About NCIS 9x13 - A Desperate Man
Okay, second time around I actually like this one a lot better than my first reviewing attempt because I found so many more nuances in this episode since then, so yesterday's crash was good for something. ;) Aaand I didn't have quite as filthy a mouth when it comes to CI-Ray this time, so hey. ;) (There still are some big fat swear words in there, so be warned. Couldn't help it, he just makes me angry on so many levels.)
Caution: 35 screencaps inside. Yeah, seriously. It needed that many to make my point.
The good stuff ~
Loved how Tony's trying to cover up that "he's not getting any". XD LOVED Ziva sneaking up on him when he almost confirms it. And I completely and utterly adore the way he's totally nervous after that, complete with the fiddling fingers!
Loved Ziva's annoyance with Ray and her new-found resolve to break things off with him. Loved how Tony instantly guessed the source of her anger and how he isn't even pressing the fact -- he's actually trying to be incredibly mature about all of this.
Shallow side note: I was kind of blown away by how slim both Michael *and* Cote looked in this episode. I mean, we all noticed Michael's been losing weight for a while now, but this time, Cote made me gawk, too.
Cute moment on the side: Ziva ushering Ducky in at the crime scene lol.
Also, can I please have a moment here so we can celebrate our two absolutely flawless and highly lickable partners? *happysighs* I swear, every time I think they can't get any more adorable...
Burris? Rocked. His pain, the incredible sense of loss in him -- well done. You could really feel that he not only loved his wife, but suddenly has no idea what to do with his own life besides work.
Palmer: 'til you lose all your hair, gain 300 pounds and I can't stand to look at you anymore...
*snickers* He was absolutely adorkable in that scene! :)
McGee: God help me -- what?
Loved Timmy not really wanting to know more about Tony's love life, but still asking. ♥
McGee: You lookin' for love, Tony?
Tony: In all the wrong faces. I mean, look at Gibbs.
(For reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture both that line and the accompanying camera angle made me cackle madly. XD )
Tony: What about Ziva? She's like a bad Israeli romance novel. She's not exactly the picture of emotional stability.
Ziva: That is rich, coming from you.
Tony: You're saying I'm emotionally unstable, Ziva?
McGee: More like emotionally challenged.
Tony: Nobody asked you.
Buuuut he asked Ziva. He really wants to know. And look at the little determined bitchface he gives her when she calls him out on it lol!
He's seeing this as a total challenge! And that's when he suddenly turns into Mr. Reliable & Supportive for the rest of the episode -- he tries to show her that he can be totally grown-up and mature about all of this, and that he can give her a strong shoulder without dicking around anytime. ♥ And coincidentally, he does just that a short while later, when he says "Tell me what happened".
Seriously, the second Cote starts to almost-cry, I'm getting all weepy and protective of my baby, every. single. time. I can't help it, I just take one good look at her face and I just want to hug her and tell her it's all going to be alright. *sobs* And apparently Tony shares that sentiment. When she tells him about how she waited for Ray and he never showed and she was left alone, you can see he feels for her.
Now, the true beauty of this scene is... that for the first time Ziva actually openly talks to him like this -- about the things that hurt. And Tony doesn't just ask, he doesn't say "please", he clearly tells her to spill it or else. And she does just that -- she opens up to him and tells him what's wrong and how messed up she feels. Let that last one sink in for a moment, folks -- the woman who doesn't want to talk about it... does just that. With Tony. *iz dead*
"Oh, don't mind us, boss, we'll just have a mean round of eye sex while you interrogate that guy over there..." ^_^
Ziva's body language when she learns Tony knew about the proposal -- whoa, talk about one pissed-off (and closed-off) ninja! She shoves her chair back as far as it goes and crosses her arms. All that's missing is a sign saying "You, too?!"
Tony: Getting married is a leap of faith, right? Is Ray the right guy for you? Maybe, maybe not. But if you love him, you gotta jump in, feet first.
And here, ladies and gentlemen, we have the reason spelled out plain and simple why Tony never went through with Wendy and the marriage: he didn't love her (enough).
Absolutely adorable in this scene: Gibbs's face when he looks at her with that pondering look on his face, as if he's not sure for a second whom she's marrying. Because, let's face it, these two look like they've been doing things behind his back for a while, right? Right?! XD
I love how Tony is in this scene, to be honest. Some people have displayed displeasure with him "pushing her into Ray's arms", but let's face it -- deep down this is the Tony that will win Ziva's heart eventually. He's her rock in a stormy sea, he supports her, he wants to see her happy, and if being with another guy makes her happy... well yes, then he steps back and he won't make snide comments about the other guy anymore and he'll hide his own jealousy. Because that man still has severe issues of self-worth, and yeah, he's seen a glimpse of how she could react to him last week, but it's not enough for him to meddle and interfere with a relationship that has been going on for a year. He's just not that kind of guy. He is a good person, remember?
I also love how that supportive mask slips a little when she tells him she might go for it. How you can feel it in his voice that he isn't happy about this, but he still sticks to what he set out to do -- make her happy. *wipes eyes*
Love how both Gibbs and Tony instantly know something is wrong with Ziva when she recognizes Ray's number. Love how Gibbs trusts her judgment this time and doesn't try to stop her. ♥
Sweet: Abby being all excited about the wedding. I miss these girls together. And Ziva, girl, those boots on you lately? Rrrrrr! (Wish I could get a good shot of them, but sadly all are blurry because she strides so fast.) The punch into Ray's lying bitchface was more than satisfying. (I'll go into more reasons for that in the extensive "why I hate Ray" chapter further down.)
