About NCIS 9x23 - Up In Smoke
Warning: I fucking loved this episode (and the promise of the finale), so I am quite passionate about it and won't take crap about my "tone". I am also *very* content with the "Tiva" moments we *did* get in the midst of a national crisis, and I am not interested in hearing people complain about how there wasn't "enough". If you want to do that - fine, but be prepared for me to ignore you at best or talk back rather rudely. I have a very loose grip on my patience after the whole of Tumblr seems to have moaned and bitched and ranted for the past 24 hours, *especially* after Monday's Castle episode, which sealed the deal for those two, and *especially* after some people took it upon themselves to insult the NCIS writers openly on Twitter after that and demanding "they should take lessons from real writers". Yes, I take offense in this kind of statement, too, because this particular episode was pretty damn quality writing - and to those who uttered insults like that I'd just like to say, you wouldn't know quality if it bit you in the ass.
Whew. Now that we have this one out of the way...
The awesome moments ~
Dorneget: Wait. Somebody bugged my mouth?!
I think this may turn out to be my favorite line of the whole episode. It's just so... endearingly X-Files retrospective! ^_^
I love how they keep bringing Dorney back. He's actually grown on me quite a lot, and I think he works really well with our team. The chemistry is just right. And I love that they just have him be there and not bring up him being gay again now that it's established, because that's just what it is - it's there, but it's not the topic of the show, so the moralist preachers can't even claim they get a "gay agenda" shoved in their faces. I like that approach. And it gives me hope that the Tony/Ziva relationship, once it happens, will be handled in much the same, discreet way - a few scenes here, a little establishing there, and then every now and then a teeny tiny in-joke or vaguely dirty scene that shows us they're still going strong. And you know what, that would make me deliriously happy, even though a huge part of the fandom would probably throw a hissy fit just because we don't get to see them making babies on Gibbs's desk.
Ducky: Somebody thinks Dorneget is more interesting than we do.
I can't help it, I chuckled. *giggles*
Love the way they track the implant to Dearing... and yes, I get how they later reveal that he *wants* them to track him and all that jazz. I still wonder why though. It all seems a little too... obvious? No, that's not the right word. It's just too in-your-face, and I keep thinking that he'll turn out just being used/manipulated by someone else pulling the actual strings. And yes, I do think Doc Ryan fits in there somehow, because she is so interested in all of this, because it would totally work with her "brain games", because she is written in a deliberately unpleasant way, because they already had one guy being brainwashed by PsyOps into killing himself, and because especially in this episode they started dropping hints like sledgehammers.
That said, I do think Dearing has potential - and didn't we always say there has never been a bad guy like Ari again, none with any real continuity, none who came even close to being this threatening? I still don't think he'll come close to Ari's charisma, but yes, I do believe he'd bring a shitload of potential with him, especially if things play out as I think they might and they won't round him up during the finale and instead have him stay on the loose for a while into the next season.
On the other other hand... I saw more things in this ep that felt reminiscent of the P2P story - Dearing being already in the Yard, watching them without their knowledge, for instance. So far it's not bad enough to lose me as a viewer, though. As I said, I think GG is trying to do this time what he couldn't last season.
Ryan, to Tony: Wink?
Tony winks.
At first I laughed out loud at that scene because Tony is just cute when he does what he's told to do. Now... well, let's just say I remembered that Ryan called him "Wink Martindale" in "The Tell", and apparently she decided to stick to a nickname that he finds derogatory (which he has made really clear). It... doesn't make Ryan any more endearing to me. By now I just want to strangle that woman.
Buuuut... at least her first appearance is easily forgotten in the light of our team being all touchy-feely again on their way out:
I... may have rewound that scene at least three times. (And yes, the noises I made during that weren't quite human.) See, this is what I meant earlier - her touching him as intimately as that just becoming "normal" at one point, but not much else happening to "disrupt" the team. (Yes, I also know that they've always touched a lot, but this, with her palm against his cheek like this - that's a level up, that's a whole different kind of intimacy. *makes happy whimpery noises*)
Okay, the whole bachelor party subplot? Brings tears to my eyes, in the best possible way ever. Love love love how everybody is messing with poor Jimmy, love how Tony and McGee have no clue themselves what'll go down, love how Abby tells him he doesn't *need* to know, he *wants* to know... och, that whole storyline just leaves me insanely giddy and happy. :D And Ducky! Ducky playing along, with the autopsy saw and all! Geez, I'm barking out laughter again while I type this! XD
Ryan: I gotta admit, I kinda like his style.
