"Down the Rabbit Hole" (Season 13, Episode 21)

Seeing is NOT believing, but this is one episode definitely worth watching. Frank Military has crafted an episode that seamlessly weaves two storylines and is, at a deeper level, an analysis into obsession, relationships, and emotions, particularly those of Grisha Callen. This is the Military who wrote "Spoils of War," "Rage," "The Seventh Child," "The Silo," and other memorable episodes of the series, and in this episode he accomplishes something that's been missing from recent episodes: the how and why events happen and characters act the way they do. This episode combines a plot that covers the bases but is much more than simply the rescue of a team member. It is, above all, a deep dive into Grisha Callen's emotional journey: where he's been, where he is now, and where he may be going within a complicated storyline. And while Military wrote an exceptional script and did an outstanding job as director, this episode would not have been possible if not for the brilliant performance of Chris O'Donnell as Grisha Callen--again. Everyone performed well, but this was truly Callen's episode and O'Donnell did not disappoint. The range of emotions--and characters (the deep fake)--he portrayed in the 44 minutes were flawless. Once again, the choice of O'Donnell by Brennan to portray this conflicted, complex character was proven to be perfect.

There are two stories being told. The first is the effort by the NCIS team to locate and rescue Callen; the second is the emotional and psychological conflict between Callen and Katya. And while Military skillfully uses the technology of deep fakes to his advantage in both stories, he never loses sight that both are ultimately more than the physical action. In fact, there is very little action in this episode: there are no gun fights, no explosions, no car chases because the focus is on the characters and “why” rather than “what” and “how.” But Military doesn't forget that “what” and “how” are also important elements. This attention to detail helps maintain the focus. And as the director as well as the writer, Military can construct the scenes to focus on what matters.

Examples of how Military covers his bases in the episode: He provides a plausible explanation for Deeks' absence (in Guatemala instead of another deposition) and even though Callen knows the initial call from Sam is a deep fake, we learn later that Katya placed trackers on his car which explains how she’s still able to carry out his abduction even though he doesn’t go directly to the stakeout location. Military includes other elements that establish the team’s professionalism (something that isn’t always evident in episodes). The use of passwords by the team to verify their identities is such an element, but the team's belief that this will enable them to thwart Katya's plans proves incorrect and shows her ability as an operative. It’s also nice to see the REACT team back in action. The rescue storyline moves forward flawlessly from Callen’s abduction to his deep fake beat down to the stolen van. Even the inclusion of Joelle works.

I was skeptical of including Joelle in this episode (the writers have let her drive storylines; Military was guilty of this with "Through the Looking Glass," but here he reigned that tendency in and provided a perfect role for her). She is professional, cool, and--as usual--lying to Sam and Kilbride, but she does provide vital information. When being questioned by Sam and Kilbride, she says she’s given up hunting Katya, but Kilbride tells her he knows some of her former associates have been feeding her information about Katya for years. She explains she's given up pursuing Katya because her obsession was destroying her (in some ways it already has), and admits that the CIA has sent her to psychiatrists for help. (This mirrors Kilbride sending Callen to see Nate.) Before the interview continues, Sam and Kilbride are called out by Fatima with information about the search for Callen (she’s identified a van that left the stakeout location shortly after Callen entered). She also tells them that neither she nor Arkady have been able to reach Anna. Sam tells her to keep trying. Kilbride tells Sam that he doesn't believe Joelle, and Sam suggests they let her go. Kilbride agrees and tells him to put a tracker on her car. As Sam leaves to take care of it, Kilbride tells Sam he knows he lost his wife in a similar scenario, and he promises Sam that they will find his partner. Sam's reply is controlled but emotional: he answers in the affirmative, but his voice and body language show that he knows too well the possibility of failure. This was an effective scene because it not only recalled the devastating loss of Michelle, but also served as a reminder of the familial relationship between Callen and Sam.