Love Gibbs being the strong one for Ziva. *hugs pillow and cries* And I loved the fact that she actually accepts the physical comfort he offers, doesn't pull away, she even leans into it a little. *sobs some more*
The final scene, in all its glory -- I don't think I need to comment on that one, right? I'm just gonna put it out there. It's so obvious that everyone should get where this is going.
Burris: So how long have you been together?
Ziva (laughs softly): Oh no, we're not a couple.
Tony: Just co-workers.
Ziva: And friends.
Tony: Yes, yes. Very... good friends.
Burris: That's good, that's real good. You hang onto that. You never know when you're gonna need somebody to be there. Cherish each other, that's all I'm saying. Every day.
Okay, well, I'm gonna say one thing about it after all: What I love about this with a fierce passion is that for once neither of them turns bitchy or snide about the assumption that they're a couple. Their mood stays warm and loving, and they somehow seem to have finally accepted the fact that they mean something to each other. That there are emotions involved. That there is something to cherish.
Yeah, you know what, I'm just gonna go curl up in my little hormonal corner for a minute now and sob over there, alright?
The stuff that didn't add up and spoiled the fun a little ~
The boat -- what was that about? A not-so-clever decoy to make her look suspicious? Because I think it was never cleared up, right? Where did she get the money for it? Also, she bought it just a month ago, but both Burris and our gang talk about it as if it's been his for a lot longer. Whut?
Sadly, the one thing that didn't work at all for me was the case file -- not the background with the terrorist cell, but the actual murder itself. Because all the evidence they threw at us throughout the episode didn't add up, I have no idea what happened there, and it was just strung together to be thrown in at appropriate moments so Ray could be incriminated. But did it all make sense? Not one frickin bit!
Let's look a little closer at the evidence they listed:
- There were at least nine bullet holes in the wall, rounds were extracted using some kind of blade. Uhm, why did he shoot the wall? To distract the cops? That's a pretty lame-ass attempt... and I don't get the whole cover-up at all. There is no logical reason for the whole setup if they can't even see a trace of him on the roof he shot the Commander from.
- They didn't pull any prints, hair or fiber because the killer cleaned her up meticulously; there was bleach in her clothing; the crime scene was cleaned of blood; the abrasions on her wrist and ring finger happened at least an hour after her death. Uhm, why? If he shot her from across the street, there was nothing to remove, so why did he spend so much time on -- get this -- cleaning the woman and the place of blood (pretty hard to do btw because I'm fairly certain they would have still detected traces if she'd bled out a few meters to the side, despite cleaning it all up...), undressing the woman, washing her clothes, then putting them back on?! (Eeew, btw. That makes him a pretty cold-hearted, creepy son of a bitch.) Why did he even put her back in the same loft? Why not dump her somewhere else to make it look more like a robbery?
- The shots in the wall don't add up with the one in the Commander, apparently she was shot through the open window. Uhm, whut? I mean, I get why they did that, but if Abby isn't even completely sure where the Commander stood and which way she was turned when she was shot, how the hell can she tell what roof the shots came from?
- Norton was the target all along, now his car has been tampered with and his breaks manipulated. That... is an odd choice for a CIA hitman. O_o And it doesn't make any sense in the bigger context, either.
Seriously, the more I think about all the pieces they threw at us here, the more illogical this whole setup gets, and it's just completely screwed up to me. And that pisses me off, because I caught my mind at wondering, okay, why the fuck did he do that?! =_=
Side note: It's also vaguely surprising that the CIA dumps Ray after thirteen years of faithful service, just like that, but hey. I think I'm not even gonna go there, it would just make me even more annoyed with the whole backstory. =_=
I'll take "major issues" for 100, Alex! ~
Shallow side note to start out with: My baby has rarely looked prettier and more stunning than in this scene! *loves fiercely*
Ray: You're still mad.
Gee! Someone hand that man a cookie, he's a freaking genius! *rolls eyes*
In case you hadn't guessed yet... this is the section where I bitch about the Ray. And yes, both times I wrote this review I worked myself up into a big, fat rage about that man because everything about him is just plain wrong.
Let's make one thing very clear -- my severe dislike of Ray is not rooted in the fact that I want Tony and Ziva to get together and be happy. That was just the thing that made me go in warily, thinking 'okay, let's see what they throw at us here...'
Ziva: He does not appreciate me. (...) There was always something more important, and I was always left waiting.
One reason why I have come to loathe Ray is the fact that she is painfully right about this one -- he does not care, and he does not appreciate her. That was already apparent in "Pyramid", when she was kidnapped by a serial killer and he looked about as bothered as if he were contemplating a trip to his hairdresser.
I simply think Ziva (or any woman, really) deserves better than this. I don't care how strung up in your job you are, but if you haven't seen your girlfriend in months and you're trying to save a relationship here... she can't be worth that much to you if you can't even stop killing people doing your job for the minute it takes to send a text that you won't make it. You don't humiliate people like that. You don't get their hopes up, and you don't flirt them up and then leave them sitting in a restaurant for the rest of the night without giving a fuck. This is not the kind of behavior a person you want to marry should experience from you. It is not polite, even if we're talking about mere friends, but with a lover? It's incredibly rude and stupid behavior and a little more than just "a screw-up", if you ask me.
Ray: Look at you. You're bringing up walls again.
AND NOW YOU FUCKING BLAME HER FOR NOT LISTENING TO YOUR PISS-POOR EXCUSE FOR STANDING HER UP?!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME, YOU JERK?! That's really classy behavior there, asshole -- blaming a woman you treated like shit for not licking your boots after a measly "Oops, sorry 'bout that!"
