Rebecca should be writing fanfiction!
Seriously, I'm working on a fanfic right now that just doesn't seem to end. Oh, well. Tonight's new episode was so good!
Notes for episode 8x15 Defiance
Writers: George Schenck & Frank Cardea (Broken Arrow)
NB: So, we've had Cracked, Recruited, Freedom, and now Defiance. Good season for one-word episode titles.
+ What a great opening! It was so different from the usual opening scenes, and it had me hooked on this episode right away. Even though we all knew Tony and McGee were never really going to lose their badges, it was fun seeing the results first and trying to guess at what had happened. I also loved getting to see Gibbs, Tony, and McGee all dressed-down and scruffy-looking. We don't see them like that often, and it suits them.
+ I also liked how they cut between the delegates arriving at the embassy and the terrorists building a bomb. Yeah, it did feel kinda stupid that the show made up a country (Belgravia), but wow, they actually got a Hillary Clinton look-alike to appear as her.
- But ugh, that bullpen scene. Tony morphing the rest of the team's photos to put silly faces on them and finding it so funny? How old is he, 12? And doing it in the bullpen where of course Gibbs is going to see it (because Gibbs always catches them at stuff like that) is even stupider. I was really surprised Schenck & Cardea did this, because they don't usually overplay him for laughs like other writers.
+ But yes, Tony's photoshopped version of Abby's photo was ridiculously adorable, and so was him hanging it up behind his desk, and how Ziva smiled at it. Awww.
+ "She's a female you, Timmy." Haha.
+ "Six years in America changes you." Adriana has been in the country for the same length of time as Ziva. I thought this line was subtle and well-done, because Ziva really has changed a lot since she first joined the team. This was a little over-addressed back in Dead Air, and I think now I might've liked it better had it been more subtle.
- What sort of accents were Adriana and her father supposed to have? Maybe it was something we weren't supposed to think too hard about.
+ Wow, Adriana sure did start flirting with McGee fast.
+ I loved Gibbs crashing on one of the autopsy tables (I think he last did this back in Double Identity last seen) and his conversation with Ducky when he and Jimmy found him there. God loves Ducky!
- Adriana was against protection detail because she didn't want her boyfriend to find out who she really was. Yeah, because dishonesty like that is so important in a relationship.
+/- Ziva and McGee discussing how long their team would last. I liked it because it felt realistic and after all, Gibbs's team has been together for a really long time now. But on the other hand, we all know that the writers will do whatever's necessary to preserve the team and the show for as long as possible, so what's the point in discussing it like things will actually change?
+ Oh. My. Gosh. How adorable was that scene between Tony and Abby in the bullpen? Especially how Tony kept running around trying to avoid answering her question, then came clean and admitted the truth. Awww. I freaking love them together! They're always so cute, and I wish the show gave us more scenes between them.
+ I really liked Ziva's conversation with Adriana about their daddy issues. But I do feel Schenck & Cardea overdid the parallels there just a bit.
- EWWW at Ducky and Jimmy picking shrapnel out of the sergeant's body. This was an especially icky autopsy scene for me.
+ McGee asking "Are you decent?" before he went into the bathroom after Adriana. See what a gentleman McGee is? I love Tony too, but we all know he probably would've made some immature, frat-boy comment here. I think McGee tends to be more chivalrous towards women because he has a younger sister.
- McGee letting Adriana answer the door by herself. Yeah, it was stupid of him, but hey, all the characters on this show do inexplicably dumb things once in a while. Remember when Tony and Ziva left their witness alone back in Jetlag?
+ Didn't you love how McGee manned up and took responsibility after Adriana was kidnapped? What a guy! And didn't you love how Gibbs said it wasn't McGee's fault, but his?
+ I loved Gibbs sending Tony, Ziva, and McGee back to the crime scene and them sneaking in past the FBI. The banter and interaction between the Three Musketeers was so great here. Bonus points for Ziva's delicious blue coat!
+ The confrontation between Gibbs and Vance in his office was well-done and intense. Vance accused Gibbs of looking the other way and not following the rules again (and let's be honest, Gibbs does this a lot; I discussed this more back in my review for Royals and Loyals). Gibbs accused Vance of blaming his agents for something that they couldn't have prevented and threatening to take their badges over it like a big bully. Yeah, don't mess with Gibbs's team.
- "Do you think she was really into me, or it was just part of an act?" Aw, poor McGee. Love interests and flirting opportunities almost always go to Tony or Ziva, and when he does finally get one, something goes horribly wrong -- like with the undercover assassin he dated back in Endgame, or the chick who stole his credit cards in Designated Target. Poor guy.
+ Gibbs called Ziva "Ziver!" More bonus points for that.
+ Abby helping Tony get over his fear of donating blood. Again, I just love those two! So adorable.