The stolen van that Fatima locates provides the team with nothing but another deep fake. Stymied by another dead end, Sam gets word that Joelle has entered a building nearby. He tells Kensi and Rountree to take the van apart while he confronts Joelle. The office where Sam finds Joelle is the same office Callen entered at the end of "The Harder They Fall." Joelle lets him in and Sam infers that she and Callen have been working together tracking Katya. She admits it and when questioned further admits that they’ve also been tracking Pembroke. (Joelle has one of the best lines explaining why she and Callen are working on the QT: “The law can get in the way of a really good time. Kind of like you.”) Sam tells her he wants all the information she has on Katya. Joelle shares the information with Sam, and this is where Military again covers his bases: Joelle explains that they got hits on Katya’s aliases off credit cards which led to vehicles which led to traffic cams. (These are the details an experienced writer includes.) This is how they know she’s changed her appearance. It’s also what leads to the possibility that she’s keeping Callen in a shipping container like she did with Joelle and Anna. Joelle sends the photos of Katya to the shipping container company Katya might have visited while Sam calls the company. Using the photos, the company might be able to identify Katya regardless of the alias used. It turns out she rented several containers and their identifying numbers are sent to Sam who tells Joelle to get them to Ops (she also sends them to the port authorities).

Back at the van, Kensi and Rountree find nothing. They realize that everything they've seen so far has been either a deep fake (Callen parking outside the stakeout, his beating in the stakeout location) or planned by Katya (the stolen van). She's leading them. Kensi tells Rountree, “The more we follow her, the further away we get.” Kensi says they shouldn't move forward. Kilbride concurs. He tells Kensi, “We go backward in time until we find something we assuredly know is real.” And once they find what’s real, they move forward from there. (And this is exactly what Callen’s been doing in his own life this season: going back in time to find, as Nate put it, “the truth of his own existence.” Making these kinds of connections isn’t easy as a writer, but they help provide a consistency in character development—plus they’re just so much fun to see.) Fatima begins checking cameras shortly after Callen received the deep fake phone call that morning. Once she locates the site of his abduction, Kilbride sends Kensi and Rountree to look for witnesses. Witnesses say Callen was put in an ambulance, and Fatima tracks it to an alley. When a white van exits, she tracks that. She gives Sam (who's still with Joelle) the license number, and Joelle identifies it as the van parked at the north gate of the Port of Long Beach. Kilbride sends the team and REACT there while Joelle stays in the office to continue to track Katya.  From this point on, the team is on the right track to finding Callen, but Katya has expected them to find him. In fact, she's counting on it.  (What was very noticeable was that Joelle never offered to help locate Callen. In earlier years, she probably would have, but now she is focused only on finding Katya, and her relationship with Callen is strictly a business one.)

So, while the team searches for Callen, Katya tries to break Callen psychologically and emotionally before killing him. The difficulty in this is that Katya is up against someone who's endured similar training, but while their training was similar, Callen has progressed emotionally while Katya hasn't. 

The struggle between Callen and Katya begins, appropriately, with a deep fake which is extremely creepy and very effective. After his abduction, Callen is securely strapped in a chair in a shipping container facing a screen. He, or rather his deep fake, appears on the screen and introduces him to Katya's version of "This Is Your Life," otherwise known as "This Is the End of Your Life." Katya's approach to Callen is first to mock him and his team for working a nonexistent case, a case she created that's given her plenty of opportunity to track them, videotape them, record them. Her focus shifts to his personal life and that "one-legged bitch." Does Anna know he's seeing her? He tells her he isn't seeing Joelle, but Katya knows he's been meeting her. She then moves to his love life, to Anna. Funny how they both love the same woman, and Katya mentions the irony that both of them have been intimate with Anna. But have they? It may be that Anna was the first person Katya felt emotionally intimate with (after all, her cover was being a prostitute). Anna may have been the first person to reach Katya emotionally, and it may be that their relationship included sex, but at this point, Callen takes the offensive. He belittles her. He describes her as "a desperate fourteen year old hacker" playing practical jokes. Part of this is also his need to change the subject because Callen doesn't want to get into his feelings, not ever and definitely not with Katya, at least not his feelings for Anna. Katya knows that is his "weakness" because it's her weakness. This forces her to drop the deep fake, and she tells him she's wanted to look him in the eye ever since he took what she wanted most. He asks, "Is that your Minecraft account?" (a sarcastic dig at her maturity level) When Katya says Anna "was her chance at having some happiness in this miserable life," she is telling Callen something he's come to recognize for himself. But he doesn't let Katya see that she's speaking for him as well as for herself. He confronts her with truths about herself: she's all about hate and revenge. And then he tells her that what she really wants is what he wants--to see Howard Pembroke dead. 