Add to all of that the fact that they're still "just" dating. Can you imagine how a marriage between them would be? Yeah, he'd knock her up fast so she'd stay home and be busy with the pretty babies, and he could come back to that picture-perfect model home every time he needs a break from his job, and he probably would give even less of a damn then if she complains about the state of things, because "I don't know what you're talking about, everything's fine, right?" *fumes*
And he keeps pressuring her, even with the proposal, which he deliberately stages in a crowded park where people are watching and expecting her to be all giddy and happy now because everything else would be embarrassing. He knows she would have reacted completely different in, say, a little cafe on the sidewalk or in her apartment, she wouldn't even have stopped to listen. But no, he chose this setting, which left her highly embarrassed, simply because he knows it would pressure her into giving it a closer thought. And then he feeds her all the pretty lines she needs to hear, about a house and kids and wanting to settle down and be around all the time, because he knows exactly what she is looking for at this point in her life. The longer he talks, the more he forces her to succumb to the illusion he creates for her, and because he knows she's almost a little desperate to have someone finally love her, her, for just who she is and not what she can do... yeah, the little fucker knows exactly what buttons to push. *fumes some more*
There's also the fact that Ray continuously lied to her, the whole time we've seen him onscreen. He promised her several times now that he would never do it again... and then he turns around every time and does it in the very same minute. I think Ziva should have listened to her gut and left him in "Two-Faced", no turning back. I think honesty is one of the most important things in any relationship, and especially in ones of a romantic nature. But Ray never even intended to be honest with her, he just kept feeding her lies to keep her happy and docile, and I am -- quite frankly -- shocked that there are people out there who say, "Maaaan, she should have said yes!"
Seriously? This is a man you'd want your daughter to marry? Someone who lies to her face and screws her over big time, again and again? If you seriously think it's perfectly fine to marry such a man... I'm sorry, but you have some really screwed-up and twisted morals, and I don't think I want to know you. =_=
My biggest issue with him, though, is actually the thing that makes my skin crawl hard whenever he has scenes with Ziva, and that is his complete disregard for her personal space whatsoever. (And it still baffles me that I wrote this into "Dreamland" last summer because this habit wasn't even all that apparent back then.)
What I absolutely hate about this is that her whole body language screams she wants to be left alone and not touched -- and yet, he grabs her, stops her physically, pulls her close against her will. I can understand how that kind of physicality can be extremely alluring when you're in a flirty or sexy mood and you feel like his whole attention is centered on you, but in a fight? Nuh-uh. No way. Especially not with someone like Ziva, who has been pressured into submission by men. This does. Not. Work. For. Me.
And it gets even worse after he proposes:
I swear, looking at this screenshot makes me physically ill. The grabbing hand, the way he tries to physically hold her back, the way he has the ring shoved in front of her face the whole time, to make her look at it, as if he wants to force it onto her... I'm sorry, but no. This is creepy. This is pressuring a woman. This is -- imo -- just a small step away from physical abuse at a later stage in that relationship, when she doesn't want to listen to his piss-poor excuses and he loses his temper with her.
This? Is exactly the reason why I think he got off easy with the punch in the face. This is why I think she should have kicked him hard where it counts. And this is also why I think she should have never even considered marrying him because even when she confronts him about the fact that he killed an innocent woman, he still doesn't ease up on his tricks, still tries to grab her, still lies to her. Still blames her for it when he tells her that "she of all people should understand".
And when she doesn't ease up on him...
Ray: Enough. I don't want to talk about this anymore. I made mistakes, and what's done is done. Now I just want to go back to being the man that I used to be before all of this. The man you fell in love with.
Ziva: That man is gone.
Seriously, we're supposed to believe that you haven't done anything like this in 13 years of CIA? That this actually changed who you are? That, what, you have a conscience now that suddenly bothers you...? Yeah, right. *snorts* Pathetic little weasel...
(Ahem. I told ya he made me angry, yes...?)
The subtle subtext ~
Now, the true beauty of this whole episode wasn't in what happened in the case file or even the dealing with the Ray... it lay in the whole subtext that was sprinkled through the whole episode, from beginning to end, and that's what makes this an incredibly strong episode for me: the fact that almost everything in there was deliberately set up to mirror Tony and Ziva in some way or the other and to focus not only the viewer's attention, but their own on their partner. To make both us and them aware of things.
I think it's highly interesting that they even started out with two actors who are a similar type to both Ziva and Tony. Maya, slim, pretty, with the curly hair and clothes she could have pulled out of Ziva's wardrobe, and Nick, who (even though Tony *is* by far the prettier one) still strikes me as a similar type:
Then there are the characteristics of them... Nick has been with his partner for thirteen years (like Tony stuck with Gibbs), lives for his work, highly stubborn, drinks his pain away. Maya has twelve years of active duty under her belt (making her 22 when she started... like Ziva was when she came to NCIS *coughs*), described as bright and ambitious, and she spoke her mind even if that meant ruffling a few feathers. (Now why does that sound familiar? ;) )
Tony: It must have been hard, watching her go to all those dangerous places.
Like it was for you when Ziva went to Afghanistan...?
Burris: Our job kept us apart, but the time that we did spend together? It was... it was special.
And this is the exact moment when Tony looks at Ziva:
Two things figure into this look for me: one, I'm pretty sure he's thinking about the piss-poor treatment Ray gave Ziva with that dinner. (It's so obvious it's hard to miss the comparison.) And there may be a hint of "she'd be special to me" in that look, too -- although that one is most likely a lot more buried in his subconsciousness...
Burris: Now, we never took it for granted, ever, and I would do anything, I would give anything to just have more of that.
Gibbs: Sometimes couples keep secrets.
Burris: Not us. No way.
