NCIS: Origins Season 2 Episode 16 Exposes the Cracks In Gibbs & Diane and Fuels the Gibbs & Lala Flame

Critic’s Rating: 4.3 / 5.0

4.3

When Papa Gibbs arrives, you better believe our Gibbs will have some revelations.

There were so many different parallels and delicious character nuggets at play during NCIS: Origins Season 2 Episode 16.

But one of the most illuminating elements that changes things is the shockingly quick end to Gibbs and Diane.

Typcasting can be a beast because every time I see a Letscher, I immediately assume they’re playing a bad guy.

But Brian Letscher’s Admiral Cane was far from bad; he was a man who somehow unlocked the key to being equally devoted to the job and to his wife.

Seriously, the man looked at Julia like she had the secrets of the universe in her eyes, and it was amusing to see someone who was such a hardass melt like butter for the love of his life.

But they represented a blueprint for what love is supposed to be… something that, sadly, Gibbs and Diane don’t possess.

But Gibbs and Lala? Well, we’ll get into that in a minute.

From the moment we saw the team around the Admiral and his wife, I suspected the seemingly mousy assistant was somehow connected to the attempts on his life.

What I didn’t anticipate was that she and her boyfriend were actually after Julia, not the Admiral.

The case itself was really strong with the little twists and loads of action that made it just as interesting as the character work happening around it.

The Russian angle felt a bit cliched, but even that was amusing enough. That poor woman wasn’t working for the Ruskies but instead just trying to find a husband because her green card had expired.

Mike’s utter disbelief at how sad that was had me in stitches. For the most part, NCIS: Origins Season 2 has done well at utilizing Mike as some comic relief without pushing him too far out of character, and I love that.

But the other element of this case for him was proving to Miller that he wasn’t just some dumb hick.

Mike is brash and uncouth, and people tend to assume that he doesn’t take things personally or have feelings because of that.

They also tend to assume he’s dumb. And this is another case in a handful of times when Mike was quietly rattled enough that he was operating outside of his norm to prove something to someone.

Miller was persnickety, and you could tell from his pointed comments that he felt Mike was classless. Who cares if he’s eating hot wings at lunch, honestly?

And code-switching is a thing. Mike shouldn’t have to pull out the pretentious vocabulary to prove he has proper command of the English language.

Ain’t none of that important when the bullets are flying, knives are swinging, and blood is gushing.

I love the routine thing of NCIS: Origins showing that even Mike still has doubts, questions himself and his worth, and navigates this agency and the expectations and image it attempts to project.

I also love all the little ways they validate his aversion to technology. He didn’t get nearly as smug about the PDA mishap as I expected.

But the best Mike moment was that quieter one with Lala. These two have always paralleled each other quite well. They’re more alike than different, and any chance NCIS: Origins takes to highlight that is special.

He just quietly let her know that he realized she was driving again, the infamous Impala they all recognized, and that he’s not judging her for what happened, but needed to know if it was over.

The tenderness he showed there, and the hug as he wanted to make sure she was okay, were enough to make me teary-eyed.

There’s so much unspoken love there.

And Papa Gibbs and Kowaski paralleled each other quite well, too. The sit-down between Gibbs’ actual father and the sage evidence head who serves as one was endearing.

They both came from a similar place in caring about Gibbs and knowing something was up with him.

Gibbs was so irritated by his father seemingly invading so much of his life, let alone charming everyone he came into contact with, but I thought it was hilarious.

I can 100% relate to having a charismatic parent whom people gravitate to. I never had any issue with it and always find it amusing.

But Gibbs being worked up about it was just so hilarious because he seemed like a petulant teen putting up a losing fight.

Kowalski and Jackson Gibbs’ moment felt like an “I’ll take care of him here, and you can take care of him there” situation. But it also reminded Kowalski how much he craves connection and how much he misses out when Herm isn’t there to share things with him.

All Kowalski needed was to peek his head out, be honest, put himself out there, and let everyone embrace him because, of course, they would.

When Papa Gibbs comes into town, there are always some essential self-realizations.

He helped Kowalski. But he was particularly useful in helping Diane and Gibbs.

Gibbs couldn’t seem to grasp the real meaning behind the focus on his cabinets not being flush.

It wasn’t that his father was nitpicking. It was that Jackson saw what Diane did too; Gibbs wasn’t investing in his apartment. He wasn’t building a home.

And if he wasn’t building a home with Diane, then it was plain as day that he didn’t view their relationship as something permanent.

They were on two totally different paths. He had his cherished box of rules that he clung to while married to Shannon.

That he didn’t even want to share that piece of himself and vulnerability with Diane said it all about their marriage.

Diane was escapism, but that’s about it.

Somewhere along the way, they stopped trying. It spoke volumes that Diane called in to spend time with Jackson, but didn’t bother to do that with Gibbs.

Because deep down, the thing she feared and already knew to be true got to her. He loved her, but he wasn’t in love with her.

And no one deserves to be in a marriage with that much distance between them.

But Jackson also knew what we know. It wasn’t Shannon and Gibbs’ grief that stood between him and Diane, as she thought.

It’s Lala.

When you love someone, you let them see and know you. You tell them things. And Gibbs didn’t hesitate to tell Lala about the rule box and why it mattered to him.

Lala has been his best friend and person. He tells her almost everything. And what he doesn’t share, she senses and reads in him because she knows him so well.

Gibbs allows himself to be seen and known with Lala in a way he doesn’t with anyone else.

Knowing that Gibbs and Diane’s marriage was essentially over so early on, even though they didn’t get divorced, is interesting and changes things.

In many ways, Gibbs used Diane as a buffer so he wouldn’t have to process his feelings about Lala or do anything about it.

But now Diane is gone. And the mystery surrounding just where Gibbs and Lala’s relationship goes is kept alive.

It’s a very clever way to keep this will they/won’t they alive in a series rooted in the past, isn’t it? Brilliant, really.

Gossip Sessions:

• Wheeler, obsessively shining his shoes while Mike watched, was hilarious. Their dynamic is so underrated.
• Mary Jo basically siccing Mike after the guy because of the messaging system made me laugh so hard. They’re SO Work-Spouse coded, and it delights me.
• Never Take Anything for Granted. I love how they brought Gibbs’ rules into play, and how we see him adopt some of Mike’s in the end.
• Mike using music to decompress or hype himself up is so relatable and one of my favorite quirks of his. I wonder what he was listening to this time? The Cars, presumably, right?
• Randy getting cast aside for Carrot Top. I much prefer our glorious redhead, thank you very much.
• Jason Wheeler stays stressing Wheeler out. Bless his heart. Whatever happened to that kid? Is he in the NCIS universe somewhere? They have to work it.
• Lala’s fight sequence was amazing. I love that she fights like a girl.

Over to you, NCIS: Origins Fanatics.

If you’re in line for Lala and Gibbs, stay in line, because, baby, it’s starting to look like we might get something, and I’m a little hype. How about you? Did the Gibbs/Diane timeline just throw you all the way off, too?

And what fun NCIS and NCIS: Origins tidbits and callbacks does Dean have for us this week? I’m curious and ready to dive into the comments for all of this and more, so I’ll see you there!

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