Callen refuses to tell her more about Pembroke until Katya confronts him face to face. When she does, his sarcasm results in her striking him, but he says they were "disciplined under the same hand," so hitting him will get her nothing. Skeptical, she tests him. She pulls his face to her chest. In that moment, Callen's mind flashes back to his training: his hand is held immobile while Pembroke hits his fingers with a hammer and instructs him to not cry. When young Callen asks how to not cry, Pembroke replies that he must not feel because "feelings cause pain." When Katya releases Callen, she asks him what he's thinking about and he tells her he recognizes Pembroke's cologne. (Olfactory memory is especially strong, evoking emotional responses and remaining strong even after years have passed.) Katya tells him she wears it every day, but she can't smell it anymore. He understands. When Katya sheds a tear, she wipes it away, saying she hasn't cried since she was a child. Callen says, "Feelings cause pain," and Katya recognizes that he has, indeed, endured the same training. 

Once Callen begins to establish some rapport with Katya, he suggests they find Pembroke together. She doesn't believe he'd ever work with her, and in a flash of self-awareness she recognizes she's done things that can't be excused. But Callen continues to try and persuade her. They'll put the gun in his mouth and pull the trigger together. He'll even help her start over. It'll be a way for both of them to be fixed, but Katya says she can never be fixed. And she doesn't want to work with him; she still wants to hurt him for taking Anna from her. Is Callen serious about wanting to kill Pembroke? It's hard to tell if he means what he says, but it's possible he does. The more he remembers about his training, the more his desire for revenge may increase.

Katya leaves and later, on the screen, Callen sees Anna, strapped in a chair as he is, in the control room with Katya. Callen yells out, but gets no response from Anna. He listens and watches as Katya confronts Anna, accusing her of loving her but denying her feelings. Anna reminds her that their "relationship" was in prison years ago, and Katya confesses that it was the happiest time of her life--and this might be true. If true it would explain Katya's obsession with Anna all these years. (Mentally unstable people are sometimes set off by certain events—a stressor or trigger. It may be that the combination of Volkoff’s death and Anna’s betrayal proved to be Katya’s “stressor” that set her on her obsessive course to destroy Callen.) Callen, watching this scene, encourages Anna to "play her"--which is exactly what she did in prison--but Katya brings her relationship with Callen into the conversation and there's a subtle change in Callen's expression as he watches and listens. Katya asks why she hasn't said yes to Callen and describes her relationship with him as "on again, off again." (This scene included the only sentence that rang false: Anna says she’s had a hard time coming to terms with her bi-sexuality.) But when Anna tells Katya that she loved their time together and that she thinks about her, Callen may remember his earlier conversation with Angela, Katya's former girlfriend. She described Katya as a virus, able to make someone do what she wanted once she got hold, and Callen told her he understood. But Callen also knows that Anna isn’t Angela; she isn’t living in fear of Katya. Katya lets Anna see Callen (but not hear or speak to him) before making a proposal: if Anna will come with her to Venezuela for a month, she’ll let Callen live. Anna, glancing at Callen on the screen, agrees to go with Katya, but Katya believes Anna agreed only to save Callen. Angry that Anna has again chosen Callen over her, Katya gets a gun and shoots Anna as Callen cries out. Callen knows that what he sees might not be real, but he also knows his emotions--his feelings--are very real.