And that's when Ziva looks at Tony:
And just like him, she's thinking about Ray and his lies and secrets first... but also about her and Tony, I'd bet a lot on that. I think her mind is drawing comparisons by now, even when she doesn't really notice it herself, and I'd bet a lot of money that when they do this, when they try out their hands at a relationship, they'll go this very route -- total, brutal honesty.
Burris: I'm going crazy here. I'm just sitting on my hands, waiting for something to happen. You know what, that's not how I'm built.
This is, essentially, Tony during ToC. He couldn't sit tight, he needed something to happen, and he had to do make it happen himself.
Tony: I get it. Your life is about the next case, right? Won't sleep until you solve it?
Burris: Honestly, all I ever wanted to do was to be a cop. And I work homicide. Nothing better than giving the victim's family some peace, right? Justice? But on doing this job, you... you see so many bodies you start... you start to get twisted, you know. Angry. Most of the cases you know you're never gonna solve. I mean, after a while, you... you know, disconnect. Those bodies -- they're not people anymore, they're just...
Tony. Case numbers. Puzzles to solve.
Burris: Yeah. 'til you show up one day at the scene and that body is your--
Oh yeah, Tony's been there. He's lost the one he loved -- at least he thought he did, when the Damocles went down. And he knows all too well how that feels.
Tony: Well, look, you're on the other side now, Nick, so... You gotta let yourself grieve. Let us do the work, alright?
And this is also Tony in ToC. This is what Tony never allowed himself before -- to grieve for his own losses. He was so much like Burris that it's scary, and back then he did very much what Nick started out to do: finding something, someone responsible, running, running and planning to hit a brick wall at the end, full speed. He just wanted to keep going until it all stopped, until Ziva was avenged and the pain stopped... no matter what way.
The talk with Ziva, while she's in that same quiet corner that Tony used for most of his talks to Jeanne. There's something incredibly intimate about this scene, both the set used and the way they talk, hushed, low, just keeping this between the two of them. It's interesting -- bordering on pure genius -- that later they come back to the same corner, when Ziva talks about thinking maybe she wants to go for it with Ray, because that spot? Is *exactly* the same spot they used when Ziva gave him the "good person" speech while she was hurting inside because he was about to commit to someone else.
And now, they're standing in the very same spot, just their roles (and their places against the railing!) are reversed -- and this time Tony's the one being supportive even though it hurts!
Tony: So why the... shift...?
Ziva: Seeing Detective Burris. How much he still loves his wife. How he just wishes that he had just one more day with her. I guess I just don't want to live with... regrets, you know?
Tony's face kills me here. This is the point where he realizes that he probably will live with regrets.
And that "just one more day with her"... yeah, that's Tony in ToC again. That's the Tony who had lost all meaning to his life and desperately wanted "just one more day with her". That's the Tony... who made a bargain with God.
(Side note: I get why Ziva is tempted to try this. She wants to be loved so badly. She wants to believe he means it. She wants to leap, feet first, and I am pretty sure part of her thinks this is her last chance at a slice of happiness. Does that make it any less stupid? No. But I do get it.)
And then, finally, the whole beautiful, incredible metaphor that was the end scene -- and I'm not talking about the "cherish each other", because that one was so obvious, so loud and so much in your face that it wasn't even subtext, it was spelled out loud and clear for anyone who didn't get it until now. No, I'm talking about the whole phone metaphor, and I still get fuzzy warm feelings whenever I think more closely about it.
Huh? What metaphor, you ask? It was all just about a broken phone, right?
Well, if you think that, you'd be wrong. Because yeah, they're handling a phone, but what's really going on below the surface is that they're actually handling... Ziva's heart.
Tony: You know you should let McGee take care of that tech stuff.
Ziva: I can handle it, Tony, thank you. Why is this thing not even turning on?!
Tony: It's okay to ask for help, you know.
Ziva: I do not need help, Tony. I am fine.
Tony: Uh-huh. I can see that. Give it to me. (takes Ziva's phone) Listen, don't beat yourself up. There's no way you could have seen it coming. There's no way any of us could have seen that coming. You'll find somebody, someday.
Ziva: I'm not sure I want to. I do not think children and marriage are part of the plan for me right now, and I am fine with that. Perfectly... perfectly content with my life.
Tony: Hm. Content. But are you happy?
Ziva: Are you?
So Ziva's heart phone is broken after they pull the data off it that incriminates Ray, and she's having trouble starting it again, but just like she usually does, she wants to deal with this on her own. But then Tony tells her to trust him, and she does, and so she hands him her heart phone, and with just a few well-placed touches he shows her that he can reboot her emotions heart phone and can get it all to work perfectly again, and that leaves him smiling at her and her smiling back at him and both of them... happy. ♥
And yeah, just in case you hadn't noticed -- I choose to interpret that as severe foreshadowing. :)))
So, all in all? What did you think? ~
It's not the best episode of the season for me, and it isn't the most emotional one, but I am really, really happy with what they did there. I do, however, have severe issues with taking things as far as making Ray a "killer of innocents", which wasn't necessary, especially after the beautiful setup of him not calling and him standing her up etc. I would have much preferred it if Ziva had just realized that he isn't the one for her, that he doesn't care for her, that he will always treat her like crap. And hey, even if they wanted to throw in the betrayal factor, that would have been easily possible within the confines of the episode -- just let him know the Commander and, say, let Norton be the real killer, to shut up a witness etc. Ray being in contact with her, calling Ziva from the same mission etc -- that seed of mistrust would have been enough to make her realize he is wrong for her, that she could never trust him completely. There was no need for them to completely butcher his character like that and to leave Ziva -- once more -- with a dangerous and vaguely mad boyfriend.