Gibbs: Well, that's because it's yours.
Me = pointing at theory that Ryan will be involved in all of this, maybe even the one pulling the strings and just using Dearing for her own goal? We'll see.
Tony: How are you NOT interested in other people's private lives?
Yeah, Ziva, how come you aren't a shipper...? XD
Okay, so the only thing that doesn't quite add up for me (but I am willing to forgive nevertheless because the coming-full-circle to the premiere episode is just too neat) is the Watcher Fleet chip. No, McGee, it wasn't *you* who pulled the chip out of Levin, that was EJ. I don't know how you can be so sure it's even the same one, last time I looked Gibbs merely handed over and the team didn't run it through tests, right? And it feels weird that the chip seems to have mutated into a mere data storage thingie when before it was originally introduced as some sort of super-universal-key-thingie that opened doors and databases everywhere. Also, why buy such a thing at a horrendous price, just to delete the precious data from it and then stick it into someone else's arm?
Random side note: I totally adore Abby and Dorneget together! ♥ ♥ ♥
Gibbs: Why didn't you say so?
Dorneget: In retrospect, I wish I had.
I did mention I like Dorney a lot these days, right? ♥
The award for best wardrobe choice of the episode goes to... well, okay, Abby and Ziva will have to share this one, for completely different reasons...
Handcuffs! And a cattle prod! XD
And... and then we have the brainfrying hotness of THAT dress... *whimpers pathetically*
It's just... oh, god. Every single one of my brain cells is pure mush. MUSH, I tell you!
That aside, I love, love, love the whole bachelor party, even though it was fake, because it genuinely, truly felt like the guys were having fun there - even Gibbs. :)
Palmer: Blah, blah, blah, alcohol's fun!
Love how the mood swings and they go into attack mode. Love love LOVE how Gibbs casually pulls up Ziva and she just plays along and this looks just so... casual. And fun. Not to mention mindblowingly yummy.
Ziva and Gibbs going all bad cop/bad cop on Maples! Guh!
Also - this. *licks screen furiously*
And yes, I'm getting repetitive, I know, but I do NOT like Ryan. During the end scene I kept grinding my teeth and calling her bitchbitchbitch the whole time. I'm sorry, I know there are people out there who like her, but I do not find one single likeable trait in her.
FORTUNATELY my brain is thoroughly bleached by the sheer beauty of these two... and the quite naughty plot bunny that jumped me out of the blue, and yes, I'll see to it soon-ish and get it done ASAP because DAMN, it's hot! Just as hot as yummy!Ziva and lickable!Tony in this scene!
Seriously, how can two people look so insanely edible? *whimpers*
What I really, really like about this ~
The fact that they've woven a tight web of storylines while we weren't even looking, with only a few flaws in logic, but they aren't really worth a gripe for me. (And that says something, considering what a sucker for solid plot I am.) The fact that, coupled with the preview for next week's episode, this promises to really live up to Gary Glasberg's announcement and shock us like no finale of our show before. (Because yes, for several reasons I do believe they'll actually blow up the Navy Yard. And if they do, it'll be a stroke of storytelling genius.) The fact that Gary also lived up to his promise and brings things back to the Navy. The fact that for once we have an obsessed terrorist and enemy of the state who *isn't* Muslim. The fact that, without us really noticing it, they took NCIS even further back to the roots, with all the overseas assignments lately - remember how Jenny had Kairo and she and Gibbs had Paris and Serbia and Vance had Amsterdam and all that jazz? We're getting there, once more. And I love that, fiercely. Because it opens up a whole shitload of possibilities for the next season.
