Summing Up: NCIS

I'll comment on the episodes "In the Zone", "Recoil", and "About Face" very briefly before moving on to the far more impressive season finale. The trip to Baghdad in "In the Zone" is very unlike "NCIS", and branching out doesn't really add much to the show. Ziva's shooting experience in "Recoil" could have been played out a bit more dramatically, but I suppose the episode is fine. "About Face" is an utter waste of time, as I couldn't really care less about Palmer trying to solve his own case and bolster his ego.

Now, to the finale: Jenny's side plotlines were getting to be distracting, and this proved to be a fine sendoff for her character. The episode wasn't fascinatingly interesting, but it's fun to see the team try to work behind Vance's back. I can't say I'm too interested in dissecting what was really going on with Jenny and everyone else, I'll just say that I'm happy everything has been taken care of and resolved effectively. As for the last-minute shocker that the team is being dissolved, I'm pretty sure that it will prove as trivial as Gibbs' departure a few seasons back, and that everyone should be back a few episodes in. I'd love to see a new team and then have everyone incorporated, but I do worry that this will mean the definite depature of Ziva, who is such a great character, and I would really hate to see Tony go. Overall, this year bounced back after a shaky start, but hopefully a fresh beginning next year will be promising.

Season grade: C+/B-
Season finale: B+
Season MVP: Michael Wetherly (this episode)