But yeah, I guess they wanted to make it really, really clear even to the average viewer that things are over now. *sigh* Ah, well. I'll live. And since that's the only thing that pisses me off about this episode (well, that and the aforementioned inconsistencies about the murder itself)... I'm quite, quite happy with this one. :)
Caution: 35 screencaps inside. Yeah, seriously. It needed that many to make my point.
The good stuff ~
Loved how Tony's trying to cover up that "he's not getting any". XD LOVED Ziva sneaking up on him when he almost confirms it. And I completely and utterly adore the way he's totally nervous after that, complete with the fiddling fingers!
Loved Ziva's annoyance with Ray and her new-found resolve to break things off with him. Loved how Tony instantly guessed the source of her anger and how he isn't even pressing the fact -- he's actually trying to be incredibly mature about all of this.
Shallow side note: I was kind of blown away by how slim both Michael *and* Cote looked in this episode. I mean, we all noticed Michael's been losing weight for a while now, but this time, Cote made me gawk, too.
Cute moment on the side: Ziva ushering Ducky in at the crime scene lol.
Also, can I please have a moment here so we can celebrate our two absolutely flawless and highly lickable partners? *happysighs* I swear, every time I think they can't get any more adorable...
Burris? Rocked. His pain, the incredible sense of loss in him -- well done. You could really feel that he not only loved his wife, but suddenly has no idea what to do with his own life besides work.
Palmer: 'til you lose all your hair, gain 300 pounds and I can't stand to look at you anymore...
*snickers* He was absolutely adorkable in that scene! :)
McGee: God help me -- what?
Loved Timmy not really wanting to know more about Tony's love life, but still asking. ♥
McGee: You lookin' for love, Tony?
Tony: In all the wrong faces. I mean, look at Gibbs.
(For reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture both that line and the accompanying camera angle made me cackle madly. XD )
Tony: What about Ziva? She's like a bad Israeli romance novel. She's not exactly the picture of emotional stability.
Ziva: That is rich, coming from you.
Tony: You're saying I'm emotionally unstable, Ziva?
McGee: More like emotionally challenged.
Tony: Nobody asked you.
Buuuut he asked Ziva. He really wants to know. And look at the little determined bitchface he gives her when she calls him out on it lol!
He's seeing this as a total challenge! And that's when he suddenly turns into Mr. Reliable & Supportive for the rest of the episode -- he tries to show her that he can be totally grown-up and mature about all of this, and that he can give her a strong shoulder without dicking around anytime. ♥ And coincidentally, he does just that a short while later, when he says "Tell me what happened".
Seriously, the second Cote starts to almost-cry, I'm getting all weepy and protective of my baby, every. single. time. I can't help it, I just take one good look at her face and I just want to hug her and tell her it's all going to be alright. *sobs* And apparently Tony shares that sentiment. When she tells him about how she waited for Ray and he never showed and she was left alone, you can see he feels for her.
Now, the true beauty of this scene is... that for the first time Ziva actually openly talks to him like this -- about the things that hurt. And Tony doesn't just ask, he doesn't say "please", he clearly tells her to spill it or else. And she does just that -- she opens up to him and tells him what's wrong and how messed up she feels. Let that last one sink in for a moment, folks -- the woman who doesn't want to talk about it... does just that. With Tony. *iz dead*
"Oh, don't mind us, boss, we'll just have a mean round of eye sex while you interrogate that guy over there..." ^_^
Ziva's body language when she learns Tony knew about the proposal -- whoa, talk about one pissed-off (and closed-off) ninja! She shoves her chair back as far as it goes and crosses her arms. All that's missing is a sign saying "You, too?!"
Tony: Getting married is a leap of faith, right? Is Ray the right guy for you? Maybe, maybe not. But if you love him, you gotta jump in, feet first.
And here, ladies and gentlemen, we have the reason spelled out plain and simple why Tony never went through with Wendy and the marriage: he didn't love her (enough).
Absolutely adorable in this scene: Gibbs's face when he looks at her with that pondering look on his face, as if he's not sure for a second whom she's marrying. Because, let's face it, these two look like they've been doing things behind his back for a while, right? Right?! XD
I love how Tony is in this scene, to be honest. Some people have displayed displeasure with him "pushing her into Ray's arms", but let's face it -- deep down this is the Tony that will win Ziva's heart eventually. He's her rock in a stormy sea, he supports her, he wants to see her happy, and if being with another guy makes her happy... well yes, then he steps back and he won't make snide comments about the other guy anymore and he'll hide his own jealousy. Because that man still has severe issues of self-worth, and yeah, he's seen a glimpse of how she could react to him last week, but it's not enough for him to meddle and interfere with a relationship that has been going on for a year. He's just not that kind of guy. He is a good person, remember?
I also love how that supportive mask slips a little when she tells him she might go for it. How you can feel it in his voice that he isn't happy about this, but he still sticks to what he set out to do -- make her happy. *wipes eyes*
Love how both Gibbs and Tony instantly know something is wrong with Ziva when she recognizes Ray's number. Love how Gibbs trusts her judgment this time and doesn't try to stop her. ♥
Sweet: Abby being all excited about the wedding. I miss these girls together. And Ziva, girl, those boots on you lately? Rrrrrr! (Wish I could get a good shot of them, but sadly all are blurry because she strides so fast.) The punch into Ray's lying bitchface was more than satisfying. (I'll go into more reasons for that in the extensive "why I hate Ray" chapter further down.)
Love Gibbs being the strong one for Ziva. *hugs pillow and cries* And I loved the fact that she actually accepts the physical comfort he offers, doesn't pull away, she even leans into it a little. *sobs some more*
The final scene, in all its glory -- I don't think I need to comment on that one, right? I'm just gonna put it out there. It's so obvious that everyone should get where this is going.
