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

[karababe_64]

His staying after Hiatus could be at least partly a loyalty to Gibbs in that he didn't want to let Gibbs down in his choice of Tony to take over the team. But I think that there would also be a certain level of loyalty to team in the decision as well. But it is quite possible that he started at NCIS because of loyalty to Gibbs and then it partly transfered to the team and now he has split loyalty because I would imagine it would be very hard for him to choose between Gibbs and the team, especially considering recent events.

He certainly is protective of those he is close to. That has been shown not only towards Gibbs but also with Abby in Bloodbath and even his recent actions with the whole Ziva thing can be considered to be driven by a need to protect those he cares about. The looking for different possibilities I think comes down to the way he thinks, he often doesn't view things in a traditional way. It could be because he was a LEO but I think a lot of it is just who he is.

Totally agree! ;-)

[little_ozzo]

I think he stayed initially out of that loyalty to Gibbs, but I wonder if like you say, it transferred and is now a little bit split. And, because I thingk about these things far too much, I wonder how split the rest of the team's loyalty would be, if it came down to Gibbs and Tony - not that I think that'll happen anytime soon! I think Tony would be surprised and horrified if anyone chose him over Gibbs, though I think at the moment that McGee might.

Protective!Tony is one of my favourite things ever - I adore him stalking around behind Abby in Bloodbath and how very on-the-ball he is in that episode, and the way Gibbs and him really work together to protect her. I also love in Murder 2.0 - the one with the internet-filmed murder, is that the right episode? I think so - when they've left the office with Gibbs despite the threats to his life, and Tony mutters in kind of resigned frustration that he wishes Gibbs had stayed in the car. And Gibbs is like, "Shut up or I'll shoot you", like he's been harping on about it because he's such

[karababe_64]

I think most of the team's loyalty would be to Gibbs first but I think that Ducky and maybe also McGee and possibily Abby would make a decision based on who they believed was right in a situation which means that they might be willing to switch loyalty to Tony if they felt Gibbs was in the wrong.

There is also the ep in season one where he gets mad that Gibbs takes off the bulletproof vest. And protective Tony is HOT! ;-)

He would certainly be lost if he couldn't do the job anymore, even with the support of Gibbs and the team. That's one of the reasons I find it hard to believe he every really considered going off with Jeanne, because it would have been highly likely she would have allowed him to continue being a cop. The fact that he can be considered to be wearing a "mask" in his everyday life is definitly one of the reasons why he is so great undercover. I think it also allows him to be someone else for a little while and not worry about if people like the real him or not.

[little_ozzo]

I'd agree, I think most of them would go with Gibbs first - although I'm really shaky about McGee. I think he's got Tony's back, especially from what we've seen this year, and would go with him rather than Gibbs. Although I don't think Tony would ever make them choose - if he and Gibbs did get pitted against one another in some way, which I hope never happens because I love them too much, I think Tony would just walk away. I don't know, I just like rambling about Tony far too much! ;-)

Oh my God, I love that episode, where he's in the car growling and annoyed, eating a sandwich! Love him! And the whole thing about refusing the Rota team to stay behind and watch over Gibbs - one of my favourite things about his character ever!Yeah, I think he loves his job a lot, even when it's crappy. That's why his comments about things being "ridiculous" in 7x01 upset me so much - I like semi-burnout Tony in some fics, but the idea of him losing his innate dedication to his job really upsets me - because he's so good at it and seems to be made for

[karababe_64]

That's very true about him walking away, simply because he wouldn't think he could compete against the loyalty Gibbs has even if he was in the right. And I think he also tries to protect that loyalty towards Gibbs that the others have, by hiding instances when his own opinion of Gibbs might have dropped slightly. Nothing wrong with rambling, as long as it's about Tony. :D

I interpretated that comment as if he was undercover. He didn't want to have to tell with another team mate while they were searching for Ziva/seeking revenge, so he tried to make the job look as horrible as possible. There might have been a little personal dissatisfaction but I don't think it was sign of him losing his dedication. If anything I think his frustration over the politics and trust issues in Cloak are more of a sign of being over his job. That definitly makes sense (at least to my sleep deprived brain), while we didn't really see a lot of that personal struggle on screen I think that he was definitly trying to deal with being two very different people

[little_ozzo]

I love that - Tony protecting everyone's loyalty towards Gibbs - that would be so very typical of him

[karababe_64]

For most of s6 it was like he was a breaking point, which is fair enough considering everything he has been through in the last few years. And it is good that they do actually have him at that point because it would be unrealistic for him to continually shugg things off without it affecting him in some way, not to mention the extra Tony!angst. But I do wish they had addressed it differently, and showing that Gibbs had noticed that Tony was in trouble and possibly have him trying to help Tony get past it. I rememeber reading/watching an interview with MW and he said that he felt that Tony was trying too hard to keep things normal and that is why the humour felt forced and over the top. Despite having high hopes for him this season, don't forget that s6 started well and then things went quickly downhill so I'm not holding my breath! He has always been a private person, even though it may not seem that way at first glance, I don't think that part is acting

[little_ozzo]

Yeah, he was definitely on a kind of edge through S6, acting out in order to disguise just how very lost he was feeling, I think. I think it was self-preservation - he maybe felt a lot more vulnerable, being back after four months away, and so he was kind of trying to act like Tony from earlier seasons because he thought it might hide how very screwed up he actually was. And the awful thing is I think it worked, I think people did get fooled into thinking he was just being a silly, OTT fratboy. I think everyone was pretty screwed up in S6, and all dealing with their own issues - and I think his act came partly out of a desire to make thigns seem normal again. And for him, normal is season 1, 2 and 3, or at least the parts of those that weren't fraught. I think Gibbs did start to notice, especially during Bounce, SxSW and Knockout, but it wasn't explicitly stated that he had and that's me being subjective. But because Gibbs was being even more detached than usual in his own fucked up way, he didn't do very much about it

