Callen and connecting emotionally

"Callen has really evolved," Military told TV Guide in an interview. "This is the most evolved he's been in 11 years." As someone who didn't know his family and was forced to move around a lot as a kid, he didn't have a strong sense of feeling rooted growing up, which made it difficult for him to connect emotionally. That's changed, and will keep becoming a space of growth for him. "He's opening up," Military said--and he's so confident in his feelings that Sam even feels it's ok to tease him about this new Callen. As for actually moving in together though, Military said, "We'll have to see what happens, because that will be in jeopardy at some point."

This excerpt is from a recent interview with Frank Military, and frankly, I'm not sure that I agree with his (or the interviewer's) observations. It's a little hard to separate Military's thoughts from those of the interviewer (not a good format), but both seem to be saying that Callen is better able to connect emotionally in season 11 than he ever has before. Maybe, maybe not, but a discussion of this requires reviewing Callen's ability to "connect emotionally" beginning with season 1.

Connecting emotionally is more difficult for Callen than for most people because of his personal history, but it's possible.  In season 1, viewers saw the emotional connection Callen made with the Rostoff family in "Pushback" and the very personal connection he made with Kristin in "Past Lives." A private person who seldom shares his feelings with others, he shared with Sam how he felt about giving up a life he might have had with Kristin when he chose to remain with NCIS. He wondered, however briefly, if he had made the right choice. Callen also became so emotionally involved with--and hurt by--a woman in law enforcement that he made a rule about dating  ("Keeping It Real"), and he became more than professionally involved with his CIA partner, Tracy ("Standoff"). That he developed emotional attachments in these situations showed that, while he might not have been ready or able to sustain lasting romantic relationships, his need for such emotional connections was powerful enough to overcome the barriers created by his personal history, at least for a while. And then, after these brief glimpses into Callen's past emotional involvements, he met Joelle.

Their relationship was not without problems, but she was the first woman he suggested--to his entire team--he might begin a family with. Even if the comment was simply a casual retort to a remark, that he said this to his team members while at work showed an openness that Callen had not shown before in sharing details about his personal life, especially his romantic relationships. And Callen shared his feelings with Sam about Joelle and his relationship with her several times before and after this relationship ended. And then the relationship between Callen and Anna hinted at in season 6, began to develop in season 7, heated up in season 8, and continued on track through the early episodes of season 9.

There's no doubt that Anna is the woman whom Callen has been most able to connect with emotionally. From their first kiss in season 7, Callen and Anna have demonstrated a mutual, if hesitant, interest in one another. Most of season 7 was a hide-and-seek game, both of them testing the waters, but there was an ease between them that showed a level of comfort and that every so often revealed a more intimate connection between them through a word, a glance, or a touch. 

Season 8 saw their relationship reach new levels of intimacy and emotional connection, and when Callen finally allowed himself to act on his attraction to Anna, their relationship moved forward quickly. He and Anna went on at least one weekend trip and were sent to Arizona by Hetty. While the Arizona trip was an assignment, neither hid their flirtations from Asakeem who voiced his annoyance, and their duet in the car was arguably the most relaxed we've ever  seen Callen with a woman. And Callen was comfortable with his team knowing of his relationship with Anna. He partnered with her on several occasions, only hesitating when Sam tried to force the issue. Anna joined the team for their outing to dine on the best Jamaican food in L.A., and everyone knew of her upcoming "date" with Callen to Carlsbad. She also attended the OSP Christmas party at which Callen invited her to his home to join him and his father for Christmas dinner - an indication of his feelings for her since this would be his very first Christmas with Nikita, and he was asking Anna to share it with him. It might be reasonably argued that Callen was as "emotionally connected" to Anna in season 8 as he has ever been to any woman before or after this season.

When season 9 began, the Callen-Anna relationship had only grown more intimate. Anna was spending a lot of time at Callen's house: she'd brought a TV to play her video games, she was sleeping there, and she was keeping some of her clothes there. She and Callen continued to work easily with each other. Indeed, Callen worked as easily with Anna as his partner as Kensi worked with Deeks as hers, and at the end of episode 2, Callen and Anna joined Kensi and Deeks for crab and beer on the pier. When Joelle reappeared in "Fool Me Twice" (episode 9), there was no indication of a problem in the Callen-Anna relationship, and in "Warrior of Peace" (episode 16), we learned that Callen had introduced Anna to Alex and Jake--one more indication of how comfortable his was in his relationship with her. When Alex asked when she'd see Anna again, Callen replied that ATF was keeping her busy, but nothing suggested a problem in their relationship. And then this strong, solid "emotional connection" between Callen and Anna inexplicably dissolves.