Burris: So how long have you been together?
Ziva (laughs softly): Oh no, we're not a couple.
Tony: Just co-workers.
Ziva: And friends.
Tony: Yes, yes. Very... good friends.
Burris: That's good, that's real good. You hang onto that. You never know when you're gonna need somebody to be there. Cherish each other, that's all I'm saying. Every day.
Okay, well, I'm gonna say one thing about it after all: What I love about this with a fierce passion is that for once neither of them turns bitchy or snide about the assumption that they're a couple. Their mood stays warm and loving, and they somehow seem to have finally accepted the fact that they mean something to each other. That there are emotions involved. That there is something to cherish.
Yeah, you know what, I'm just gonna go curl up in my little hormonal corner for a minute now and sob over there, alright?
The stuff that didn't add up and spoiled the fun a little ~
The boat -- what was that about? A not-so-clever decoy to make her look suspicious? Because I think it was never cleared up, right? Where did she get the money for it? Also, she bought it just a month ago, but both Burris and our gang talk about it as if it's been his for a lot longer. Whut?
Sadly, the one thing that didn't work at all for me was the case file -- not the background with the terrorist cell, but the actual murder itself. Because all the evidence they threw at us throughout the episode didn't add up, I have no idea what happened there, and it was just strung together to be thrown in at appropriate moments so Ray could be incriminated. But did it all make sense? Not one frickin bit!
Let's look a little closer at the evidence they listed:
- There were at least nine bullet holes in the wall, rounds were extracted using some kind of blade. Uhm, why did he shoot the wall? To distract the cops? That's a pretty lame-ass attempt... and I don't get the whole cover-up at all. There is no logical reason for the whole setup if they can't even see a trace of him on the roof he shot the Commander from.
- They didn't pull any prints, hair or fiber because the killer cleaned her up meticulously; there was bleach in her clothing; the crime scene was cleaned of blood; the abrasions on her wrist and ring finger happened at least an hour after her death. Uhm, why? If he shot her from across the street, there was nothing to remove, so why did he spend so much time on -- get this -- cleaning the woman and the place of blood (pretty hard to do btw because I'm fairly certain they would have still detected traces if she'd bled out a few meters to the side, despite cleaning it all up...), undressing the woman, washing her clothes, then putting them back on?! (Eeew, btw. That makes him a pretty cold-hearted, creepy son of a bitch.) Why did he even put her back in the same loft? Why not dump her somewhere else to make it look more like a robbery?
- The shots in the wall don't add up with the one in the Commander, apparently she was shot through the open window. Uhm, whut? I mean, I get why they did that, but if Abby isn't even completely sure where the Commander stood and which way she was turned when she was shot, how the hell can she tell what roof the shots came from?
- Norton was the target all along, now his car has been tampered with and his breaks manipulated. That... is an odd choice for a CIA hitman. O_o And it doesn't make any sense in the bigger context, either.
Seriously, the more I think about all the pieces they threw at us here, the more illogical this whole setup gets, and it's just completely screwed up to me. And that pisses me off, because I caught my mind at wondering, okay, why the fuck did he do that?! =_=
Side note: It's also vaguely surprising that the CIA dumps Ray after thirteen years of faithful service, just like that, but hey. I think I'm not even gonna go there, it would just make me even more annoyed with the whole backstory. =_=
I'll take "major issues" for 100, Alex! ~
Shallow side note to start out with: My baby has rarely looked prettier and more stunning than in this scene! *loves fiercely*
Ray: You're still mad.
Gee! Someone hand that man a cookie, he's a freaking genius! *rolls eyes*
In case you hadn't guessed yet... this is the section where I bitch about the Ray. And yes, both times I wrote this review I worked myself up into a big, fat rage about that man because everything about him is just plain wrong.
Let's make one thing very clear -- my severe dislike of Ray is not rooted in the fact that I want Tony and Ziva to get together and be happy. That was just the thing that made me go in warily, thinking 'okay, let's see what they throw at us here...'
Ziva: He does not appreciate me. (...) There was always something more important, and I was always left waiting.
One reason why I have come to loathe Ray is the fact that she is painfully right about this one -- he does not care, and he does not appreciate her. That was already apparent in "Pyramid", when she was kidnapped by a serial killer and he looked about as bothered as if he were contemplating a trip to his hairdresser.
I simply think Ziva (or any woman, really) deserves better than this. I don't care how strung up in your job you are, but if you haven't seen your girlfriend in months and you're trying to save a relationship here... she can't be worth that much to you if you can't even stop killing people doing your job for the minute it takes to send a text that you won't make it. You don't humiliate people like that. You don't get their hopes up, and you don't flirt them up and then leave them sitting in a restaurant for the rest of the night without giving a fuck. This is not the kind of behavior a person you want to marry should experience from you. It is not polite, even if we're talking about mere friends, but with a lover? It's incredibly rude and stupid behavior and a little more than just "a screw-up", if you ask me.
Ray: Look at you. You're bringing up walls again.
AND NOW YOU FUCKING BLAME HER FOR NOT LISTENING TO YOUR PISS-POOR EXCUSE FOR STANDING HER UP?!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME, YOU JERK?! That's really classy behavior there, asshole -- blaming a woman you treated like shit for not licking your boots after a measly "Oops, sorry 'bout that!"
