Critic’s Score: 4.2 / 5.0
4.2
NCIS wrapped Season 22 with an explosive finale that tied up free ends with the Nexus cartel and Alden Parker’s long-running seek for fact — solely to drop viewers right into a deeper, darker thriller.
And for those who’re something like me, you’re in all probability nonetheless processing all of it. It’s a kind of episodes that has your mind spinning and your coronary heart a little bit damaged.
So let’s dig in.
Laroche Wasn’t Soiled After All
My thought after watching NCIS Season 22 Episode 19 panned out.
In spite of everything that buildup — the suspicious habits, the surveillance, the rogue actions — we discover out Laroche was really working for the Secretary of Protection. Not simply working for him, however embedded deep contained in the Nexus cartel, pretending to be a corrupt official.
It was a dangerous transfer and actually, not probably the most good plan, contemplating how many individuals it put in danger, together with Torres, whose cowl was blown as a part of the act.
I’m torn about this twist. On the one hand, I like a redemption arc. However, I can’t assist however suppose the Secretary of Protection performed this one a little bit too near the chest. No person else knew, not even Vance. And it practically tanked the operation.
The twist that basically obtained me, although? The proof Laroche stole was on a tough drive hidden inside a recreation referred to as Wordix, like some weird crossover between NCIS and a New York Instances puzzle.
You possibly can’t make these items up. But it surely labored. They obtained the intel, even when McGee was left emotionally bruised after chasing his white whale for nothing.
Carla Marino: The Actual Villain Behind the Curtain
Then there’s Carla. Oh, Carla. I wished to consider she was only a bizarre, morally grey asset with a sketchy previous. However no. I ought to have actually seen this coming. She’s the pinnacle of Nexus.
She slithered into the operation with that faux-sexy voice and her suite-with-bad-room-service complaints, solely to go away Parker bloodied and dumped at a fuel station whereas she disappeared into the night time.
It’s a traditional villain transfer, however the private connection actually elevated it for me.
Carla had a son, Jason, who died in a bike crash 30 years in the past. The implication is that Parker knew him. Possibly even had a hand in Jason studying the reality about his mom’s legal previous.
It’s twisted, tragic, and actually, the form of interpersonal drama this present might use extra. It makes Carla’s motivations extra than simply “I would like energy” — it’s vengeance, grief, and projection all wrapped into one harmful girl.
She put the soiled bomb within the lodge room below a room service tray. For those who’re not yelling on the display screen by this level, we’re very completely different folks. After which the disarm code? 52766. Jason.
I imply, come on. That’s both heartbreakingly poetic or wildly handy. Possibly each.
Parker’s Previous Is Nonetheless Haunting Him
This complete season has been teasing Parker’s unresolved previous, and now we all know that the seek for Lily, his mom’s grave, and the reality about his childhood are extra than simply background taste.
The finale ends with Parker coming residence and discovering his father useless in his favourite chair. There’s a wine glass on the desk, full with a lipstick print.
That was a intestine punch for Parker and us. Dropping that connection hurts below any circumstance, however when the remainder of your previous is in query, much more.
It wasn’t simply the shock of his dying. It was how private it was. If Carla actually did this, and it positive appears to be like like she did, then it wasn’t simply revenge. It was a message.
And for those who suppose that’s the place the thriller ends, suppose once more. Jimmy is investigating the unique dying certificates of Parker’s mother and appears utterly rattled by what he finds. So now we have now the dying of Parker’s dad, the presumably falsified dying of his mother, and the lingering query of who Lily actually is.
Which brings me to a idea that I’m nearly scared to say out loud: What if Carla is Lily?
Wait — Is Carla Lily?
Hear me out. Parker’s been trying to find Lily for ages. Carla is clearly working below an alias.
The ages line up. Rebecca De Mornay (Carla) is just some years youthful than Gary Cole (Parker), which might assist the thought of them being siblings.
Fortunately, there’s no twisted timeline within the multiverse that makes her his mom — until we’re abruptly on an NCIS/Quantum Leap crossover.
But when she is his (half) sister, it might clarify why Parker’s dad was so evasive, why his mother’s grave stored shifting, and why nothing ever fairly added up. Possibly Lily glided by one other identify, or possibly Carla has been pulling strings for many years.
It could add up relating to storytelling guidelines basically — the frustration with one another and the banter screams sibling rivalry, even when they do not know they’re siblings.
And what might presumably make Parker’s search extra aggravating than discovering the individual haunting him was one among his largest antagonists?
It’s an extended shot, however not unattainable. And the truth that I’m nonetheless sitting right here fascinated with it hours after watching the episode says loads about how effectively they set this up.
What In regards to the Remainder of the Staff?
Whereas Parker’s world was falling aside, the remainder of the crew had some sturdy moments, too.
McGee lastly obtained closure on the Laroche arc, even when it wasn’t the vindication he thought he wished.
Jess and Nick continued to be the motion duo we by no means knew we would have liked, taking up shootouts and lodge evacuations like execs. Jess even managed to throw in a non secular trivia zinger throughout a confrontation with a white supremacist.
After which there was Kasie and Jimmy doing the investigative grunt work. Truthfully, I like after they’re within the background connecting the dots. It’s traditional NCIS and grounds the present when all the pieces else goes bonkers.
Ultimate Ideas: The place Do We Go From Right here?
We obtained closure on the Nexus cartel. We obtained solutions about Laroche. However we additionally obtained new mysteries — possibly even higher ones.
I’d like to see NCIS lean into Parker’s private story subsequent season. We all know he’s succesful and difficult, however now we all know he’s hurting. That makes for wealthy, layered storytelling.
And whereas I get that NCIS has a method that works — case of the week, gentle banter, lab scenes, motion sequences, and an enormous reveal — there’s actual potential right here to shift the tone just a bit.
NCIS: Origins reveals how good it may be once we care deeply concerning the folks behind the instances. It’s not too late for the flagship to evolve, even after 22 years of success.
So right here we’re. Laroche is gone. Carla is within the wind. And Parker’s dad is gone. However the story? The story’s simply getting began.
In order that’s a wrap on NCIS Season 22. Your transfer, NCIS Season 23.
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