Last time on NCIS, Bishop began her stint as a “probie” while the team raced to locate defective body armor that was sent to US troops through a charity organization. And McGee struggled to accept the reality that his girlfriend, Delilah, is in a wheelchair.
This week’s episode of NCIS, titled “Dressed to Kill,” has Tony’s father, played by guest star Robert Wagner, coming to visit and landing squarely in the middle of a mystery. This episode is also the 250th episode of the series, which is quite a milestone.
Daddy DiNozzo
The show opens with Tony meeting his father on the street. He is surprised that his father is in town, and asks him why he didn’t call him when he arrived the previous day. Tony’s father has some great news, and wants to take his son out for brunch. While they are discussing the logistics, a man in a naval uniform bumps into Tony.
He arouses Tony’s suspicion because the stripes on his sleeve indicated he is a lieutenant commander, but the ones on his visor state he is a commander. Following his gut, Tony asks him to chat for a moment, but the man runs off. Tony tells his father to wait there and pursues the man into an alley. The man draws a gun, and when Tony’s father enters the alley, the navy officer points his gun at the senior DiNozzo, causing Tony to fire.
Under Investigation
The NCIS team arrives at the crime scene. Tony tells Gibbs that the man didn’t look like a navy officer when he left the hotel. McGee runs the victim’s fingerprints through the system, and he is not a member of the military. Bishop reports that the hotel security cameras went down an hour before the shooting, so they won’t have that tool to help identify the victim. Gibbs sends Bishop to isolate Tony’s father as he is the only witness.
Tony’s concerns are further amplified when he sees that Eugene Coyle is in charge of the IG investigation. Poor Tony is having a rough day. Coyle interrogates his father, who basically states that the victim pointed the gun at him, and then Tony fired. He seems a bit confused and tries to state that the victim pointed his gun at Tony. McGee finds out that the hotel’s security system was accessed from outside the building itself.
Infamous Private Eye
Abby runs in to see Tony’s father, and she looks smashing in her Sunday church best. After a quick hug from Abby, Bishop drives Tony’s father home. It turns out that Abby has run the prints and uncovered the identity of the victim. His name is Nick Bodeen, and he is a private investigator who worked exclusively for powerful and wealthy clients. Gibbs orders Abby not to tell Tony, and wonders why Bodeen would be in a navy uniform.
Coyle questions Tony, and states that he was off-duty and fired at a man who didn’t fire at him. A frustrated Tony tells Coyle that he drew his weapon because the other man drew his first. Coyle remarks that Tony’s father isn’t sure that is the way things happened. It looks like Tony is in a pickle!
Meanwhile, Bishop is talking on the phone with her husband, Jake. She has to cancel their plans because of the situation at NCIS. Bishop and McGee fill Gibbs in on how Bodeen started out as a cop and detective before becoming a private investigator for attorneys and lobbyists. Bodeen’s methods were a bit dubious, and he was charged with wiretapping in a corporate espionage case, and narrowly escaped prison because of a hung jury. After the scandal, Bodeen dropped off the grid.
Gun Powder Clue
Gibbs joins Ducky, Palmer and Abby in the autopsy room. There is a bullet missing from Bodeen’s gun, and he has gunshot residue on one of his hands.
Tony becomes concerned when he tries to reach his father at the Adams House hotel. It turns out that Mr. DiNozzo was never registered there, and Bishop is shocked because he asked her to bring him there.
Secrets Come to Light
Gibbs sends McGee and Bishop to conduct a room by room search of the hotel to find the missing bullet. While they strategize in the hallway, they see Tony’s father at the end of the hall in the company of a very pregnant lady. Bishop wonders if they should tell Tony about his father’s exploits, but McGee recommends staying out of DiNozzo family business. They enter one room and find a man shot in the head. Perhaps this is the work of Bodeen?
The victim’s wallet states that his name is Michael Elliot, but he checked in under a different name. Elliot worked for Senator Denise O’Hara. Elliot was single, lived alone and apparently let Bodeen in the room.