The things I totally dig while the rest of the fandom keeps whining and bitching about them ~
I love where Ziva and Tony are right now. Yes, I predicted something relationshippy happening between them during this season, but yes, they also toned that development down a lot after "Secrets"... and I think that may have been around the time season ten was officially announced. So yeah, in my head it makes sense that they said, okay, we don't need to rush this after all, we can let them heal a little more and come to terms with their lives and their past. From then on, they concentrated on getting the show back to good action, good plot, and its Navy roots, and you know what I love about that? They secured the viewers for the next season with that. Because - contrary to popular opinion - the shippers are *not* the main audience of the show. Yes, a lot of random viewers wonder idly about Tony and Ziva, they ask if they're finally together or flat-out assume they are. BUT these viewers don't tune in solely for that. They tune in for a good plot, for suspense, sprinkled with a good dose of team interaction and the whole of their dysfunctional family. A whole bunch of these casual viewers certainly wouldn't mind Tony and Ziva getting together, maybe some would even go "awwww" and consider this to be the cherry on top of their viewing pleasure. But this is not why they tune in each week.
So yeah, this whole season has been the season of healing for our team, of moving along, of facing and dealing with their past and their trauma and all that jazz. There's time enough for them to find happiness. We'll have a whole new season to watch this unfold, and I, personally, prefer them sane and emotionally stable and sure before they go in.
Also, a lot of people have complained about Ziva and the dress and Tony not even giving her a single glance, and I'm about to yell "FUCK YOU!" at the nearest wall because the stream of complaints on Tumblr this morning didn't want to end.
You know what, these people were dealing with a fucking national crisis. They were dealing with a fucking terrorist that threatens the Navy and the lives of hundreds of US Marines. They are dealing with someone highly resourceful, who seems to be at least two steps ahead of them at all times. There's a time and a place for everything, and this certainly wasn't one for lecherous glances and lewd leers. Tony knows that, because whenever the shit hits the fan, he gets dead serious and is lost so deeply in his job that I don't have the words for it.
Aside from that, he has gone almost out of his way ever since early season six to NOT leer at Ziva. Yes, he looks her over, but he no longer comments on his findings, and he certainly no longer lets his eyes wander as if she were the cutest sex doll he has ever set eyes on. Ever since he developed actual feelings for Ziva... he no longer treats her like a cheap fling. And especially after ToC, he treats her as gender-neutral as he can. (I can think of at least half a dozen reasons for that, but that's material for another essay.)
So yeah, just don't talk to me about how the show sucked and/because there wasn't enough Tiva. If that's all you watch it for and you didn't care at all about the rest of the (very good) plot, you should consider hopping over to Castle, after all. Or Bones. I hear they have really meaty stories solely centered around 'ships.
Whew. Now that we have this one out of the way...
The awesome moments ~
Dorneget: Wait. Somebody bugged my mouth?!
I think this may turn out to be my favorite line of the whole episode. It's just so... endearingly X-Files retrospective! ^_^
I love how they keep bringing Dorney back. He's actually grown on me quite a lot, and I think he works really well with our team. The chemistry is just right. And I love that they just have him be there and not bring up him being gay again now that it's established, because that's just what it is - it's there, but it's not the topic of the show, so the moralist preachers can't even claim they get a "gay agenda" shoved in their faces. I like that approach. And it gives me hope that the Tony/Ziva relationship, once it happens, will be handled in much the same, discreet way - a few scenes here, a little establishing there, and then every now and then a teeny tiny in-joke or vaguely dirty scene that shows us they're still going strong. And you know what, that would make me deliriously happy, even though a huge part of the fandom would probably throw a hissy fit just because we don't get to see them making babies on Gibbs's desk.
Ducky: Somebody thinks Dorneget is more interesting than we do.
I can't help it, I chuckled. *giggles*
Love the way they track the implant to Dearing... and yes, I get how they later reveal that he *wants* them to track him and all that jazz. I still wonder why though. It all seems a little too... obvious? No, that's not the right word. It's just too in-your-face, and I keep thinking that he'll turn out just being used/manipulated by someone else pulling the actual strings. And yes, I do think Doc Ryan fits in there somehow, because she is so interested in all of this, because it would totally work with her "brain games", because she is written in a deliberately unpleasant way, because they already had one guy being brainwashed by PsyOps into killing himself, and because especially in this episode they started dropping hints like sledgehammers.
