Tony (I love their flirting and chemistry but I don't like this infatuation though). And it's not a very clear distinction. I think you can see a development in her, personally and also in the team. In the beginning she had trouble showing her feelings and her compassion for others and also her bonding with the team grew over the seasons. I don't know, it's a little bit hard to explain for me. xD
It's just if you look at her in season 3, for example in "hiatus" where she was worried for Gibbs but wouldn't admit how much and after Roy's death you can see a difference.
The development goes hand in hand with her hair, most of the times, too. *laughs* When she had her curls she had much more of this "israeliness" and now with the straight hair she lost a bit of her edge. And I prefer the edgy version.
Well, i don't know if that makes any sense for you, it sounds much clearer in my head. *laughs*

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

No, I kind of see what you mean. I don't disagree that there's been character development, but I don't think the distinction is clear. Um. Which is what you said, lols.

I think about narrative arcs a lot in this show because they're not always as obvious as Gibbs' arc. Ziva's is really interesting to me because a lot of it is about her acclimatising to America (and there's also a lot of implied talk about her gender status - her perceived masculinity vs. her inherent femininity). So the more time she spends with the team, the more she's homogenised/Americanised. That's why that return to Israel is so great because Tony accuses Ziva of regressing linguistically, but how much she actually changes when she goes back is debatable, I think.

I don't know: I think her character is developing without changing the core elements of her personality. There are trust issues that she's overcome, and then there's Jethro's character changes/development which affect Ziva (because of the way he treats her; their arcs are twined in a lot of ways, all the way back to Bete Noire in season 1).

I really dislike fandom's use of the word 'infatuation' with regard to the Ziva&Tony relationship because that's such a strong word and doesn't really apply. There's a deep-seeded affection there, I think, but it's also fraught with tension; I don't know that the interaction is strong enough - or single-minded enough - to be labelled an infatuation. lols. Um. I need to stop talking about this or I will be here ALL DAY.