NCIS - 5x13 - Dog Tags
The episode opens with NCIS screeching to a halt in front of a house, with McGee taking the back as the others come up to the door. Once they're in position, Gibbs bangs on the door and yells that they've got a warrant. There's a crash inside and Tony kicks in the door.
In the back, a German Shepherd jumps out and attacks McGee. His gun goes flying and he tries to reach for it as the dog rips into his arm.
Inside, they find a dead body that's been mauled pretty bad. Just as they realize that McGee's not inside yet, they hear a gunshot and rush out back. He's shot the dog, which is bleeding but still alive, and is holding his bleeding arm.
Cut to later. Jimmy's checking the dog, and Ducky's taking care of McGee.
Ducky: When did you last have a tetanus shot?
McGee: Probably after that time Dicky Newsome and I were fighting over the galactic hunt Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Tony: So last year some time?
Ziva's apparently a dog person. She gets ticked at Tony when he refers to him as an "it."
And for once Jimmy knows more than Ducky when it comes to treating a patient. Apparently he spent two summers working as a veterinary assistant during college, which means Ducky can worry about the body.
It looks like McGee's got a bite on his neck as well.
Anyway, apparently they had a warrant for the victim because he worked for a drug enforcement unit. Except that he enforced it for everyone but himself.
Ducky: Given the prevalence of bite marks, torn flesh, puncture wounds... I'd postulate that Petty Office Hansen was the victim of a dog attack.
Gibbs: Really going out on a limb there, Duck.
Ducky: That assumption is further substantiated by the presence of a dog at the scene of the crime.
Tony: [fake British accent] By cracky, Dr. Mallard, I believe you've solved the case.
[Everyone turns to stare at him.]
Ziva: Did you wake up in the wrong bed this morning?
The suspect's been dead for almost thirty-six hours.
"Play dead."
Hee! Ziva's looking under the bed, and Tony snaps a shot of her ass. Gibbs headslaps him pretty much instantly.
She's found cocaine under his bed that looks like it was bitten into. Which might explain why the dog went crazy.
McGee pulls into NCIS, and Abby freaks when she sees that he was attacked.
Abby: Did you provoke it?
McGee: If you consider serving a warrant provoking.
Once she sees the dog, Abby starts ignoring him and immediately turns her attention to the dog. She glares at him when she realizes that McGee's the one who shot the dog.
"Dogs don't kill people. People kill people."
Yeah. She's a bit pissed at him.
"Good dog. Bad McGee!"
Jenny comes downstairs to tell Gibbs that the dead man's commander thinks that the case has been solved. She tells him to hurry and solve the case.
She turns to walk away, and he stands there. Jenny turns around to ask him if there's something else, and he doesn't say anything as he turns and leaves.
Poor McGee. Tony starts talking about Cujo, and he starts freaking out a bit.
Gibbs tells everyone to get back to work. After Tony and Ziva leave, he stops at McGee's desk for just a second to ask if he's okay. I love how his voice gets quiet and worried for a second. He doesn't show it often, but it's obvious that he cares for his team.
Abby: [to dog] Who's a good Jethro.
Gibbs: I'm a good Jethro.
Methinks Abby's gotten a little attached to the dog. She's bound and determined to prove that the dog's innocent.
At the base, Tony and Ziva are trying to get information from some of the dead man's colleagues. Neither of them's having much luck.
As they're looking over the body, Ducky notices that some of the wounds seem sharper than he would have expected from a dog bite. Then McGee comes in.
Ducky: Did you get your shots, Timothy?
McGee: I feel like a dartboard. I guess that's better than being a chew toy.
Hee! Poor McGee's still worried about rabies.
"I will yield the floor to young Palmer here and allow our resident dog expert to explain to you why you do not have rabies."
I must admit that I adore the little grin Jimmy gets when Ducky yields the floor to him. It's absolutely adorable.
Gibbs makes Ducky go with him to break the bad news to Abby that the dog was apparently the killer. When they walk into her lab, she's dancing with Jethro.
Abby refuses to believe that the dog's guilty. Just as she's about to get into an argument with Ducky, her computer pops up with a DNA match on the dog's saliva.
"Shake the tree, see what falls."
Gibbs tells Tony and Ziva to head to the car. They're going to go talk with the possible suspects again. He leaves poor McGee sitting there, without anything to do.
Abby calls Gibbs to tell her that she found a flea. She's grasping at straws, trying to prove that Jethro's innocent.
"Sometimes Ducky's wrong! I mean, not often. Maybe one time."
He tells her that he's sorry but she can't keep the dog. They're going to have to give him back, which means he'll be put to death.
I love how he keeps mentioning that the dog attacked McGee. I'm getting the impression that it really worried him, which is really sweet. And that's not something that I get to say about Gibbs all that often.
Abby: Gibbs, look at his eyes. Does he look like a killer?
Gibbs: You are just making this rougher on yourself, Abs.
As Gibbs leaves, heading toward the car, he sees Ducky talking to Jenny. He knows that it's probably about the tests that she was having run off the record. She meets Gibbs' eyes for a second before walking off.
A woman shows up to pick up the dog, and McGee rambles a bit about how he loves dogs.
Woman: What kind of dog do you have?