That said, I do think Dearing has potential - and didn't we always say there has never been a bad guy like Ari again, none with any real continuity, none who came even close to being this threatening? I still don't think he'll come close to Ari's charisma, but yes, I do believe he'd bring a shitload of potential with him, especially if things play out as I think they might and they won't round him up during the finale and instead have him stay on the loose for a while into the next season.
On the other other hand... I saw more things in this ep that felt reminiscent of the P2P story - Dearing being already in the Yard, watching them without their knowledge, for instance. So far it's not bad enough to lose me as a viewer, though. As I said, I think GG is trying to do this time what he couldn't last season.
Ryan, to Tony: Wink?
Tony winks.
At first I laughed out loud at that scene because Tony is just cute when he does what he's told to do. Now... well, let's just say I remembered that Ryan called him "Wink Martindale" in "The Tell", and apparently she decided to stick to a nickname that he finds derogatory (which he has made really clear). It... doesn't make Ryan any more endearing to me. By now I just want to strangle that woman.
Buuuut... at least her first appearance is easily forgotten in the light of our team being all touchy-feely again on their way out:
I... may have rewound that scene at least three times. (And yes, the noises I made during that weren't quite human.) See, this is what I meant earlier - her touching him as intimately as that just becoming "normal" at one point, but not much else happening to "disrupt" the team. (Yes, I also know that they've always touched a lot, but this, with her palm against his cheek like this - that's a level up, that's a whole different kind of intimacy. *makes happy whimpery noises*)
Okay, the whole bachelor party subplot? Brings tears to my eyes, in the best possible way ever. Love love love how everybody is messing with poor Jimmy, love how Tony and McGee have no clue themselves what'll go down, love how Abby tells him he doesn't *need* to know, he *wants* to know... och, that whole storyline just leaves me insanely giddy and happy. :D And Ducky! Ducky playing along, with the autopsy saw and all! Geez, I'm barking out laughter again while I type this! XD
Ryan: I gotta admit, I kinda like his style.
Gibbs: Well, that's because it's yours.
Me = pointing at theory that Ryan will be involved in all of this, maybe even the one pulling the strings and just using Dearing for her own goal? We'll see.
Tony: How are you NOT interested in other people's private lives?
Yeah, Ziva, how come you aren't a shipper...? XD
Okay, so the only thing that doesn't quite add up for me (but I am willing to forgive nevertheless because the coming-full-circle to the premiere episode is just too neat) is the Watcher Fleet chip. No, McGee, it wasn't *you* who pulled the chip out of Levin, that was EJ. I don't know how you can be so sure it's even the same one, last time I looked Gibbs merely handed over and the team didn't run it through tests, right? And it feels weird that the chip seems to have mutated into a mere data storage thingie when before it was originally introduced as some sort of super-universal-key-thingie that opened doors and databases everywhere. Also, why buy such a thing at a horrendous price, just to delete the precious data from it and then stick it into someone else's arm?
Random side note: I totally adore Abby and Dorneget together! ♥ ♥ ♥
Gibbs: Why didn't you say so?
Dorneget: In retrospect, I wish I had.
I did mention I like Dorney a lot these days, right? ♥
The award for best wardrobe choice of the episode goes to... well, okay, Abby and Ziva will have to share this one, for completely different reasons...
Handcuffs! And a cattle prod! XD
And... and then we have the brainfrying hotness of THAT dress... *whimpers pathetically*
It's just... oh, god. Every single one of my brain cells is pure mush. MUSH, I tell you!
That aside, I love, love, love the whole bachelor party, even though it was fake, because it genuinely, truly felt like the guys were having fun there - even Gibbs. :)
Palmer: Blah, blah, blah, alcohol's fun!
Love how the mood swings and they go into attack mode. Love love LOVE how Gibbs casually pulls up Ziva and she just plays along and this looks just so... casual. And fun. Not to mention mindblowingly yummy.
Ziva and Gibbs going all bad cop/bad cop on Maples! Guh!
Also - this. *licks screen furiously*
And yes, I'm getting repetitive, I know, but I do NOT like Ryan. During the end scene I kept grinding my teeth and calling her bitchbitchbitch the whole time. I'm sorry, I know there are people out there who like her, but I do not find one single likeable trait in her.