[karababe_64]

I guess that Gibbs did try in his own way to help with the comment in Knockout and I loved the "I'm proud of you" moment but it was probably too little too late to make any serious impact. But yeah everyone was screwed up and that was one of the reasons I disliked the seaon so much. It would have been much better if they had just had Tony and maybe one of the others dealing with emotional issues instead of everyone being almost ooc and there being no decent on-screen explanation for any of it (don't even get me started on McGee's "I lost all my money in the GFC" excuse). Because while Tony's breakdown can be justified and Gibbs withdrawing because of the team being split up makes sense, it comes back to the fact that we have to come up with justifications ourselves to help keep everything realistic and in character. And that's just bad writing

[little_ozzo]

Yeah, Gibbs’ acknowledgement of Tony’s ace job despite everything going on with him wasn’t exactly before time, LOL, but it does fit in with my idea that Gibbs detached himself from the team in S6 so much. But, like you say, the fact that we’re having to come up with these justifications ourselves isn’t really right - I’m all for TV shows making me work a little harder when I watch, and making me think, but when what I’m thinking is almost entirely built on my own, mostly unsupported subjective interpretation, something feels a little wrong. I don’t want it spelled out for me, but I do want at least some verification that my thoughts are vaguely on the right track, or even that they’re completely wrong - just something! (I won’t get you started on McGee, LOL, don’t worry, I actually kind of enjoyed him being a dick just because it was interesting and it’s nice to see a main character being allowed a flaw like that, but totally understand being really annoyed at him too. But again, there was one possible excuse the writers offered us

[karababe_64]

McGee has never been my favourite character so his attitude, especially towards Tony, really annoyed me. It's fine for a characters to have flaws, and a seperiour attitude is natural for an oldest child who is an overachiever, but we don't have to like them.

So far the only emotional fallout has been in the season opener which concerns me. I would have expected a little more by now if they were going down that road. Then again maybe because things have calmed down a little he is able to get back on track and we won't see anything until something else major comes along.

Thanks, but I do need all the luck I can get! *g* I'm not normally this bad, usually I'll fall asleep at around 12:30-1am but I have no idea why I'm having so much trouble at the moment. Maybe it's an unconcious attempt to sabotage myself (it's been known to happen) or maybe it's just the heat. I had my first exam today and the final one will be on the 16th of November. Can't wait!

[little_ozzo]

You're right, it wasn't a particularly nice characteristic, and I hope they keep it toned down this season because I've always quite liked McGee and would prefer him occasionally bitchy to overly malicious. But because I've always liked Tim, I of course find ways to justify his behaviour to myself! ;-)

I have absolutely no idea what the writers are going to do, if they're working up to something, or if the vague, brief emotional fallout we've had so far is all we're going to get. At the moment, Tony seems to be doing things okay - he's dealing with extra responsibility quite well, is making a lot of fun jokes but not going too overboard, and is interacting well with his teammates. That's how it is to my eye, obviously, YMMV. But there's a sense that something is going on behind what we're being shown, or maybe that's just my feeling that we haven't had things explained coming into play. I'm not certain of what the characters are feeling, so again, I'm projecting and coming up with subjective theories! *sigh* What I would like to see

[karababe_64]

The only thing I've noticed is when he is interacting with Ziva, like he wants to tell her something but then stops himself, or he is trying to figure out something about her. The times that Tony has revealed something has been when they are working a case so I think that is a possibility. Although now with the news about his father appearing I think it is very likely there is going to be emotional fallout in that ep. And I was obviously wrong about the likely hood on him appearing this season!

I can't live without my electric blanket in winter and it doesn't get nearly as cold as I imagine it would where you are. I don't know how you put up with it, I can't stand being cold. But at the same time I don't cope well with it being really hot. I'm very hard to please. *g*

Exam results come out in the first week on December so it's not too long a wait.

[little_ozzo]

Firstly: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! *showers you with balloons and sparkles and Tony!clones!* Hope you have a lovely day and enjoy your lie-in! :-)
LOL, I was really surprised to get the news that his dad would be in this season - I wonder if he's the "angry father" that was mentioned in an interview?! I have my fingers, toes, and everything else possible crossed for some kind of emotional fallout. All I can do is wait, obviously, to see what they're going to do, but I have to admit I am hoping that they don't make him into just a nice guy who has just made some msitakes after his wife's death (I hope we get more info on that, too) and too much to drink. I want some payoff for all the angst Tony has hinted or accidentally let slip regarding his past, I don't want his dad's neglect of him to be written off! I'm already half terrified and half excited

[karababe_64]

Thank you :D I've had a nice relaxing day, slept until 11am and then had a lazy afternoon. Just what I needed :-)

He could be the "angry father". It would be good if he is as it would keep in with our current perceptions of him. I'm not overly fussed as to how they portray him just as long as they do it so well that I don't care if I had the wrong idea about him. They shouldn't ignore what we have learnt previously but if they do it by just having made mistakes in the past, then I'll be fine with that even though it's not currently how I view him.

The lowest it gets here is about 10-15C in winter during the day. Melbourne is famous for it's flucating weather so it can be 35C one day and 20C the next. I've never had a problem with my blanket and in winter it's pretty much on 24/7!