"Genesis" (Season 13, Episode 17)

 

 

This episode was all about obsession, Katya's and Callen's, and while their obsessions manifest themselves differently, they have the same origin: their pasts. "Genesis" is the perfect name for this episode.

 

This review is going to be slightly different because there really was no case (and what there was had problems), but there was plenty going on with Callen, as well as some progress with other storylines, but the focus was Callen, so that's where I'll begin. 

This was a deep dive into Callen's character that revealed his emotional growth, but also exposed those qualities that make him who he is--willing to challenge authority, vulnerable, impulsive, determined, persistent, professional, concerned about not hurting others. In "Answers" (season 10), Callen recognized and admitted he had problems that interfered with his ability to maintain close personal relationships, and almost three years later, he's made enough progress to begin to open up. This is the perfect time to bring Nate back to the team--to be the sounding board and support Callen needs as he begins this stage of his personal journey because Callen knows that his conversations with Nate will be kept in confidence and that Nate will provide an honest opinion based on his professional expertise, not simply the opinion of a friend. And the episode was an acting tour de force performance by Chris who embodied Callen in every word, facial expression, and body movement. We see and hear the confusion and hurt when Anna tells him she's taking a step back, the frustration in his conversation with Kilbride, his anger on the firing range because he's losing control of his life, the tentative hope when Nate tells him he might be able to change Katya's focus off him, the defeat during their talk on the beach, the combined hatred and unease when he comes face to face with Baines, his eagerness to convince Nate that Baines and Pembroke are the same person, his genuine relief when Anna tells him she's not taking a step back. One of the aspects of Callen's character that is a challenge for an actor--and the writers--is that Callen's emotions are buried so deep because of his past that he seldom lets his guard down or his feelings out. In fact, his emotions usually spill out only when someone else has been hurt, killed, or needs help as happened in "Sans Voir," "Expiration Date," "Red Rover," and other episodes. When his emotions have gotten the better of him, it's because of his own past and usually happens in his talks with Hetty. This episode highlighted how Chris brings to life the complex character that is Callen. The writers--and viewers--are lucky.

 

The episode opens with Callen watching the film reel from Katya's vault. While he watches, he thinks he recognizes the man's voice in the film and then hears him say "Seventeen." The memories of his training flash through his mind, and when the child in the film who's been knocked to the floor stands up, it's him, not Katya. And then Anna wakes him. It's night. They're in his apartment with moving boxes scattered around, and Anna encourages him to finish the job of packing as the movers are coming the next day. He will, but he wants to watch the film one more time.

The following morning, Callen is getting the boxes together for the mover as Anna hangs up on a call. When Callen asks her who it was, she tells him it was Arkady--and that she's going to be staying with him for awhile. This stuns Callen who's confused and hurt. He doesn't understand since they just "signed the papers yesterday" for a place at the Marina. (This was a clever way to let viewers know that they intended to live together and where they were moving.) Callen knows that the last few months have been tough, but Anna tells him that he's become obsessed ever since he got a hold of the film, and she thinks she should take a step back. Before their conversation can continue, Callen gets called in to OSP by Kilbride.

In Kilbride's office, Kilbride plays Callen a voicemail: a confession by "Callen" of his feelings for Kilbride. Obviously, the call isn't from Callen, but Kilbride explains that while the deep fakes were a nuisance before, they've now become a liability for NCIS because Katya is using bots and the cyber units tracking the deep fakes are overwhelmed by the volume of the personal communications and social posts. Kilbride tells Callen that he's taking him out of the field.

As he's done before, Callen heads to the firing range to "deal with things" and Nate joins him. In this brief conversation, Nate tells Callen he's studied Katya and thinks she's driven by obsessions: she was obsessed with Anna, now she's obsessed with him. Callen asks if it'd be possible to get her to focus on a new obsession because he thinks he's found one. Nate thinks it's possible, so Callen & Nate return to the apartment to watch the film. Nate believes the same man might've been involved in training for both the Noble Maidens and the Drona Project since Drona was based on the Noble Maidens. Callen, upset that Kilbride didn't share this information, decides to find out what else he knows. When Callen confronts Kilbride, Kilbride tries to assert privilege, but Nate explains that privilege exists only between doctor and patient. Kilbride admits Hetty told him that Drona was based on the Noble Maidens, but he doesn't know what or who Pembroke is. 

Back at he apartment, Callen shows Nate the files of Drona subjects he's uncovered, but the only one--besides himself--who he's found alive is Leah. Before they visit Leah to ask her about the voice in the film, they have a conversation and Callen explains why he didn't identify himself and simply ask her questions about her past. He also explains that he had to cut off meeting with her because their relationship was becoming "complicated." Needless to say, their meeting with Leah now doesn't go well; she doesn't recognize the voice and tells Callen to go to hell. After, Nate is trying to encourage Callen by telling him that while it might not seem like it, he's made progress at which point Callen blurts out that Anna moved out and won't be moving in with him. He wonders if he's doing more to ruin his life than Katya. Nate mentions that's how obsession works, but when Callen asks if Nate thinks Katya would give up her obsession about him if he just ignored her, Nate replies that's unlikely. And that's because, in Nate's words, Katya is "bat poop crazy." It's then that Leah calls. She's found an enrollment form from the Department of Education with an address. 