Anna next appears in episode 18 of season 9. It's obvious when they see each other in the hotel room that their relationship has hit a rough patch, and viewers are left as confused as Sam and Arkady about when and, more importantly, why this happened. Clarity is not forthcoming. In the boatshed Callen shares with Sam that he and Anna haven't seen each other in "a while," and this is a surprise to Sam. The reason: Glendale, where she lives, is too far for him to drive, and strangely, Sam seems to accept this. (This from the man who, in episode 11 of this season, spent an entire day driving around L.A. to find Finn to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble.) Surely, the writers could have invented a more plausible reason for their break-up, but no other reason is ever  offered, not in this episode nor in any subsequent episode. Nothing about their relationship falling apart so abruptly makes sense, and their sudden coldness toward one another suggests a much more serious problem between them than a few miles of highway, but the writers provide no clue or explanation. This unexplained collapse of a maturing, intimate relationship leads to something equally unexpected and even more implausible: a Callen whose attitude and behavior toward Anna in season 10 can best be described as confused, verging on callous and unsympathetic

The Callen we see in season 10 is virtually unrecognizable to the Callen we've known since season 1, and definitely unrecognizable to the Callen we saw in seasons 7 and 8 and the early episodes of season 9. We are led to believe that Anna's shooting of Sokolov somehow exacerbates this change in him, but that makes no sense. After all, his team members have, more than once, taken matters into their own hands when protecting their own, and Callen himself was willing to defy the law and kidnap and exchange Kirkin to prevent his father's extradition to Russia in season 9. There's no question that Callen would absolutely stand by Anna after her shooting of Sokolov. Even if shooting him was a mistake, Sokolov had kidnapped and threatened Arkady, he had already sanctioned the murder of two others, beaten his sister and left her to die, and was a Russian mob boss who laundered money and supplied weapons. His death would barely register with Callen, and that is why his "problem" with Anna's act rings so untrue. This storyline exploring Callen's emotional journey would have provided insight into his character if  the writers had stayed true to his character. Unfortunately, they created a character whose actions and attitude towards Anna in seasons 9, 10 and most of season 11 were so wildly inconsistent with who he is and has always been, that this exploration added only confusion.

In season 10, Joelle returns and Callen offers her emotional support as she deals with the difficulty of reuniting with her family, but two episodes later ("Pro Se"), Callen meets with Anna, stressed because of the ATF investigation and shows little sympathy and offers few words of comfort or encouragement. And then six episodes later in "Joyride," after Anna is injured in prison, we see a glimpse of the real Callen when he shows the care for her that's been missing since season 9. But when Anna returns to prison--and as too often happens with any Callen-Anna storyline when Anna isn't physically present--Callen never mentions her even though she was injured. Callen always checks on those he cares about: Hetty, Sam, his team, Nikita, even Arkady. But he doesn't check to see how Anna is after such a serious injury? Unbelievable.

In "The One That Got Away" (episode 19) Callen comes face to face with Anna after she escapes from prison and allows her to leave even though he has no idea of her plans. Is it because he believes that she doesn't deserve to be in prison, is it because he loves her, is it a combination of these feelings, or is it something else all together? Why Callen lets Anna go isn't clear, and when he sees her in the next episode, "No More Secrets," things aren't made any clearer. In this episode, the reunion of Callen and Anna is of secondary importance to the reappearance of Nikita and the arrival of Darius (a new Comescu). Callen is given no time to deal with Anna's "death," and their goodbye scene--which could have been an emotional milestone and provided some much needed insight into their personal feelings--was emotionally underwhelming. (Sharing the scene with Joelle was an awful decision because three, especially when one is a former girlfriend, is definitely one too many.) This lack of clarity about why Callen let Anna leave and how he felt when he left her behind in Cuba made me think that the writers themselves had little understanding of what was going on in this relationship or Callen's and Anna's feelings about each other.

