the_navy_yard | Tony's Tuesday Review

Episode: 9.24 Till Death Do Us Part (contains spoilers)
Reviewed by: dragonheart
Caf-pow Rating: 4.5 out 5 caf-pows
Review: Episode Review (1151 words)

I was feeling some trepidation along with excitement for this episode.

The excitement is easy to explain – all you had to do was follow the spoilers and see all the hype for the episode, it was impossible not to be excited, and if you know me – you know I am all about the spoilers and speculation, so I was pretty amped up for it.

But, hype is a double edged sword because rarely does the episode live up to it and viewers are left feeling vaguely disappointed (Pyramid anyone?)

But, I am happy to say that this finale very nearly lived up to its hype – which is saying quite a lot, as I believe that’s its nearly impossible to pull off a flawless episode – let alone a flawless finale (except the finale for Once Upon A Time – because that one WAS flawless).

I really like how Gary Glasberg and the writers set up the arc in 9.21 Rekindled and carried it through subsequent episodes in a paced manner. It wasn’t rushed, yet it didn’t lag either.

I thought the plot was imaginative and was different from what we had seen in the past and that it went back to the Navy themed roots of the show, I have been missing those. There can only be so many dead bodies in Rock Creek Park before you have to question if murderers and their victims are the only people who frequent it.

The arc had some nice tie backs to the season premiere and what we learned of the Phantom 8 in Nature of the Beast, yet introduced a new bad guy (Harper Dearing – more on him later) with a twist to the story of the microchips and how they relate to national security. I liked that we saw Jonathan Cole again and that he got a chance to sort of redeem himself (he was once a decorated military hero who later got mixed up in bad business that kind of ate his soul, so he wasn’t always evil, and he did have some good left in him when push came to shove – those are the types of bad guys that I like).

In hindsight, all the interconnectedness gave the season a cohesive feel – and you could tell it wasn’t done haphazardly as you could see it playing out throughout the season. I actually believe Gary Glasberg when he said he had a plan for the season – I can see that now.

Harper Dearing – our newest and most deadly bad guy. I do wish the writers had fleshed him out just a bit more; but then again maybe it’s a good thing to leave some things to the imagination when it comes to our villains. We do know that he is rich, resourceful, intelligent, ruthless, and relentless with an all-consuming grudge against the US Navy - which he blames for the death of his son. From what I gather we will see him again in the Season 10 premiere and I can’t wait to see how a really ticked off Gibbs deals with him (if Gibbs survived the blast, but more on that in just a minute).

Jimmy and Breena’s wedding – part of the hype for this episode was how the terrorist plot would affect Jimmy’s wedding. I have to admit I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see at least part of the actual wedding, but then I quickly realized – NCIS just isn’t that kind of show – what we got was actually perfect. That scene between Jimmy and Breena in the hotel room made tears well up in my eyes and gave me a lump in my throat – it was adorable and I wanted to hug both of them. I think Brian Dietzen has always been an overlooked gem in the NCIS treasure chest, but season 10 just may change that, especially if the Ducky storyline plays out like I think it will.

The episode had lots of team moments and even a few shippy moments. Most of you know I ship Tony/Ziva and while I won’t go into full on fangirl shippy mode here – I will say I like the development we have seen in their relationship this season, and I applaud the way Glasberg has handled it. I think he can make them a couple and not make it a focus of each episode – much like the way he handled Jimmy’s wedding. Okay, no more shippy stuff, onto what really made this episode a stand out…

That cliffhanger!

Oh my word, we will be talking and speculating until September 25, 2012 (the unofficial season 10 premiere date) and for once – we really didn’t want to miss the final two minutes, because when it’s all said and done – that is what we will remember about this episode.

Okay, so we knew there was going to be an explosion and we knew that someone from the team was going to be in peril – maybe even killed – but did we in all our wildest dreams think it would everyone?

I didn’t!

We speculated that they would blow up the Navy Yard – but I never considered that our whole team would still be inside when it happened – and Ducky – oh my gosh! Ducky!

Let’s take a head count:

Gibbs and Abby were inside her lab when the bomb exploded (and Vance’s car where the bomb was located was parked right outside her lab’s windows) – we last saw them falling to the floor when the windows blew in with a fire ball heading their way.

McGee was in the bullpen along with some other agents and perhaps Vance when the bomb exploded. We last him with his head whipping back from the percussion wave while the window glass shattered around him.

Tony and Ziva were in the elevator after evacuating the upper floors – we last them falling to the floor of the elevator with debris raining down on top of them. We don’t know if the elevator fell or if the emergency brake held it in place.

Ducky – on the Florida beach as he took a call from someone informing him of the bomb blast at the Navy Yard. We would think that he and Palmer would be safe – but no, Ducky has an apparent heart attack and falls to the sand. Will someone find him and get him medical attention in time?

And Palmer – where is he? Is he en route back to DC? Has he already arrived and we just don’t know it? Though, I can’t see him leaving Ducky in Florida – so I have to assume Palmer is still there – perhaps he is the one who finds Ducky.

So, we have all our team in peril and we get this nugget of goodness from Michael Weatherly on twitter yesterday:

Yeah, its gonna be a long summer – and that my friends is exactly the feeling a finale should leave you with.