At the Port of Long Beach, one of the shipping containers Katya rented has been identified, and when Kensi questions Sam about opening the container, Sam tells her they have no choice. They open it and face another screen with Callen, still secured in a chair with a bucket at his feet, and Katya standing next to him. Sam and Katya verbally tangle, but the team watches as Katya pours potassium cyanide pellets into the bucket to create a cloud of hydrogen cyanide gas. She leaves the container, and the team--including Anna--watch Callen as he breathes in the gas. But Sam refuses to accept that Callen, his partner, has died, and he pulls Anna away from watching the screen. In his container located in another storage yard, Callen--still alive--thanks his partner and calls him the greatest partner in the world. Katya enters with helpers and as they set to work booby trapping the container, Katya tells Callen that since he's taken Anna from him, she's taking his family--his team, the only family he has--from him, and he'll watch as they break into the container to rescue him and blow themselves up. Callen first tries to persuade Katya that she's seeing a relationship with his team that's not there. but she cuts him off. She knows exactly how much he cares about them. She knows because even though she and Callen endured the same training, he has, through his strength of character, goodness, and resilience--and through the affection and love of his team, especially his partner--been able to become part of a family. It's taken him most of his life, but he's finally done it almost in spite of his dysfunctional past. Katya sees in Callen someone who has overcome the worst parts of his past and knows this is something she's incapable of doing. And now Anna is going to join his family. It's not enough that he's been able to have a family; he's taking the one person Katya saw as her only chance at happiness. And Katya hates him for it. Callen falls silent because he knows that Katya is right. Even though he still has a long way to go to feel comfortable with his own emotions, Callen is part of a family, a family that he hopes will soon include Anna. These are the people he cares about the most and the people who care about him the most. Before she leaves, Katya tells him, "Their love for you is what's going to kill them." That is a terrible burden for Callen, and it almost comes true.

Sitting in a car outside the yard waiting for the explosion, Katya confesses that killing Callen has not brought her any satisfaction; it is no more satisfying than a drink of water. Katya also admits that Callen is one of the few people who know how dead she is inside.

Back in the container yard, the team splits up and searches for containers on Katya's list. Anna finds the one Callen's in and immediately begins to try and open the door. This is a well-directed scene, focusing on the anxiety and urgency of Callen and Anna: similar emotions with very different causes. Anna begins to shoot the padlock and after Callen yells, "Don't shoot!" the scene shifts to the street and a close-up of a gloved hand carrying a gun with a silencer. (This was another terrific edit.) Katya tells her associate something's wrong; the bomb should’ve gone off. She wants to return, but her associate tells her there are NCIS agents there. At that moment, both look up. Joelle is standing in front of the car and shoots the associate first and then Katya, but before she's shot, Katya says, "Thank god," possibly grateful to finally find peace in death. Katya had no problem killing others, but she couldn't kill herself. Joelle shoots each again and walks away.

As Anna opens the door of the container a fraction (while Callen is yelling at her to not open it), Sam arrives and slams it shut. He opens it to check for explosives and Callen tells him there's a bomb. Sam sees it, and once he can open the door wide enough for Anna to enter, she rushes in to release Callen. Sam, meanwhile, completes defusing the bomb. When he's done, he makes an all clear announcement, and turns to see Callen and Anna in an embrace. They are oblivious to everything and everyone. This--giving no response to Sam's announcement--shows the intensity of their feelings at that moment.

Later, Callen, accompanied by Anna, walks over to the car and identifies Katya for LAPD, but when asked if he has any idea who shot the women, Callen replies, "No idea. Sorry."  He and Anna walk away, and as they do, Callen says, "It's over." and Anna agrees. He then reaches down and takes hold of her hand and without looking at her says, "I love you." She smiles faintly and says, "I love you so much." They walk out of the scene. Now they can start their life together. That was a perfect ending.

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Whether or not we see Joelle again (I tend to think we won’t), this was a fitting end to her story. Although she didn’t die, she was also a victim of her obsession, but she may be able to move forward with her life now.  

Where does Callen’s story go from here? That’s for the writers to know and viewers to find out in season 14, but there was one thing that came to mind after this episode: this—to find Callen a family—was the reason Hetty brought Callen to NCIS. He’d worked for the DEA, CIA, and FBI, but it wasn’t until he came to NCIS that he became part of a family, and according to conversations with Hetty, it took him more than a few years to do that. This also brought to mind Hetty’s conversation with Anna about the value of a team. Maybe Hetty recognized the similarities between Callen and Anna way back then.