FORTUNATELY my brain is thoroughly bleached by the sheer beauty of these two... and the quite naughty plot bunny that jumped me out of the blue, and yes, I'll see to it soon-ish and get it done ASAP because DAMN, it's hot! Just as hot as yummy!Ziva and lickable!Tony in this scene!
Seriously, how can two people look so insanely edible? *whimpers*
What I really, really like about this ~
The fact that they've woven a tight web of storylines while we weren't even looking, with only a few flaws in logic, but they aren't really worth a gripe for me. (And that says something, considering what a sucker for solid plot I am.) The fact that, coupled with the preview for next week's episode, this promises to really live up to Gary Glasberg's announcement and shock us like no finale of our show before. (Because yes, for several reasons I do believe they'll actually blow up the Navy Yard. And if they do, it'll be a stroke of storytelling genius.) The fact that Gary also lived up to his promise and brings things back to the Navy. The fact that for once we have an obsessed terrorist and enemy of the state who *isn't* Muslim. The fact that, without us really noticing it, they took NCIS even further back to the roots, with all the overseas assignments lately - remember how Jenny had Kairo and she and Gibbs had Paris and Serbia and Vance had Amsterdam and all that jazz? We're getting there, once more. And I love that, fiercely. Because it opens up a whole shitload of possibilities for the next season.
The things I totally dig while the rest of the fandom keeps whining and bitching about them ~
I love where Ziva and Tony are right now. Yes, I predicted something relationshippy happening between them during this season, but yes, they also toned that development down a lot after "Secrets"... and I think that may have been around the time season ten was officially announced. So yeah, in my head it makes sense that they said, okay, we don't need to rush this after all, we can let them heal a little more and come to terms with their lives and their past. From then on, they concentrated on getting the show back to good action, good plot, and its Navy roots, and you know what I love about that? They secured the viewers for the next season with that. Because - contrary to popular opinion - the shippers are *not* the main audience of the show. Yes, a lot of random viewers wonder idly about Tony and Ziva, they ask if they're finally together or flat-out assume they are. BUT these viewers don't tune in solely for that. They tune in for a good plot, for suspense, sprinkled with a good dose of team interaction and the whole of their dysfunctional family. A whole bunch of these casual viewers certainly wouldn't mind Tony and Ziva getting together, maybe some would even go "awwww" and consider this to be the cherry on top of their viewing pleasure. But this is not why they tune in each week.
So yeah, this whole season has been the season of healing for our team, of moving along, of facing and dealing with their past and their trauma and all that jazz. There's time enough for them to find happiness. We'll have a whole new season to watch this unfold, and I, personally, prefer them sane and emotionally stable and sure before they go in.
Also, a lot of people have complained about Ziva and the dress and Tony not even giving her a single glance, and I'm about to yell "FUCK YOU!" at the nearest wall because the stream of complaints on Tumblr this morning didn't want to end.
You know what, these people were dealing with a fucking national crisis. They were dealing with a fucking terrorist that threatens the Navy and the lives of hundreds of US Marines. They are dealing with someone highly resourceful, who seems to be at least two steps ahead of them at all times. There's a time and a place for everything, and this certainly wasn't one for lecherous glances and lewd leers. Tony knows that, because whenever the shit hits the fan, he gets dead serious and is lost so deeply in his job that I don't have the words for it.
Aside from that, he has gone almost out of his way ever since early season six to NOT leer at Ziva. Yes, he looks her over, but he no longer comments on his findings, and he certainly no longer lets his eyes wander as if she were the cutest sex doll he has ever set eyes on. Ever since he developed actual feelings for Ziva... he no longer treats her like a cheap fling. And especially after ToC, he treats her as gender-neutral as he can. (I can think of at least half a dozen reasons for that, but that's material for another essay.)
So yeah, just don't talk to me about how the show sucked and/because there wasn't enough Tiva. If that's all you watch it for and you didn't care at all about the rest of the (very good) plot, you should consider hopping over to Castle, after all. Or Bones. I hear they have really meaty stories solely centered around 'ships.