Don’t Mess with Abby
Back at headquarters, Palmer accidentally lets it slip that Tony killed Nick Bodeen. Tony seems surprised. Abby summons Coyle to the lab, and she is not happy with him. She shows him her ballistic tests that prove that Bodeen shot Elliot. When Coyle says that Tony had no way of knowing that fact at the time of the shooting, Abby orders him out of the lab.
Just Like Bogie
McGee goes to Bodeen’s office after obtaining a search warrant. He hears someone rustling around in the other room, and opens the door to find Tony, who pops on one of Bodeen’s hats and does his Bogart impression. Hilarious! They unlock a door in the office and find lots of heavy duty computer and eavesdropping equipment.
While they are there trying to open a safe, they hear a woman’s voice outside. Tony decides to take himself, with his fabulous fedora, into the next room as Bodeen. There is a young blonde woman who says that she called because she thinks her husband is cheating on her. Tony is getting flirtatious when he gets a call from his father, asking to meet him in the hotel bar.
A Reason to Wear the Uniform
Meanwhile, Commander Lionel Saxon is waiting to talk with Gibbs about Elliot, who called Saxon and wanted to set up a meeting at the Adams House. Saxon and Eliot never met, but Saxon had helped prepare a report for one of Senator O’Hara’s committees dealing with strategic Asian ports of call. When Saxon arrived for the meeting, he was unable to get in because of the NCIS investigation. Saxon asks Gibbs if he thinks that Bodeen was impersonating him.
DiNozzo Family Update
Tony finally catches up with his father, who shares that he is in love and getting married. Tony reveals to his co-workers that his father is staying at the Adams House hotel with his fiance. Tony notices Bishop’s expression and demands to know what she knows about his future step-mother. Bishop cracks and tells Tony about his father’s fiance’s expectant state.
Bishop and Gibbs meet with Senator O’Hara, who says that she didn’t know Eliot very well. She is shocked to find out that there is a connection between Eliot and Bodeen. Bishop discovers that O’Hara’s staff have been focused on a budget cut bill dealing with Asian ports of call.
Asking Gibbs for Advice
Abby and McGee work together to open a safe, which contains a gun, a burner cell phone and thousands of dollars in Macao currency. Tony almost slips and lets Gibbs know that he was in Bodeen’s office.
Mr. DiNozzo goes to Gibbs’ basement to chat about the situation with Tony, whose father asks Gibbs to put in a good word for him. Gibbs is frustrated and tells DiNozzo that he was seen at the hotel with his pregnant fiance. This time, Gibbs is stunned when DiNozzo tells him that the pregnant girl is his fiance’s daughter.
The NCIS team is able to tie someone on O’Hara’s staff to Bodeen because of the burner phone. A picture in Bodeen’s office shows him with Calvin Ling in Macao. Ling owns a company that sells fuel to navy ships in Asian ports. Ports that Ling is connected to were changed in the final report to be shown as more strategically important.
Tony is cleared by the IG investigation, and Gibbs sends him to meet with his father. Tony’s father finally breaks the news that he is marrying his godmother, Linda.
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
Gibbs and McGee catch up with O’Hara before the vote. In order to locate who was in touch with Bodeen, McGee calls the cell number. The senator’s secretary, Jennifer, asks to speak with an attorney when her phone starts to ring. The team discovers that Jennifer and Bodeen were dating.
Tony reveals to Gibbs that he feels like he is betraying his mother because Linda was his mother’s best friend. Gibbs explains that maybe Mr. DiNozzo feels guilty for the same reason and needs his son’s approval. Tony goes to see the lovebirds and gives his, and his mother’s, blessing.
I enjoyed this episode of NCIS, and thought that the ending was really emotional.
NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8pm on CBS.
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Kim has been covering television entertainment since 2013. She is addicted to Real Housewives, Pump Rules, Dancing with the Stars, and many more shows.