McGee: Uh, I don't. Yet. But I might. Will. Soon, very soon. I just need to find the right girl. Dog. Girl dog. I want a girl dog. I like boys, though, of course...
Gibbs: Don't ask, don't tell, McGee.
McGee tells Gibbs that he'll take the petty officer down to Abby's lab to pick up the dog.
"You can call me Erica."
They get down to the lab, only to find out that both Abby and the dog have disappeared. McGee gets an "oh crap" look on his face as he realizes what's happened.
Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva are interviewing everyone. And they're pissing off a lot of people.
Oh. My. God. Abby has the most adorable car known to mankind.
"I'm looking for fleas."
Abby opens the car door in front of the crime scene, and the dog immediately jumps out of the car. He starts barking wildly as he runs toward the house. He runs to a wooded area behind the house and starts digging.
McGee calls her to ask her where she's taken the dog when she sees what Jethro's dug up. It's some type of skeleton.
"Careful, Mr. Palmer. We're trying to take bones out of the ground, not put mine in."
It's not a human skeleton. It's a dog.
Hee! Erica walks into the bullpen, and she completely ignores Tony. He's more than a little surprised to hear her say "Timothy."
And now Abby's locked McGee out. She's completely ignoring McGee as he tries to get in.
Abby: I can't hear you, McGee.
McGee: If you can't hear me, why did you answer?
Her reaction? Turning the music up.
She's not planning on leaving until she's managed to prove that Jethro's innocent. And she's ready to lock herself in for several days.
The suspect's got a girlfriend in Panama. He lied about being sick so that he could get medicine for her son.
Ziva tells him that she'll forget what he just told her if he tells her who on his crew has been acting suspiciously. He tells her that he doesn't know, and they all know that he's telling the truth.
Cut to the elevator. Jenny walks in with Gibbs, and he gives her a look. She stops the elevator and asks her if she's sick. Jenny tells him that she's fine.
Now it's Jenny who's trying to convince Abby to hand over the dog. Then they both notice that the dog really doesn't look that good.
"Sometimes things aren't so simple, Abby. Sometimes you can't control the outcome. Sometimes you have to look at the reality in front of you and accept it."
McGee turns on his TV, and the image of a barking dog appears on the screen. He immediately jumps back.
Ziva: Finding inspiration?
Tony: Whenever I can. He's my personal McMuse.
And they've got a suspect.
Gibbs tells Tony and Ziva to come with him, and McGee goes: "Boss?" It's really tentative, and he grins when Gibbs tells him to come too.
Ziva sees blood, and she climbs up to try finding where it's coming from. She's found their suspect - or, at least, his body. Someone's killed him.
"Jittery partner."
Hee! Probie-One Kenobi. That's a good one.
McGee: Wait a second. What, do you want me to dust the whole plane by myself?
Tony: Just the flat surfaces where you can lift a print. Yeah, the whole plane.
In the morgue, Abby brings the dog in. He's suddenly started coughing up blood. They quickly set up the x-ray machine to find out what's wrong.
There's something in his stomach that doesn't belong.
Abby: Ducky, you do know what you're doing right?
Ducky: Well, the fact that he's breathing does put me somewhat out of my element.
For once, it's Jimmy who's the expert instead of Ducky. In a lot of ways, it's more like the blind leading the blind.
Ducky tells Abby that she might want to leave, but she refuses.
Whoa. The dog swallowed the tip of a knife. And it's the same knife that was used to kill the dog that they found buried behind the dead man's house.
Hee! Gibbs tells McGee to go with him, leaving Tony to work on the fingerprints.
Abby's taking up a collection for Jethro.
McGee: Why would I give flowers to a dog that attacked me?
Abby: Um, maybe because dog is man's best friend? Or maybe because I am a forensic scientist, and I could boil you from the inside out and never leave a trace.
[McGee quickly pulls out some money.]
McGee's found out what type of knife it was that killed the victim.
It was Erica who was smuggling the drugs. She killed the drug sniffing dog and replaced him with an attack dog so that she'd have one that didn't react to cocaine.
As they start to arrest her, her dog starts to attack. They quickly slam the door shut.
Gibbs asked the base commander if Abby could keep Jethro, and he said "yes." Except her landlord said "no."
Abby: You have been looking for a dog, Timmy.
McGee: That dog tasted my blood, and I think he liked it.
Abby: Okay, sometimes you have to look at the reality in front of you and just accept it. You are taking Jethro. Accept it.
McGee agrees to take in Jethro, albeit reluctantly. Very reluctantly.
Then they shake, which is sort of adorable.
And then Jethro growls, which doesn't exactly bode well for the future.
So, uh, this episode had its moments, but it just felt off to me. I mean, Abby seemed really OOC at times. And it just seemed odd that she pretty much ignored the fact that the dog attacked McGee after the first ten seconds or so. That was a pretty nasty bite! That's not normal characterization for Abby, to focus completely on the dog and ignore the fact that it hurt Tim pretty badly.
And then she forced him to take the dog home with him! I mean, his apartment's not exactly huge to begin with (unless he's gotten a new one that we haven't seen yet), especially not for a dog that size. And it's obvious that the dog doesn't like him. That's not a good combination, though I expect they're probably going to play it for laughs in the future.