Episode 7, Season 12 - "Overdue"

What is there to say about this episode? Let's start by saying this episode was almost halfway over before Nell gave the team a case to be solved. The majority of the first half of the episode was taken up by various conversations, most of them pretty pointless: Sam had a brief conversation with Kam whereby we learn that she's been accepted into Annapolis, Fatima and Devin were given an assignment by Nell to clear up a variety of old files about which Devin complains because he thinks he's being ill-used, Deeks was memorizing useless information with Kensi preparing for his NCIS interview because he was nervous, and Callen wanted to have a talk with Arkady related to his feelings for Anna. 

Once the agents are given the case, they get to work, but it was one of the most disjointed and boring cases I can remember. In point of fact, I don't really remember many of the details about the case except that a Navy reservist has stolen information about other Navy reservists and is killed. Turns out, he had a gambling problem, so he might be trying to sell the information. The agents discover that the information relates to work by a Navy reservist who's also a psychologist, and she was kidnapped by the Chinese for her research. I might have missed something or gotten something wrong because it was so boring, and to be honest, I didn't really care what happened.

The characterizations were random and the inconsistencies in the characters from episode to episode have been a recurring problem for a few seasons. In the opening scene, Rountree came off as full of himself, wondering why he and Fatima were being given a "menial" task when they should have been out on the street arresting bad guys. Thankfully, he lost this attitude later in the episode. Beale was back because running a multi-billion dollar business AND starting a nonprofit with the goal of ending homelessness in California is just boring, so it makes sense to stop off at OSP. This seems like a poorly thought out development in his character, and I'm guessing his behavior was this writer's idea of someone who's trying to outdo other tech titans in the "insufferable" category. This is such a drastic departure from the Beale of the earlier seasons he's unrecognizable, and his character development lacks any sense of proportion or adherence to his core characteristics, the qualities that made Beale, Beale. Kensi had almost nothing to do of any value other than babysit her hubby, make a few observations, and assist in the anticlimactic rescue. Since the Deeks storyline was the main focus of the episode, Deeks' interview was obviously important, and after Deeks, Sam had important scenes in this episode: talking with Kam, being interviewed by Martinez, offering Deeks advice, and partnering with Rountree. Callen barely appeared or had much of anything to do related to the case, but his scene at the very end was powerful.

What was good about the episode? The scene between Sam and Kam was nice but brief. His scene with Rountree at the RV was good even though Rountree didn't come off like a boy who spent days outdoors in Texas; however, the image of Sam as a kid in an RV watching a VHS tape of "Taps" was memorable. The conversation between Sam and Deeks was okay, but we've heard Sam give Deeks pep talks before, so it was nothing new. (I admit I'm getting a trifle tired of hearing Sam's "words of wisdom" every episode. He's beginning to remind me of a website with daily inspirational quotes.) There was a smattering of Sallen banter at the end. Most of the scenes were not particularly memorable.

I did notice a few things. One thing I noticed was that, as in previous episodes, the writers like pairing Sam with Rountree but not with Callen which seems a little weird since Callen is the team leader and a former FBI agent himself. It makes me wonder why. What's the logical reason that the writers haven't yet had the team leader pair up with the rookie in the field? Callen's also never worked in the field with Fatima. Why not? Kensi has. Do the writers not think Callen is capable of training new agents? 

What was the most disappointing element of the episode other than the boring plot and Beale? For me, it was the way the writers "wrapped up" the IA investigation of Deeks. It seems that Whiting's IA investigation has concluded (it's unlikely he would be given an interview if the IA investigation was ongoing), and I had an issue with Deeks short speech about the ugliness in the world and his willingness to endure the "punishment" meted out by LAPD because someone (he) has to stand up for what's right. It's not that the speech wasn't nice or that Deeks wasn't sincere; it was that Deeks didn't receive any "punishment" for killing Boyle, and in his speech he essentially condones his killing of Boyle, lying about it, and letting another person be considered a suspect for it. That all seems wrong to me. It's not Deeks killing Boyle who was a dirty, violent cop, or lying about it for years that bothers me as much as that an LAPD detective, who's also a lawyer, broke his oath and is not in the least bit troubled by what he did, that he's never questioned or expressed any remorse about the actions he took, that he can so easily justify acting as judge, jury, and executioner. I'm also disappointed that the writers seem determined to absolve Deeks of any mistakes he's made. In this speech the only remorse he expresses is that he didn't do more about the corruption in the LAPD division where he worked and that he didn't do it sooner. I like Deeks but he has become, ironically, the picture of "white male privilege," and for me that's made him a less interesting character. I never worry if he will land on his feet because he always does, and often with the help of others (his opportunity to go to  FLETC is the result of Hetty's efforts not his own). I like characters with flaws, who struggle, who make mistakes, who endure loss, who don't get everything they want, who have regrets. Since joining the team as the LAPD liaison officer, there's nothing that Deeks has wanted that he hasn't gotten and nothing of any consequence that he's lost.

The final scene was the most emotionally strong and poignant of the episode even though the depiction of Arkady didn't ring true for me. No one in the show is better with emotional scenes than Callen, and he does them with a quiet intensity. His expressions during his conversation with Arkady and his body language while refilling their glasses were heartbreaking. This scene showed how much Callen has changed and grown emotionally but that Arkady has not. First, I believe that Callen has evolved emotionally, but I don't believe for a minute that Arkady hasn't also. Any father reconnecting with the daughter he loves changes. Also, this scene didn't show the closeness between the two men, at least on the part of Arkady, and that made the scene less honest for me. Arkady is many things, but one thing that has always been true about him is that he cares for Callen. He and Callen have been through a lot together, faced death together, even before Callen joined NCIS. Outside of Hetty and Sam, Arkady is Callen's closest friend. Arkady knew Nikita and how desperate Callen was to find his father and helped him. There were times he also took steps to protect Callen in his own way.  And he knows that Callen risked his career and possible prison time by letting Anna stay with him while she was a fugitive, and that now that she's free, she's chosen to stay with Callen when she could have easily moved out or into Arkady's luxurious home. Arkady knows that each of them have strong feelings for one another, and although Arkady is not emotional, he cares, and now that Anna is with Callen, it's likely that he cares a little bit more. Also, even though Arkady was not a part of Anna's life until recently, we saw in "The One That Got Away" that he understands his daughter and recognizes her strength, her passion, her stubbornness. He knows that if she wasn't happy with Callen, she would leave. We also know that more than anything else, Arkady wants Anna to be happy. So, when the man with whom Anna's living--and who almost never shares his feelings with others--indicates that he wants to have a more permanent relationship with his Anna than just "living together," it seems unlikely that Arkady would shoot the idea down immediately. It seems much more likely that Arkady might express skepticism, but he would ask probing questions (there's nothing subtle about Arkady) to ascertain if Callen is being serious, and once assured that Callen was serious, Arkady might be willing to give this idea some consideration, no matter how awkward it might make him feel. As Arkady said at the end of "Beacon," loyalty to family trumps loyalty to the KGB or to country. But that's not the Arkady we got.Still, that didn't diminish the power of Callen's emotions laid bare in this scene.

All-in-all, it was a mediocre episode because of the boring plot, the extreme Beale, both Kensi and Callen having almost nothing to do, and the interview between Deeks and Martinez which ended, predictably, with Martinez obviously impressed with Deeks.