If Callen didn't know how he felt about Anna after "The One That Got Away" and "No More Secrets," the introduction of a former lover did nothing to help him or us. In fact, it did nothing. This relationship, introduced in season 11 ("Decoy"), served no purpose since 1) it didn't force Callen to consider his feelings for Anna and 2) the only thing Callen realized by  the end of the episode was that he isn't sure what he wants--a sentiment he expressed all the way back in season 1. After the dramatic events of "The One That Got Away" and "No More Secrets," Callen makes no mention of Anna until 11 episodes into season 11, and it's Sam—who made fun of Callen's interest in Anna back in season 7 and thought that Joelle was a "nice girl"—who tells Callen he thinks both he and Anna wanted a relationship. It seems obvious that Callen would have gleaned this from Anna's recent actions--giving up her freedom and risking her life to find his father--but, like Callen, Anna doesn't reveal her feelings easily, so maybe Callen needed to hear someone else say it to validate his own feelings. In any case, it's amazing insight from Sam, who had one conversation with Anna all the way back in season 8 and didn't have a clue that their relationship was on the ropes in season 9. At the end of their discussion, Callen confesses that he doesn't know what kind of a relationship he's capable of having, the implication being that he’s talking about a permanent relationship, because of the emotional baggage he carries--and this, his recognition that he has  emotional baggage, is an important step for him. Here's hoping that the writers will find time to let viewers see  Callen deal with some of these emotional issues that have been building for 11 seasons. This comment aside, by the end of the episode Callen states that he's going to look for Anna even though he's had no communication from her for over a year. Is this because Callen now realizes that he loves her? Again, that seems the most likely reason, but that's not at all evident when they meet again.

Callen and Anna catch up in "The Circle" (Anna is the one who takes the risk to come back to him), and their initial meeting is nothing if not lukewarm. By the end of this episode, however, they've rekindled their relationship, and in "Missing Time," it seems clear that they are, once again, a couple. Callen's words to Anna, "And I will stand by you," are exactly the words Callen, the "real" Callen, would have said to her back in season 9 when she was under investigation for shooting Sokolov. The Callen of seasons 1-8 would have stood by Anna and fought for her and never deserted her. Not only because of his relationship with her, but also because she is Arkady's daughter and his friend, and one thing that remains consistent about Callen through all the seasons is his loyalty and his willingness to put everything on the line for his friends.

The entire Callen-Anna storyline built around Anna's killing of Sokolov seemed less about Callen's "emotional development" and his relationship with her and more about Anna's character and a way to wrap-up Nikita's story and introduce Darius. Callen seldom makes a first move in this storyline; everything is a reaction to Anna and her actions. (The only action Callen initiates is looking for Anna, and he fails to find her.) That's not the Callen we know. Having the "real" Callen involved in this storyline would have created more dramatic and realistic emotional moments between Anna and him. The "real" Callen would have argued against her wanting him to just drop her case, he would have pushed Deeks to continue looking into her legal options, he would have been more aggressive during his ATF interview (like he was when his dad was detained), he would have shown up at the prison, he would have been more concerned about her after her hospital stay and after he returned from Cuba, and he wouldn't have given up until he found her (as evidenced by his determination to find Arkady in season 7). His character's actions and words would have made sense, and that would have definitely helped this storyline.

Are Callen and Anna any more "emotionally connected" now than they were in season 8 or early in season 9? Perhaps, but I would argue that the main reason Callen seems  more "emotionally connected" now is because the "real" Callen wasn't present in the Callen-Anna relationship beginning with "Vendetta" in season 9, and he remained AWOL until "The Circle" in season 11. Rewriting/reinventing a character so that he's unrecognizable and then suddenly bringing the real character back--which is what the writers did with Callen in this storyline--isn't  "character development"; it's "character confusion." Maybe the showrunner and writers aren't as interested in Callen's "emotional development" as much as they are in using these situations to create more chaos and conflict for him, and maybe that's a reason the writers can never find enough minutes in an episode to allow Callen time to actually deal  with his relationship or his emotional baggage. I hope Callen's "emotional development" is important to them because to not explore this aspect of Callen would be to waste a truly remarkable character.