Last time on NCIS, we explored the terrible situation of homeless military veterans. It was especially moving because we had the chance to see Abby’s compassion through her friendship with a homeless veteran named Blue.
This week’s episode of NCIS, “The Admiral’s Daughter,” finds Tony heading to Paris on a secret mission to locate, and bring home, an Admiral’s daughter.
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This is Your Mission…
We start off in Marseille, France, with a posting that the police are looking for a cop killer, an American named Tony DiNozzo. Well, that’s not a good sign, is it? Tony ties up a driver in some sort of food truck, and then Tony is approached by a lovely young woman who asks what they should do next.
The entire adventure kicks off 36 hours earlier at NCIS headquarters. Tony is called in to see Vance. Tony admits to totaling a surveillance van, but that isn’t the reason that Vance summoned him. Vance introduces Tony to Admiral Kendall, who is Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It appears that Tony has been selected for running a seminar on Internet security in Marseille. Tony asks if he is being “punked.” Hilarious!
Tony’s mission, apparently whether or not he chooses to accept it, is to go to the NCIS office in Marseille and pick up the Admiral’s daughter, Amanda. She flunked out of college two years earlier and now spends her time with a group of “trust fund brats.” Not surprisingly, her father is not pleased when his daughter is splashed across a newspaper in the company of the children of arms dealers and other nefarious characters. He is also worried about her safety.
Always Prepared
Vance also tells Tony that his assignment is top-secret, and Gibbs is the only one who knows about it. When McGee and Bishop tease him about his competency to run the seminar, Tony takes it in stride. When he pulls out his packed bag from his desk, Bishop is crushed to realize that she is the only team member without a “go bag” at the ready.
The rest of the team have a crime scene near some off-base housing. A plumber finds a body crammed inside a septic tank. Someone has to retrieve the body from the tank, and McGee tells Tony during their phone conversation that he used Tony’s trick coin during the coin flip. Alas, poor probie Bishop must suit up, but Gibbs decides that McGee will accompany her.
A Case of Murder
Once in Marseille, Tony arrives at the NCIS office and finds that the cord to the surveillance system has been cut and the door has been kicked open. He enters and sees five bodies before he is swarmed by police officers. Tony updates Gibbs by phone, but because he is not alone, he doesn’t say very much.
A female officer, Inspector Cheblis, flirts with Tony, then shows him a picture of Amanda and asks if he knows her. She is the prime suspect in the shootings because she was seen entering through the front door but crawled out a window in the back. Tony says he doesn’t know her, much to Cheblis’ disappointment. She also demands to test Tony’s gun.
In the Club
Gibbs and Vance discuss the situation in Marseille. Two of the five victims were NCIS officers, and the rest were hired locals. Tony needs to find Amanda and bring her back immediately. Tony hits the club circuit and locates Amanda. She is extremely rude to him, and later seems shocked about the shooting. She explains that she climbed out of the bathroom window at NCIS before meeting up with her friends. She seems stunned that she is a suspect and possible target. Poor Tony really has his hands full with her.
On the way out, Amanda asks a friend to have Amir, who is the son of an Iranian politician, call her. Tony and Amanda’s conversation ends when the police roll up. The flirtatious Inspector Cheblis is there, and tells Tony that she needs to question Amanda at the station. She suddenly pulls out Tony’s gun and shoots another police officer. Tony and Amanda make a run for it.
Torture Chamber
No one is enthused about this case, including Abby, who must crawl into the septic tank back at headquarters. They haven’t been able to identify the victim yet, but the body was weighted down with rocks. I wonder how these two cases are connected?
Ducky loves his new phone and has installed a ton of trivia games. Gibbs joins Ducky and Palmer in autopsy. The victim is Zach Martin, who works at an employment office. The victim was tortured, which is a surprise due to his line of work.
Party All Night
Amanda and Tony are on the move, but a certain sulky Admiral’s daughter is hungry and tired. When Tony mentions that Cheblis had his cell phone, Amanda takes Tony’s phone, throws it on the ground and steps on it. Sadly, this is unnecessary because Tony took the battery out earlier. Again, poor Tony!
At the food truck, a television monitor shows Tony’s picture, which explains why Tony had to tie up the worker. Since public transportation is out, Amanda meets up with her friends on a party bus, complete with stripper pole. They are thrilled to be heading to Rota, Spain, which is where Tony thinks they will be safe. Tony looks pretty at home on a party bus, in my opinion.
Meet Mr. Martin
McGee and Bishop go to Martin’s office, where his assistant states that he is busy. Now that would be a neat trick since he is on Ducky’s autopsy table. Apparently, the woman was hired through an agency and Martin works only by phone. Martin also has no clients, and she has never met him. Totally normal, right?
Abby, through her super-sleuthing, discovers that Zach Martin is an alias. The victim’s real name is Zakaria Hassan. Amanda and Hassan attended Georgetown together. Gibbs shows Bishop and McGee the news that Tony is wanted for murder. Bishop briefs Gibbs on Hassan’s background. There isn’t much to tell, and she wonders if Hassan’s murder and his link to Amanda could be a coincidence. She forgot rule 39 — there is no such thing as a coincidence.
Tony Sends a Message
Palmers bursts in and he has a message from Tony. He received an invitation to play a symbol game from a new user, and the player illustrates an “autopsy gremlin” — Tony’s nickname for Palmer. What an ingenious way to make a connection! He also sends a map of Spain, and the team realizes that Tony is on the way to the NCIS office in Rota.
Back on the party bus, Tony refuses a drink from Amanda and refers to her friends as “clowns,” which annoys her. Tony smells smoke, and someone started a fire in the bathroom and wrecked the exhaust system. When they hear sirens approaching, Tony insists that they walk.
Spy Games
Tony never makes it to the border. Bishop finds some secret files on Hassan’s computer, including classified information. Hassan was a spy, but the only message that could be read was from Admiral Kendall’s DOD login. The Admiral denies any knowledge of the e-mail.
Amanda and Tony go to a quiet restaurant to grab a bite. Tony searches her purse and finds matches. He knows that she started the fire on the bus, and he wants to know why she is insisting on going back to France. Tony accuses her of being a spy and working for Amir. He is partially correct — she is a spy working for the US, and Amir is working for her. That’s quite a twist.
Amanda was recruited by Hassan. Amir, who worked in the Iranian consulate, found some information on Iran’s weapons of mass destruction. Amir copied the intelligence and Amanda sent it to Hassan.
Finding Amir
Tony calls Gibbs and asks Gibbs to locate Amir in Marseille. Gibbs agrees to ask Admiral Kendall for a team to locate Amir. Cheblis, who listened in on the call, heads out to find Amir. Meanwhile, Amanda and Tony are crammed into a car doing surveillance. When Cheblis leaves, they enter the building. They find Amir and Lila, one of Amanda’s friends. They start to leave, but Cheblis returns. Lila pulls a gun on Amanda after Amanda knocks Cheblis to the ground. A team from Interpol, arranged by Gibbs, moves in, and Lila is shot.
Tony and Amanda arrive back at NCIS, and Amanda is reunited with her father. Palmer receives a message from his wife through the symbol game. It is a bun and an oven. Welcome to fatherhood, Palmer!
I really enjoyed this episode of NCIS, especially Tony’s Parisian adventure.
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.
