NCIS: Sydney Season 3 Episode 2 Review: Free Bluebird!

Critic’s Rating: 4.2 / 5.0

4.2

Blue has one hell of a story, doesn’t she?

After the harrowing events of NCIS: Sydney Season 3 Episode 2, it feels like we have a better understanding of Bluebird than we ever did before.

But what’s most interesting about what transpired is how they move forward with her, since the revelations about her background can’t simply disappear.

Doc and Blue Are NCIS: Sydney’s Best Love Story

Indeed, most people who tune into series will sometimes find themselves drawn in by dynamics that could potentially evolve romantically.

And NCIS: Sydney certainly has that, primarily with Mackey and JD, and maybe even with DeShawn and Evie, depending on how one interprets their dynamic.

But truthfully, the most compelling aspect of NCIS: Sydney is how much they’ve become this ragtag team of misfits that have formed a “found family.”

It’s my favorite trope of all the tropes, and since the series’ inception, everything about Doc and Blue has warmed the cockles of my heart. They have such a close bond, and it took a while to form.

Somewhere along the way, Blue went from this happy-go-lucky nuisance that got under Doc’s skin to something akin to a daughter, and it’s no surprise that he’s the one who took her absence the hardest and couldn’t just accept that she went off the grid and wouldn’t talk to any of them anymore.

When he took it upon himself to break into her apartment, I cheered, and his blase reaction to the authorities arresting him was hilarious, since apparently it wasn’t his first rodeo in that regard.

But I’m grateful for Doc and the spidey senses — or dare I say the instincts of that of a father — he just knew in his gut that something was wrong with Blue, and he was right.

If he didn’t pursue that further, there’s no telling what would have happened with Blue.

He didn’t let the others deter him from his belief that something was wrong. Fortunately, the entire team showed up for him, and once they got a proper look around Blue’s apartment, they knew he was onto something.

However, it was the remains in the ceiling that kicked things into overdrive.

Blue’s Cards Are Laid Bare for All Now

Admittedly, my heart broke for Blue because she has always been a private person who kept her past close to the vest. Now, we understand why.

But even for people who don’t have quite the sordid, traumatizing past like Blue, it’s so discomforting when people you put up a healthy boundary with suddenly know you — really know you.

The team needed to investigate her background to understand what had happened.

Still, all of her dirty laundry lay bare for the team was something that made my heart sink because I’m familiar with that feeling — the genuine fear of being “known” and “seen” for everything that you are — the power that it gives people, even those you care about and trust, the loss of control in that.

It’s something that Mackey probably understood too, because it was such a small moment, but she did keep Evie and DeShawn from treading too much into Blue’s sanctuary — where her bedroom was and going through all of that. The gesture was subtle, but meaningful.

We always knew Blue likely had a dark past. Still, it was no less heartbreaking to witness the interrogation footage of her as an unkempt teenager who scored an assault charge for fighting back against an authority figure, getting physical with her.

Blue’s Past Jeopardizes Her Future at the Agency

It definitely sounds like a trumped-up charge, and I could see and hear how terrified young Blue was. The others were in shock over it, but Doc’s reaction was the more visceral, barely concealed rage of a protective paternal figure.

Unsurprisingly, the situation unraveled, and the team discovered that, aside from the bones belonging to her own father, she had a fake name and all her legal documents were fraudulent. She even managed to keep her eight years in prison — a juvenile facility — under wraps, mainly because those are often sealed.

In wanting to find their friend and ensure that she was okay, they all realized that they knew nothing about her at all. And that’s a worrisome prospect for their job.

Ideally, they can keep all of this to themselves, but chances are they won’t be able to, and one has to wonder how the agencies will handle this situation. Blue isn’t a bad person; she’s just the woman we know and love. But if anyone else did what she did — someone harmful?

It places everything and everyone at risk, constituting a breach that is beyond words.

Blue’s Relationship with Eli May Be Ruined Before It Begins Again

The only thing I can think of is that they’ll keep this information under wraps. Most of what they discovered, they did on their own, and Trigger, as mysterious as he is, doesn’t seem like someone who would turn on them.

I love a good cult plot, and this one hit all the notes. We had a weird family living on a commune in the middle of nowhere who were resistant to the government and others on their land.

Aspira was a classic self-serving, manipulative leader who had everyone under her control. And then the whole bit with everyone having to “ascend” in some Jim Jones foolery that made me roll my eyes.

What would they have done with their whole Gemini Ascension thing if Blue didn’t go with Aspira? Would they have gone through with things, and it wouldn’t have mattered as long as they still had Eli?

Blue’s reunion with Eli was nice enough, but it was tarnished by his being so deep into the cult that there was no saving him.

Even with everything Blue was saying at the dinner, he still drank the rat poison. Eli is a true believer, and he’s not willing to see that Aspira was screwing them all over so she could sell the land they worked and take off.

The woman was willing to lure people into mass suicide just to skeddadle with money. She was horrendous!

NCIS: Sydney Always Nails the Humor Amid the Action and High Emotions

Where Blue and her brother go from here is something they’ll likely explore further as the season progresses, but I’m more intrigued by her discovery of her paternal grandmother and their first meeting.

That woman was over the moon meeting Blue, and that was such a special moment, made even better by the fact that Blue introduced her grandmother to Doc and said that he was her family, too. I’m not saying my eyes welled up for anything, but I did go searching for a Claritin, because it’s allergy season, you see. That’s all!

The highlight of the episode was the recurring bits about astrology. Blue and Eli representing the Gemini twins was one thing, but Evie trying to pinpoint DeShawn’s star sign based on his personality traits is the type of fun that you can always anticipate from those two.

Of course, Mackey, quoting ALL the best action movies, because our girl has taste! I would happily watch a movie marathon with her in a heartbeat.

The Top Gun reference was great, and I love Die Hard, but she really outdid herself with the Die Hard spin on Aspira’s name.

Blue is a character that can be hit or miss for some viewers, but it was a strong hour that explored her thoroughly, and hopefully, it means that we’ll have her back in action again by the next installment. And if she gets to work alongside Trigger, I won’t be disappointed!

Over to you, NCIS: Sydney Fanatics! Did you enjoy the background Blue? Let’s dig into it below. Comments, shares, and likes are super helpful to a small indie site like ours, so we appreciate your support!

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