Callen and Nate visit the address, and in the backyard, they come face to face with Arnold Baines. As soon as Callen hears his voice, he believes he's the man behind the voice on the film. This scene is fraught with unspoken tension, and the conversation about plants provides an added undercurrent of intense unease. Is Baines Callen's former trainer or has Callen's obsession led him to imagine that he is? 

Later that night, Nate returns to the apartment where Callen has dug into Baines' background: Baines bought the house in 1986, but before he bought it, the house had been owned by a behavioral psychologist named Howard Pembroke who conveniently died in 1986. Callen's sure they're the same person, but Nate isn't. He wants them to sleep on the information and look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow. Callen agrees, but in the next scene, he's returned to Baines' house that evening. It's dark, the furniture is covered, and the plants he had for sale on their earlier visit are gone. While there, Callen gets a call from Anna. They both apologize and she tells him she doesn't want to take a step back or move in with Arkady. He tells her she was right: he was obsessed, but he won't be anymore. She's heading to their new place, and Callen tells her he's finsihing work and will see her soon. As he's talking to her, he notices a security camera focused on him. Sitting in a darkened room somewhere, Baines is watching Callen, and someone utters the word, "Seventeen." Was it Baines or was that just in Callen's mind?

 

There were, of course, other characters and storylines in the episode. Ali, the former IG from ONI who interviewed the team in "Divided We Fall," was involved in the case of the week which was nothing more than a vehicle to explain his return to L.A. and reintroduction into Fatima's life. He's taken a new position with ONI as the person in charge of "collectors," ONI officers who identify and cultivate foreigners as possible intelligence assets for the U.S.There was also more progress on the adoption front for Kensi and Deeks as one of Deeks' friends from law school was looking into Pilar's asylum application (she's Rosa's friend they met). Her family was murdered by gangs in Guatemala and her life was threatened, so her chances of being granted asylum are good. Near the end of the episode, there's a sweet scene when Kensi has a phone conversation with Rosa to see how she's doing.

 

There were things that didn't work in the episode, the most notable being the complete lack of reaction--or action--by any of the team members to their team leader being sidelined because of the actions of a sadistic psychopath. We didn't even get a conversation between Callen and Sam. One of the best things about this show has been the feeling that the team is "family," but that component has begun to disintegrate under the weight of the team members' personal stories. Where problems should be bringing the team closer together, problems are, instead, bringing some members of the team closer but excluding others. That's not how family works. But it's been happening more than it should. It happened in "The Frogman's Daughter" and "A Land of Wolves" (because of the notable absence of both Callen and Rountree). The personal struggles of the team members shouldn't pull them apart from their fellow team members; if anything, these struggles should bring them closer together, but that's not happening. This is especially true for Kensi and Deeks. As much as I like the characters, their struggle to start a family has separated them from the rest of the team in ways that often make them seem self-absorbed. That's on the writing, not the characters.

A few of the other problems in the episode:

• If Varza had done her job well, she should have known that Dr. Jarrahi was not a good candidate to become an asset. She was clearly all about science and had strong, apolitical, anti-military feelings.
• If there was a question about whether Varza had been abducted or skipped town, wouldn't the first thing be checking her credit card activity and seeing if she'd purchased tickets on an airline, train, or boat or rented a car? It's almost as if the writers are forgetting how investigations are conducted. 
• Vance, like Nate, has known Callen longer than Kilbride. It's doubtful it took 20 minutes to convince him that the phone call by the "deep fake" wasn't Callen.
  
• The capture of the two Iranian intelligence offices was comical. I don't know if that was the intent, but after that capture, the idea that they were "unbreakable" in interrogation seemed a stretch.
  
• It's great that the agents are allowed so much personal time, but the idea that Sam is just going to drop off Kensi at OSP while he and Ali (a desk jockey) provide overwatch for Fatima when NCIS has no idea of how many might be involved in the disappearance of Officer Varza is ridiculous, especially since Deeks is just sharing information. Why not have him share that info on the car ride to the campus? And clearly more than two Iranian agents were involved since Varza wasn't released by the agents in NCIS custody.
  
• That Kilbride tells his agents to essentially stop interrogating the Iranian agents because they can't be broken doesn't show much confidence in his agents (all agents are trained not to be broken, but that doesn't mean they can't be). 
• There's no indication that Varza's computer or phone were returned, but there was evidence that she'd been interrogated. That's a definite black eye for U.S. intelligence and Ali.
• Finally, Fatima REALLY needs to apologize to Callen. It was her allowing her phone to be hacked that caused this mess, and yet she's never (that I can remember) personally apologized. She seems totally oblivious to the havoc she played a major role in causing.
  

I'm honestly looking forward to seeing what Callen's search for answers to his past training as a subject of the Drona Program uncovers about him and his relationship with Hetty. I didn't think I'd be saying this when the storyline began.