ncis - pyramid
Thankfully for my sanity (and, OK, the sanity of those around me) I got to watch the NCIS finale last night.
:-D
Zach was disappointed, and I'm getting the impression from glancing at the boards that he's not alone. Basically, he argues that it was unsatisfying for a season finale, too rushed, with everything tied up in neat little bows. I can see his point.
I, however, loved it.
I'm trying to organize my thoughts here, so bear with me...
First of all, I think we finally have our team back. I really do. Not only was everyone in character, but they were comfortably, effortlessly in character. I didn't get any of that sense of strain I've been feeling so much for the past few seasons. It's been getting better over the second half of this season, and then in Pyramid, it clicked. Nobody was obnoxious; nobody was over the top; nobody appeared to have been replaced by a pod person.
Second, THANK YOU for the way Tiva was handled! I was honestly scared that we were going to get a whole melodramatic EJ dies and Tony is heartbroken and it sends him running into Ziva's arms and then OMG they were meant to be and EJ who? Or vice versa with Ray. They resisted that temptation, and I am SO glad. Instead, we saw their friendship and the fact that they always have each others' six. Tony getting Kort up against a wall over Ziva, and explaining to him that "it's different" doesn't mean he's declaring true love, but he does make it clear how special Ziva is to him and to the team.
They also didn't fall into the Ziva as a damsel in distress trap. I can actually buy that someone with Cobb's conditioning would get the drop on even an ex-Mossad agent. And they didn't spend the entire episode looking for her; it was just another way that Cobb was screwing with them.
All the relationships were left ambiguous, which is exactly how I like it. I'm not anti-Tiva. Get them together or don't, I don't care. I just don't want it to be the focus of the show. The way Tony's relationship with EJ was handled was actually perfect. It was there, we saw it...and the world didn't revolve around it. Perfect.
(But really, Ray? An empty box?? You're lucky none of your limbs are broken, my friend.)
Random moments, in no particular order:
Theories confirmed:
Tony (he gets his own section):
Oh, Tony. Welcome back. (Please get a haircut.) I think we finally, FINALLY have our real Tony back for good - the slightly more mature version, but still Tony. I loved that he stayed with Cade rather than going after EJ - to me, that confirmed that despite any recent tension between them, he still respects Gibbs as the boss. I loved watching him trying to calm EJ, and getting Kort up against a wall over Ziva. I loved the line between him and Gibbs: "Was that a compliment, DiNozzo?" "Nope, sorry Boss, never again." He had funny moments without being made the butt of every joke.
And, being tagged by SecNav for a covert assignment? YES, PLEASE! ::bounces like a dork::
Speaking of which...
What next?
That's all I can think of right now, although I know there's more...I have a feeling I'll be back. :-) I still need to actually read other people's takes on it - I've been waiting because I kinda wanted to enjoy, well, the fact that I enjoyed the episode.
Also, check out this interview with Gary Glasberg. It has me even more excited for season nine than I was last night. :-)
:-D
Zach was disappointed, and I'm getting the impression from glancing at the boards that he's not alone. Basically, he argues that it was unsatisfying for a season finale, too rushed, with everything tied up in neat little bows. I can see his point.
I, however, loved it.
I'm trying to organize my thoughts here, so bear with me...
First of all, I think we finally have our team back. I really do. Not only was everyone in character, but they were comfortably, effortlessly in character. I didn't get any of that sense of strain I've been feeling so much for the past few seasons. It's been getting better over the second half of this season, and then in Pyramid, it clicked. Nobody was obnoxious; nobody was over the top; nobody appeared to have been replaced by a pod person.
Second, THANK YOU for the way Tiva was handled! I was honestly scared that we were going to get a whole melodramatic EJ dies and Tony is heartbroken and it sends him running into Ziva's arms and then OMG they were meant to be and EJ who? Or vice versa with Ray. They resisted that temptation, and I am SO glad. Instead, we saw their friendship and the fact that they always have each others' six. Tony getting Kort up against a wall over Ziva, and explaining to him that "it's different" doesn't mean he's declaring true love, but he does make it clear how special Ziva is to him and to the team.
