Episode Review: 7x05 - Code of Conduct

[little_ozzo]

Beware! Tony-centric rambling, ravings, swoonings and squeeings behind the cut, along with 27 poorly cut and coloured caps! tejas, I swear I'm totally re-writing as well. I just got distracted by Tony's nose and hair. Again. ;-)

Comments

[karababe_64]

I love your rambling comments. You remind me of a certain someone we have been discussing about a lot this past week

[little_ozzo]

I think maybe over-exposure to the DiNozzo charm this week has affected my brain. It's like I'm on sodium pentothal. ;-)

I'm definitely going to go back and re-watch the episode in that way we've talked about, where I start paying attention to things that aren't just about Tony's face/voice/awesomeness. Was it the plot that you found a bit jarring, or like, the way they switched scenes? I would say that I think they're trying quite hard, this season, to make sure viewers know that this is a character-driven show, if that makes sense. Like, they've got all these new viewers, and a lot of the articles on the show's sudden massive popularity increase focus on the character interaction, so they're focusing on that a lot, then the plot, rather than letting the interaction develop naturally from the plot. Thing is, the show's never been broken, maybe only a little faulty in parts, and so it doesn't need fixing or even enhancing from the earlier seasons.

Length is totally encouraged! Never apologise for length, it's one of my rules! ;-)

[karababe_64]

I think it was a bit of both. The plot felt like it was all over the place. And then there was the whole Gibbs being ooc thing and it just didn't flow right. That is a good point about trying too hard. SB is trying to prove that he can run two very successful shows and he is missing the small things that set apart the show from others.

1. I think that having itchy feet is probably more likely but I can't resist the rescued by Gibbs idea. One of the first fics I read was Rictus and it's hard to go back after that. It is about time we got more about Tony. We get a lot episodes that are centered around him but nothing about his past and considering how big a fans the writers are about character's pasts it's about time we got his

[little_ozzo]

I think with Gibbs, it's almost as though he's not really being characterised at all, if that makes sense - he's acting differently to the way he has before without any clear reasons why, and there's so little of him to judge that it's all very difficult to get a handle on. Looking forward to seeing more of him to try and understand. Reading around the episode a bit more today and definitely seeing some of the shakiness and holes - Tony distracted me earlier, clearly! The ending confuses me quite a lot, their evidence seemed less than solid. If this shakiness is a result of SB running two shows concurrently, I hope he or someone else wises up and changes things. Of course, he could be hedging his bets on whether NCIS:LA actually takes off or keeps losing viewers. (I have to admit, I haven't watched it yet. I love Cool James, but haven't yet given the show a chance. I'll wait a few more weeks, then try, because if I like it I might want to marathon-binge on it

[karababe_64]

His characterisation has changed so much over the seven seasons. When I went back and rewatched season 1 recently I noticed that he was so much more open and dare I saw friendly. It wasn't until after Ari that he changed. The improvements SB has made from last season suggest he is slowly realising that he hasn't got it right yet but because NCIS has record viewers I think any changes are going to come slowly. I have been watching NCIS LA as it airs here in Australia but I haven't been able to get into it properly and it's more something in the background than something who who attention is focused on

[little_ozzo]

It's funny, because I swear I've read a couple of interviews - though I never save them, so apologies for my lack of linking - where SB and other epople on the show have reiterated that Gibbs is the one constant on the show that will enver change. But I actually think he is quite changeable - like you say, in S1 he was friendlier and quicker to laugh, though in some ways he held himself back even further and was clearly hiding huge secrets. Then he went very obsessive over Ari, and he was quiet and withdrawn after Kate. Hiatus changed everything, and he seemed to become distant after that, I think, before seeming to become a little softer in S5, possibly as a result of remembering Shannon and Kelly more, then in S6 after the team is split up he kind of freaks out and goes way distant. So far in this season, I'd say it looks like he's just trying to piece his team back together again, but he's still Gibbs, so apple cider is awkward and instantly followed by work. IDK, it's hard because as we've said, there's nothing concrete to back

[karababe_64]

It's good that he changes because it would be unrealistic for him stay the same, they just need to make sure they have a good reason for changes. And there is a difference between something like how much he interacts with the team and if he brings them apple cider with a smile on his face. If he is trying to piece his team back together, it would be nice to see more of it but it needs to stay true to character.

I have read a couple of pretty good fics where his father comes to repair the rift but even those can be difficult to believe, although that be because I have my own father issues that I can't see past. I think there was definite neglect with possible physical and/or emotional abuse (the emotional abuse more likely) and that couldn't be resolved in just one episode. This might be bad but I would like to see Tony's father involved in a case in some way and Tony being really compentent and smart but his father can't see past the how he knew Tony as a child and things aren't resolved.

[little_ozzo]

I like him changing, too. I don't know about the apple cider thing - a lot of people have said it's OOC, and I can see why, but if he's really trying to reconnect then I think it'd be quite cute if that was how he was doing it, and I could make up something about Kelly loving to have apple cider on Halloween when she was little, or something else ridiculously sentimental like that. It's the fact that we're having to make this stuff up that's odd, though, after feeling for a while like I had so much Gibbs backstory that his character was pretty much all out of new sides! Plus I found that scene hilarious, LOL.

I think your saying that one episode couldn't solve a rift that's lasted over a decade, possibly closer to two, and because of issues that clearly and canonically started in Tony's childhood, is spot on - and it's definitely not what I want to happen. I can totally buy emotional abuse, and I waver on the physical abuse issue. I can buy both options, that his father did hit him, or he didn't. The neglect is canon, specifically

[karababe_64]

Sorry about the slow reply, I didn't see your reply until now :-)

That's an interesting idea about having it relate to Kelly, I could buy that. And he is being more open about his memories of them, so yeah that's a possibility. But as much as I am getting sick of Gibbs' backstory, for moments like these something, even a one line comment, is needed to stop it from being ooc.