Add to all of that the fact that they're still "just" dating. Can you imagine how a marriage between them would be? Yeah, he'd knock her up fast so she'd stay home and be busy with the pretty babies, and he could come back to that picture-perfect model home every time he needs a break from his job, and he probably would give even less of a damn then if she complains about the state of things, because "I don't know what you're talking about, everything's fine, right?" *fumes*
And he keeps pressuring her, even with the proposal, which he deliberately stages in a crowded park where people are watching and expecting her to be all giddy and happy now because everything else would be embarrassing. He knows she would have reacted completely different in, say, a little cafe on the sidewalk or in her apartment, she wouldn't even have stopped to listen. But no, he chose this setting, which left her highly embarrassed, simply because he knows it would pressure her into giving it a closer thought. And then he feeds her all the pretty lines she needs to hear, about a house and kids and wanting to settle down and be around all the time, because he knows exactly what she is looking for at this point in her life. The longer he talks, the more he forces her to succumb to the illusion he creates for her, and because he knows she's almost a little desperate to have someone finally love her, her, for just who she is and not what she can do... yeah, the little fucker knows exactly what buttons to push. *fumes some more*
There's also the fact that Ray continuously lied to her, the whole time we've seen him onscreen. He promised her several times now that he would never do it again... and then he turns around every time and does it in the very same minute. I think Ziva should have listened to her gut and left him in "Two-Faced", no turning back. I think honesty is one of the most important things in any relationship, and especially in ones of a romantic nature. But Ray never even intended to be honest with her, he just kept feeding her lies to keep her happy and docile, and I am -- quite frankly -- shocked that there are people out there who say, "Maaaan, she should have said yes!"
Seriously? This is a man you'd want your daughter to marry? Someone who lies to her face and screws her over big time, again and again? If you seriously think it's perfectly fine to marry such a man... I'm sorry, but you have some really screwed-up and twisted morals, and I don't think I want to know you. =_=
My biggest issue with him, though, is actually the thing that makes my skin crawl hard whenever he has scenes with Ziva, and that is his complete disregard for her personal space whatsoever. (And it still baffles me that I wrote this into "Dreamland" last summer because this habit wasn't even all that apparent back then.)
What I absolutely hate about this is that her whole body language screams she wants to be left alone and not touched -- and yet, he grabs her, stops her physically, pulls her close against her will. I can understand how that kind of physicality can be extremely alluring when you're in a flirty or sexy mood and you feel like his whole attention is centered on you, but in a fight? Nuh-uh. No way. Especially not with someone like Ziva, who has been pressured into submission by men. This does. Not. Work. For. Me.
And it gets even worse after he proposes:
I swear, looking at this screenshot makes me physically ill. The grabbing hand, the way he tries to physically hold her back, the way he has the ring shoved in front of her face the whole time, to make her look at it, as if he wants to force it onto her... I'm sorry, but no. This is creepy. This is pressuring a woman. This is -- imo -- just a small step away from physical abuse at a later stage in that relationship, when she doesn't want to listen to his piss-poor excuses and he loses his temper with her.
This? Is exactly the reason why I think he got off easy with the punch in the face. This is why I think she should have kicked him hard where it counts. And this is also why I think she should have never even considered marrying him because even when she confronts him about the fact that he killed an innocent woman, he still doesn't ease up on his tricks, still tries to grab her, still lies to her. Still blames her for it when he tells her that "she of all people should understand".
And when she doesn't ease up on him...
Ray: Enough. I don't want to talk about this anymore. I made mistakes, and what's done is done. Now I just want to go back to being the man that I used to be before all of this. The man you fell in love with.
Ziva: That man is gone.
Seriously, we're supposed to believe that you haven't done anything like this in 13 years of CIA? That this actually changed who you are? That, what, you have a conscience now that suddenly bothers you...? Yeah, right. *snorts* Pathetic little weasel...
(Ahem. I told ya he made me angry, yes...?)
The subtle subtext ~
Now, the true beauty of this whole episode wasn't in what happened in the case file or even the dealing with the Ray... it lay in the whole subtext that was sprinkled through the whole episode, from beginning to end, and that's what makes this an incredibly strong episode for me: the fact that almost everything in there was deliberately set up to mirror Tony and Ziva in some way or the other and to focus not only the viewer's attention, but their own on their partner. To make both us and them aware of things.
I think it's highly interesting that they even started out with two actors who are a similar type to both Ziva and Tony. Maya, slim, pretty, with the curly hair and clothes she could have pulled out of Ziva's wardrobe, and Nick, who (even though Tony *is* by far the prettier one) still strikes me as a similar type:
Then there are the characteristics of them... Nick has been with his partner for thirteen years (like Tony stuck with Gibbs), lives for his work, highly stubborn, drinks his pain away. Maya has twelve years of active duty under her belt (making her 22 when she started... like Ziva was when she came to NCIS *coughs*), described as bright and ambitious, and she spoke her mind even if that meant ruffling a few feathers. (Now why does that sound familiar? ;) )
Tony: It must have been hard, watching her go to all those dangerous places.
Like it was for you when Ziva went to Afghanistan...?
Burris: Our job kept us apart, but the time that we did spend together? It was... it was special.
And this is the exact moment when Tony looks at Ziva:
Two things figure into this look for me: one, I'm pretty sure he's thinking about the piss-poor treatment Ray gave Ziva with that dinner. (It's so obvious it's hard to miss the comparison.) And there may be a hint of "she'd be special to me" in that look, too -- although that one is most likely a lot more buried in his subconsciousness...
Burris: Now, we never took it for granted, ever, and I would do anything, I would give anything to just have more of that.
Gibbs: Sometimes couples keep secrets.
Burris: Not us. No way.
And that's when Ziva looks at Tony:
And just like him, she's thinking about Ray and his lies and secrets first... but also about her and Tony, I'd bet a lot on that. I think her mind is drawing comparisons by now, even when she doesn't really notice it herself, and I'd bet a lot of money that when they do this, when they try out their hands at a relationship, they'll go this very route -- total, brutal honesty.