? The final freeze-frame of Gibbs and Vance glaring at each other across the mezzanine.
Notes for episode 8x15 Defiance
Writers: George Schenck & Frank Cardea (Broken Arrow)
NB: So, we've had Cracked, Recruited, Freedom, and now Defiance. Good season for one-word episode titles.
+ What a great opening! It was so different from the usual opening scenes, and it had me hooked on this episode right away. Even though we all knew Tony and McGee were never really going to lose their badges, it was fun seeing the results first and trying to guess at what had happened. I also loved getting to see Gibbs, Tony, and McGee all dressed-down and scruffy-looking. We don't see them like that often, and it suits them.
+ I also liked how they cut between the delegates arriving at the embassy and the terrorists building a bomb. Yeah, it did feel kinda stupid that the show made up a country (Belgravia), but wow, they actually got a Hillary Clinton look-alike to appear as her.
- But ugh, that bullpen scene. Tony morphing the rest of the team's photos to put silly faces on them and finding it so funny? How old is he, 12? And doing it in the bullpen where of course Gibbs is going to see it (because Gibbs always catches them at stuff like that) is even stupider. I was really surprised Schenck & Cardea did this, because they don't usually overplay him for laughs like other writers.
+ But yes, Tony's photoshopped version of Abby's photo was ridiculously adorable, and so was him hanging it up behind his desk, and how Ziva smiled at it. Awww.
+ "She's a female you, Timmy." Haha.
+ "Six years in America changes you." Adriana has been in the country for the same length of time as Ziva. I thought this line was subtle and well-done, because Ziva really has changed a lot since she first joined the team. This was a little over-addressed back in Dead Air, and I think now I might've liked it better had it been more subtle.
- What sort of accents were Adriana and her father supposed to have? Maybe it was something we weren't supposed to think too hard about.
+ Wow, Adriana sure did start flirting with McGee fast.
+ I loved Gibbs crashing on one of the autopsy tables (I think he last did this back in Double Identity last seen) and his conversation with Ducky when he and Jimmy found him there. God loves Ducky!
- Adriana was against protection detail because she didn't want her boyfriend to find out who she really was. Yeah, because dishonesty like that is so important in a relationship.
+/- Ziva and McGee discussing how long their team would last. I liked it because it felt realistic and after all, Gibbs's team has been together for a really long time now. But on the other hand, we all know that the writers will do whatever's necessary to preserve the team and the show for as long as possible, so what's the point in discussing it like things will actually change?
+ Oh. My. Gosh. How adorable was that scene between Tony and Abby in the bullpen? Especially how Tony kept running around trying to avoid answering her question, then came clean and admitted the truth. Awww. I freaking love them together! They're always so cute, and I wish the show gave us more scenes between them.
+ I really liked Ziva's conversation with Adriana about their daddy issues. But I do feel Schenck & Cardea overdid the parallels there just a bit.
- EWWW at Ducky and Jimmy picking shrapnel out of the sergeant's body. This was an especially icky autopsy scene for me.
+ McGee asking "Are you decent?" before he went into the bathroom after Adriana. See what a gentleman McGee is? I love Tony too, but we all know he probably would've made some immature, frat-boy comment here. I think McGee tends to be more chivalrous towards women because he has a younger sister.
- McGee letting Adriana answer the door by herself. Yeah, it was stupid of him, but hey, all the characters on this show do inexplicably dumb things once in a while. Remember when Tony and Ziva left their witness alone back in Jetlag?
+ Didn't you love how McGee manned up and took responsibility after Adriana was kidnapped? What a guy! And didn't you love how Gibbs said it wasn't McGee's fault, but his?
+ I loved Gibbs sending Tony, Ziva, and McGee back to the crime scene and them sneaking in past the FBI. The banter and interaction between the Three Musketeers was so great here. Bonus points for Ziva's delicious blue coat!
+ The confrontation between Gibbs and Vance in his office was well-done and intense. Vance accused Gibbs of looking the other way and not following the rules again (and let's be honest, Gibbs does this a lot; I discussed this more back in my review for Royals and Loyals). Gibbs accused Vance of blaming his agents for something that they couldn't have prevented and threatening to take their badges over it like a big bully. Yeah, don't mess with Gibbs's team.
- "Do you think she was really into me, or it was just part of an act?" Aw, poor McGee. Love interests and flirting opportunities almost always go to Tony or Ziva, and when he does finally get one, something goes horribly wrong -- like with the undercover assassin he dated back in Endgame, or the chick who stole his credit cards in Designated Target. Poor guy.
+ Gibbs called Ziva "Ziver!" More bonus points for that.
+ Abby helping Tony get over his fear of donating blood. Again, I just love those two! So adorable.
? The final freeze-frame of Gibbs and Vance glaring at each other across the mezzanine.