I'm open on the physical abuse too. I enjoy reading it because it is another form of Tony!Whump and there are enough suggestions in canon to suggest it was a possibility. The one thing that could be against it is the allowence of Gibbslaps. If he had been physically abused I don't think he would be so welcoming of them, especially at the start of their relationship and I think if Tony had seriously objected it or had some other reaction the first time Gibbs gave him one, Gibbs would have discontinued the practice. I don't remember that in Hide & Seek, I'll have to go back and watch. I personally think that what Tony says in Chained is the truth, the way he says

[little_ozzo]

No problem - it meant I got your reply first thing on Monday as I headed into work - which is exactly the kind of time I need some Tony chatter! ;-)

Yeah, the problem is we're having to come up with these reasons for it, we're being given pretty much nothing to explain this change in character. I am really surprised the day has come that I actually want Gibbs to be explained more, after a while of thinking we already had been told everything there was possible to know

[karababe_64]

The thing I have about Tony trusting Gibbs implicitly is that sure now Tony trusts him but how realistic is it that he would have trusted Gibbs that much, with a personal thing, at the start of their relationship? I am of course assuming that Gibbs started the slapping fairly soon after they meet (even though we didn't see it on screen until after half a dozen eps). He definitly loves attention, especially negative attention, as is shown by how he baits Gibbs all the time. But I think that would make more sense with negelect/emotional abuse rather than continous physical abuse, although your theory about his father stopping after his mother died also makes sense. Saying all that I really have no clue when it comes to pyscology, I didn't even study the subject when it was offered at high school, so I could be completely off the mark here

[little_ozzo]

It's true, we've never been told anything about how Gibbs and Tony came to meet other than it was in Baltimore, and that Tony smiled (great line!), so although I think that Tony's trust in Gibbs is implicit and that is shown on screen, we don't know the origin of his trust. Obviously Gibbs is a really good leader, someone who knows how to inspire faith, but I think Tony out of all of the team would be the first to question Gibbs and maybe even be the first to walk away from him, if he felt Gibbs had gone too far with something. Yet more lack of backstory

[karababe_64]

We don't actually know that Tony and Gibbs met in Baltimore, it is just assumed that they did. For all we know, Tony could have just decided to apply at NCIS and Gibbs hired him that way. Tony has in the past shown he is very willing to stand up to Gibbs when it is needed and I think that would have happened even more at the start of their relationship as Tony comes across as someone who regularly questioned authority and it would have taken time for him to realise that Gibbs' authority/orders are different from others.

I re-read Trial and Tribulations by Richefic last night and it ties in nicely with what we are discussing. A couple of interpretations made were that Tony's father never touched him and that's why Tony likes the fact that Gibbs slaps him on a regular basis, that physical touch. There was also how Gibbs would like to show more affection, like he does to Abby and Ducky, but Tony is the one who is keeping the distance. The bit I liked the most is how Tony chooses his clothing based on how secure/confident he is feeling

[little_ozzo]

Oops, my bad - another example of getting fanon mixed up with canon! So it's actually never stated they met, just that Tony was there, and that Tony smiled. :-D

Yeah, he's always been willing to call Gibbs out when he's doing something Tony doesn't approve of - the two incidents that first come to mind are the Moby Dick smackdown in Reveille and the awesome rant in Cloak - and, interestingly, I think both of those incidents are in response to Gibbs kind of endangering the team. Not so much in Reveille, but his obsession is becoming dangerous then, and Tony tries to jolt him out of it, and in Cloak it's very much about the lies - justifiably, because Tony and Ziva were physically harmed as a result of them. I'm beginning to question which comes first in Tony's priorities and loyaties: Gibbs or the team

[karababe_64]

Hmm, interesting. I hadn't thought about if Tony's loyalties were to the team or to Gibbs first, I have always assumed that they were to Gibbs first. Has there been any cases where he has put Gibbs first over the team? I can't think of anything off hand. The Moby Dick speech was as much about telling Gibbs that he was taking things too far as protecting the rest of the team. The Cloak thing I think was more about personal betrayal than the betrayal of the team as a whole. Other times I can think of that Tony has stood up to Gibbs have been either about letting Tony and the rest of the team in with whatever thing Gibbs have off by himself about or about what Tony thinks is best for a case, like going undercover.

Nothing wrong with being a little greedy ;-) And anyway I don't think it is greedy to get more of a backstory about a major character, considering how much certain others have gotten. And it's certainly not greedy to want to see more brilliant acting! :-)

[little_ozzo]

I always assumed they were to Gibbs first, but after Hiatus I'm not so sure. He stayed, after all. And I can't think of anything offhand, either - I think I just assumed that the reason he stayed longer at NCIS than anywhere else was because he had found something in Gibbs, not the organisation or the lcoation, that he could stay loyal to. And I think that can be supported by the way he was in the first season, at least, the way his faith in Gibbs was possibly a little blinder than it is now. Not blind, really, but definitely a little but more dogmatic. Now, I think his loyalty would run to the team as a whole, first. It has to, I suppose - Gibbs needs someone he knows will stay, and look after his team, and Tony would do that without question, I think - though I'm not sure at the end of Hiatus whether he stays because Gibbs asked/told him to, or because he felt responsible for the team separately to Gibbs' request. IDK! Very interesting, though, I'm definitely going to be thinking about that more!
Yeah, his standing up to Gibbs in