Burris: I'm going crazy here. I'm just sitting on my hands, waiting for something to happen. You know what, that's not how I'm built.
This is, essentially, Tony during ToC. He couldn't sit tight, he needed something to happen, and he had to do make it happen himself.
Tony: I get it. Your life is about the next case, right? Won't sleep until you solve it?
Burris: Honestly, all I ever wanted to do was to be a cop. And I work homicide. Nothing better than giving the victim's family some peace, right? Justice? But on doing this job, you... you see so many bodies you start... you start to get twisted, you know. Angry. Most of the cases you know you're never gonna solve. I mean, after a while, you... you know, disconnect. Those bodies -- they're not people anymore, they're just...
Tony. Case numbers. Puzzles to solve.
Burris: Yeah. 'til you show up one day at the scene and that body is your--
Oh yeah, Tony's been there. He's lost the one he loved -- at least he thought he did, when the Damocles went down. And he knows all too well how that feels.
Tony: Well, look, you're on the other side now, Nick, so... You gotta let yourself grieve. Let us do the work, alright?
And this is also Tony in ToC. This is what Tony never allowed himself before -- to grieve for his own losses. He was so much like Burris that it's scary, and back then he did very much what Nick started out to do: finding something, someone responsible, running, running and planning to hit a brick wall at the end, full speed. He just wanted to keep going until it all stopped, until Ziva was avenged and the pain stopped... no matter what way.
The talk with Ziva, while she's in that same quiet corner that Tony used for most of his talks to Jeanne. There's something incredibly intimate about this scene, both the set used and the way they talk, hushed, low, just keeping this between the two of them. It's interesting -- bordering on pure genius -- that later they come back to the same corner, when Ziva talks about thinking maybe she wants to go for it with Ray, because that spot? Is *exactly* the same spot they used when Ziva gave him the "good person" speech while she was hurting inside because he was about to commit to someone else.
And now, they're standing in the very same spot, just their roles (and their places against the railing!) are reversed -- and this time Tony's the one being supportive even though it hurts!
Tony: So why the... shift...?
Ziva: Seeing Detective Burris. How much he still loves his wife. How he just wishes that he had just one more day with her. I guess I just don't want to live with... regrets, you know?
Tony's face kills me here. This is the point where he realizes that he probably will live with regrets.
And that "just one more day with her"... yeah, that's Tony in ToC again. That's the Tony who had lost all meaning to his life and desperately wanted "just one more day with her". That's the Tony... who made a bargain with God.
(Side note: I get why Ziva is tempted to try this. She wants to be loved so badly. She wants to believe he means it. She wants to leap, feet first, and I am pretty sure part of her thinks this is her last chance at a slice of happiness. Does that make it any less stupid? No. But I do get it.)
And then, finally, the whole beautiful, incredible metaphor that was the end scene -- and I'm not talking about the "cherish each other", because that one was so obvious, so loud and so much in your face that it wasn't even subtext, it was spelled out loud and clear for anyone who didn't get it until now. No, I'm talking about the whole phone metaphor, and I still get fuzzy warm feelings whenever I think more closely about it.
Huh? What metaphor, you ask? It was all just about a broken phone, right?
Well, if you think that, you'd be wrong. Because yeah, they're handling a phone, but what's really going on below the surface is that they're actually handling... Ziva's heart.
Tony: You know you should let McGee take care of that tech stuff.
Ziva: I can handle it, Tony, thank you. Why is this thing not even turning on?!
Tony: It's okay to ask for help, you know.
Ziva: I do not need help, Tony. I am fine.
Tony: Uh-huh. I can see that. Give it to me. (takes Ziva's phone) Listen, don't beat yourself up. There's no way you could have seen it coming. There's no way any of us could have seen that coming. You'll find somebody, someday.
Ziva: I'm not sure I want to. I do not think children and marriage are part of the plan for me right now, and I am fine with that. Perfectly... perfectly content with my life.
Tony: Hm. Content. But are you happy?
Ziva: Are you?
So Ziva's heart phone is broken after they pull the data off it that incriminates Ray, and she's having trouble starting it again, but just like she usually does, she wants to deal with this on her own. But then Tony tells her to trust him, and she does, and so she hands him her heart phone, and with just a few well-placed touches he shows her that he can reboot her emotions heart phone and can get it all to work perfectly again, and that leaves him smiling at her and her smiling back at him and both of them... happy. ♥
And yeah, just in case you hadn't noticed -- I choose to interpret that as severe foreshadowing. :)))
So, all in all? What did you think? ~
It's not the best episode of the season for me, and it isn't the most emotional one, but I am really, really happy with what they did there. I do, however, have severe issues with taking things as far as making Ray a "killer of innocents", which wasn't necessary, especially after the beautiful setup of him not calling and him standing her up etc. I would have much preferred it if Ziva had just realized that he isn't the one for her, that he doesn't care for her, that he will always treat her like crap. And hey, even if they wanted to throw in the betrayal factor, that would have been easily possible within the confines of the episode -- just let him know the Commander and, say, let Norton be the real killer, to shut up a witness etc. Ray being in contact with her, calling Ziva from the same mission etc -- that seed of mistrust would have been enough to make her realize he is wrong for her, that she could never trust him completely. There was no need for them to completely butcher his character like that and to leave Ziva -- once more -- with a dangerous and vaguely mad boyfriend.
But yeah, I guess they wanted to make it really, really clear even to the average viewer that things are over now. *sigh* Ah, well. I'll live. And since that's the only thing that pisses me off about this episode (well, that and the aforementioned inconsistencies about the murder itself)... I'm quite, quite happy with this one. :)