They also didn't fall into the Ziva as a damsel in distress trap. I can actually buy that someone with Cobb's conditioning would get the drop on even an ex-Mossad agent. And they didn't spend the entire episode looking for her; it was just another way that Cobb was screwing with them.
All the relationships were left ambiguous, which is exactly how I like it. I'm not anti-Tiva. Get them together or don't, I don't care. I just don't want it to be the focus of the show. The way Tony's relationship with EJ was handled was actually perfect. It was there, we saw it...and the world didn't revolve around it. Perfect.
(But really, Ray? An empty box?? You're lucky none of your limbs are broken, my friend.)
Random moments, in no particular order:
- Gibbs making Franks' coffin...yeah, I think I have some sawdust in my eye. ::snuffles::
- Gibbs being kind to EJ in autopsy when she came down to see her agent. Thank you for being a grown-up, Gibbs.
- Jimmy's getting married!!!!!!!! :-D ::happy dance::
- Tired, cranky Abby + sweet McGee = awwwwww.
- Vance once again making it quite clear that you do NOT mess with his agents. Kort: "Was he threatening me?" Vance: "If he wasn't, I am." Yeah, I LOLed.
Theories confirmed:
- Vance did know about Operation: Frankenstein from the beginning of the P2P case. In fact, he knew about it way before. That explains so much of the tension between him and Gibbs, and why he was pulling away.
- There was something about EJ that Gibbs knew early on and didn't like. Being SecNav's niece makes his reaction toward her a little more believable. It takes it from Gibbs pouting over not being put on the P2P case, and just not liking EJ because of it, to "OK, you're not putting my team on the case...so that SecNav's niece can try her hand? Seriously?" It's still a bit bratty, but far more understandable. I could easily see Gibbs having a major problem with nepotism within the organization, especially on something this big.
- Mike Franks was already dying before he came up to help Gibbs. I had a feeling he was pulling a Jenny...
Tony (he gets his own section):
Oh, Tony. Welcome back. (Please get a haircut.) I think we finally, FINALLY have our real Tony back for good - the slightly more mature version, but still Tony. I loved that he stayed with Cade rather than going after EJ - to me, that confirmed that despite any recent tension between them, he still respects Gibbs as the boss. I loved watching him trying to calm EJ, and getting Kort up against a wall over Ziva. I loved the line between him and Gibbs: "Was that a compliment, DiNozzo?" "Nope, sorry Boss, never again." He had funny moments without being made the butt of every joke.
And, being tagged by SecNav for a covert assignment? YES, PLEASE! ::bounces like a dork::
Speaking of which...
What next?
- The obvious question: WHO is Tony "handling"?? My theory is Ziva, although I'm afraid that's too obvious. Still, it could be tied back to her father. Could that be related to why Kort is in Tel Aviv? Is he in on it?
- However, if it is Ziva, I don't think she's actually the mole. "Handling" doesn't equate to "investigating." Remember, Kort was "handling" La Grenouille, and not b/c the CIA was trying to get dirt on him. They were using him. What if Tony has been assigned to use Ziva to get at the real mole?
- What the heck is up with that microchip EJ removed from her agent's arm?
- New SecNav, already some tension between him and Vance, working with Tony behind Vance's back...this oughta be fun.
- Will we see EJ again? Ray? And is Kort our new nemesis? I could work with that - he's one of those characters I love to hate.
- Will Vance and Gibbs ever actually resolve the tension between them? Hopefully we don't just sweep that under the rug, although I do like that they explained it.
That's all I can think of right now, although I know there's more...I have a feeling I'll be back. :-) I still need to actually read other people's takes on it - I've been waiting because I kinda wanted to enjoy, well, the fact that I enjoyed the episode.
Also, check out this interview with Gary Glasberg. It has me even more excited for season nine than I was last night. :-)