More Thoughts on "Mother"
The more I think about "Mother," the more disappointed I am that it didn't work for me. Aside from a few scenes--all including either Callen or Hetty--the episode lacked heart and substance.
To begin, the premise itself was weak: Hetty is not "M" and she didn't have an operation like Treadstone. There's been nothing in the past episodes to suggest that she ever trained her charges to participate in black ops or to do "wet work." From what we actually know about those she raised, including Ahkos, she trained them for undercover and intelligence work. Violence is certainly part of that work, but they're more likely to commit a violent act in an "ordinary" investigation than in an undercover assignment, mainly because their personal safety often depends on maintaining their cover as long as possible (this does not mean they might not suffer violence while undercover which all of them have at some point). The only team member who has been trained in and participated in a significant number of black ops is Sam Hanna, and he has had the most "normal" life of all the agents, so what does that say?
All the agents exhibit violent behavior sometimes--outside of exercising their law enforcement duties--but when they do, it's in response to one of the most basic instincts: the protection of those we love. Is that to be condemned? None of the agents has ever committed a violent act against another person (with the exception of a punch) unless she or he felt that someone in either their personal family or their NCIS family was in imminent danger, and even then, they have shown restraint. This is especially true for Callen. That is nothing like Ahkos. Ahkos was taken from Hetty and trained by Fimmel to kill on orders without regard to his victim's actual guilt or innocence (at least that's the suggestion because it's hard to believe that children could be guilty of any act demanding their assassination). We don't know anything about this training: when he was taken, how long it lasted, what it entailed, why he was chosen. It would have been helpful to have known some of these things in order to understand him better. It doesn't seem likely that he was moved by patriotism or a sense of duty and he had no "family" in his new career. This contrasts with Sam who became a SEAL out a sense of patriotism and duty and who, even in retirement, still has strong ties to his SEAL brothers.
And because Ahkos is so different--an extreme case that does not reflect the daily experience of any NCIS agent under Hetty's watch, including Hunter and Grace--using him to reflect on the consequences on the psyche and emotions of the agents due to their exposure to violence isn't effective. Ahkos was so damaged by Fimmel--and perhaps even before that--he can't be used as a reliable case study.
If Eric and Babar had really wanted to write a script about the emotional and psychological trauma of exposure to violence--a terrific theme, it would have been more effective and meaningful to have had the agents engage in serious discussions and reflection, and it would have been helpful to have gotten to know Ahkos on a more personal level. Scenes between Hetty and Ahkos and Callen and Ahkos, similar to the interrogation of Janvier by Callen, could have revealed much about them. Such an episode would probably have had less in the way of flash and special effects. I'd sacrifice bang for substance any day, but I wasn't the writer.
I would love to see an episode where the characters--especially Callen--reflect more on their lives and the choices they've made, and still need to make, without the distraction of car chases and bullets flying.
And another thing:
To begin, the premise itself was weak: Hetty is not "M" and she didn't have an operation like Treadstone. There's been nothing in the past episodes to suggest that she ever trained her charges to participate in black ops or to do "wet work." From what we actually know about those she raised, including Ahkos, she trained them for undercover and intelligence work. Violence is certainly part of that work, but they're more likely to commit a violent act in an "ordinary" investigation than in an undercover assignment, mainly because their personal safety often depends on maintaining their cover as long as possible (this does not mean they might not suffer violence while undercover which all of them have at some point). The only team member who has been trained in and participated in a significant number of black ops is Sam Hanna, and he has had the most "normal" life of all the agents, so what does that say?
All the agents exhibit violent behavior sometimes--outside of exercising their law enforcement duties--but when they do, it's in response to one of the most basic instincts: the protection of those we love. Is that to be condemned? None of the agents has ever committed a violent act against another person (with the exception of a punch) unless she or he felt that someone in either their personal family or their NCIS family was in imminent danger, and even then, they have shown restraint. This is especially true for Callen. That is nothing like Ahkos. Ahkos was taken from Hetty and trained by Fimmel to kill on orders without regard to his victim's actual guilt or innocence (at least that's the suggestion because it's hard to believe that children could be guilty of any act demanding their assassination). We don't know anything about this training: when he was taken, how long it lasted, what it entailed, why he was chosen. It would have been helpful to have known some of these things in order to understand him better. It doesn't seem likely that he was moved by patriotism or a sense of duty and he had no "family" in his new career. This contrasts with Sam who became a SEAL out a sense of patriotism and duty and who, even in retirement, still has strong ties to his SEAL brothers.
And because Ahkos is so different--an extreme case that does not reflect the daily experience of any NCIS agent under Hetty's watch, including Hunter and Grace--using him to reflect on the consequences on the psyche and emotions of the agents due to their exposure to violence isn't effective. Ahkos was so damaged by Fimmel--and perhaps even before that--he can't be used as a reliable case study.
If Eric and Babar had really wanted to write a script about the emotional and psychological trauma of exposure to violence--a terrific theme, it would have been more effective and meaningful to have had the agents engage in serious discussions and reflection, and it would have been helpful to have gotten to know Ahkos on a more personal level. Scenes between Hetty and Ahkos and Callen and Ahkos, similar to the interrogation of Janvier by Callen, could have revealed much about them. Such an episode would probably have had less in the way of flash and special effects. I'd sacrifice bang for substance any day, but I wasn't the writer.
I would love to see an episode where the characters--especially Callen--reflect more on their lives and the choices they've made, and still need to make, without the distraction of car chases and bullets flying.
And another thing:
- I really do not want to see another Densi scene like the one we saw in "Mother." Not only was it a distraction from the core of the story, but their "emotional" scenes have become mundane and lack any honest feeling. (I have always liked Kensi a lot and Deeks is okay, but after "Mother," I think they both need to find new careers. If that's how they handle a life and death situation, they're putting themselves in unnecessary danger and would likely put their team members at risk, as well. Also, either Sam or Callen should consider taking over the job as sniper because Kensi has become so emotional, she may not have the temperament to do that work anymore.)
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