"Work and Family" (Season 13, Episode 20)

It's an amazing accomplishment when a weekly TV series reaches 300 episodes, and with this episode, NCIS: Los Angeles reached that remarkable milestone. It's been quite the journey, and this episode was all about the team. In fact, the "case" wasn't anything but a means to bring the team together at the end. It certainly wasn't memorable, but since the character storylines were where the real focus was, I'll dispense with the "case" quickly: two men try to break into a military base in Ventura and one is killed, the other seriously injured by explosives they've brought with them. The agents investigate and their investigation eventually leads them to a ranch house Kensi and Deeks are surveilling before being captured and then rescued by the entire team. The execution of the investigation was nothing one would ever expect from an "elite" team, and we never know who the bad guys were, where they got their weapons, or why they broke into the military base, but the episode wasn't about the "case." It was all about the characters' and their storylines. I will say that Hetty's presence--in any form--was sorely missed.

The episode opens at Sam's new home where we meet his father, Raymond. Raymond reflects on his earlier life with Sam's mother, and it's a quiet scene wherein Sam reminds his dad that he bought the house he grew up in in 1979. In that moment, we see a gentler side of Sam and what his life with his dad may be like. There is a bit of tension between them when Sam tells him--asks him--to not leave the house, and Raymond agrees not to although he is plainly unhappy about being told what to do.

The scene cuts to Kensi and Deeks who are at the agency where they met Pilar in an earlier episode only now they're focused on Rosa. It seems her aunt is in ill health which makes Rosa's situation complicated and likely that she'll be deported to Guatemala. Unlike Pilar, Rosa doesn't have a particularly strong a case for asylum. This is because Rosa came to the U.S. by herself after her mother became ill and her father disappeared, but there's no evidence that either parent is dead; her father could have left to start a new family, not because he was murdered by a gang. And Rosa was threatened by Americans (when Kensi rescued her), not be a Guatemalan gang. At this point, it's possible that she'll be sent back to Guatemala. Kensi and Deeks want to prevent this, and ask the counselor about possible steps that can be taken; however, none of the options are guaranteed to prevent Rosa's deportation. It's then that Kensi and Deeks--in unison--ask, "What if we adopt her?" After getting over her initial surprise, the counselor explains that the process is complicated, beginning with proof that Rosa is, in fact, an orphan. It is a task Kensi and Deeks are willing to take on.

At OSP, Kilbride discovers that none of the agents have shown up for work yet. He enters Osp and sees Shyla, so he asks her where they are. Since Shyla knows where they all are--except for Callen (who is still in "detention" as far as we know)--they must have checked in with her at some point. I'd have thought she'd have already relayed this information to Kilbride, but evidently not. Scenes like this make it hard to believe Vance found Kilbride to be the person to be in charge of covert operations on the West Coast, let alone OSP. An agent or two might have "gone rogue" under Hetty's watch, but the entire team never went AWOL. Anyway, Kilbride tells her to call them all in so that they can investigate the break-in and explosion at the military base the night before.

Rountree enters OSP and is met by Fatima who asks him how his deposition went (related to his experience with LAPD). He says it went fine. During their conversation, we learn that his sister met with Nate and that helped. They head up to Ops where Shyla briefs them about the incident at the military base. The other agents have been called back in, and Fatima and Rountree head to the base to see what they can find. (That entire sequence--the two of them shuffling around speculating about the who and why--was a waste of screen time. It's as if the writer couldn't figure out what they should do at the crime scene, so he had them do nothing.)

It's still morning when the scene switches to a small cafe/bar where Arkady is sitting at a table. Callen enters and approaches him. Arkady's surprised to see him, and Callen tells him he's been trying to reach him. So, now that he's found him, he needs to talk. Arkady asks if Anna is okay, and Callen tells him she is and that's why he wants to talk to him. Callen tells Arkady that he loves Anna and is going to ask her to marry him. He'd like Arkady's blessing. Arkady laughs first and then gets serious and tells Callen no, he won't give him his blessing. He tells Callen that if they love each other, they should just live together and not ruin it by getting married. He says marriage never works. Callen disagrees. Arkady then tells Callen that without his blessing their marriage will be cursed and Anna won't marry Callen without his blessing. Callen says she will. Callen then leaves and both are angry about the conversation. What is so important about this scene is how adamant Callen is that he and Anna love each other. It's obvious that a lot has happened between them offscreen for Callen to be so sure that Anna loves him and that she'll marry him whether Arkady approves or not--and to tell Arkady that in public. The only other romantic relationship Callen's had was with Joelle, and he never said he loved her. (To be fair, we only saw them together as a couple in "Humbug," so the writers didn't give them a lot of opportunities for conversations.) And while Anna told Callen she loved him in "Genesis," Callen has never told Anna he loves her, at least not onscreen. This is such a huge step for him--just as big and important as it was for Kensi and Deeks--it would be inappropriate for the writers to have him say those words to her for the first time offscreen, but given the way they've treated the Callen-Anna relationship through the years, it might be that he's already confessed his feelings for her. At least we know he hasn't proposed to her yet.

So where do the characters go from here? Well, it seems the "adoption/baby" storyline for Densi is coming to an end, and not in the way many expected. After deciding to pursue adopting Rosa, Kensi and Deeks are also prepared to adopt Pilar. That would give them an immediate family with two teenage girls, and it's difficult to see them also welcoming a newborn into their lives while still working in the field as NCIS agents. But adopting two girls will provide them with plenty of family situations to confront and deal with, and unlike fostering, adopting Rosa (and possibly Pilar) means--as Deeks pointed out--that they will be their daughters forever: through high school, through college, when they go out and start their careers, if they get married and/or have children of their own. These new additions to their lives will, if the adoptions go through, bring many changes.

And Sam? To be honest, Raymond seemed much less of a "problem" than other older parents have been in other shows (Pride's mother, Ducky's mother, Hotch's father-in-law, Booth's grandfather, even Hondo's dad--to name a few). It may be that, if he is a recurring character in season 14, Raymond will become more of a challenge for Sam, but in this episode, he and Sam enjoyed a relatively congenial relationship. In fact, they seemed to bond and grudgingly enjoy each other's company, and Raymond's interest in women might even motivate Sam to "get in the game" again (since Katherine seems to be out of the picture). Plus, there is the possibility of family reunions with Kam and Aiden creating a true generational family gathering.

And Callen? It would be nice if the writers finally allowed the character some personal happiness and stability, but who knows if that'll happen. Marrying Anna would mean he's finally--for the first time since he was a child--going to be part of a family, his family, a family that isn't work-related. That's a huge step and will bring with it a whole new set of responsibilities and challenges. As an adult, he's never been in a position of co-existing with someone on a daily basis, to compromise (if necessary), to "work things out." This requires a different perspective and mindset, but Callen has the skills and temperament to do it. And if a child enters the picture, that would be a whole new area for both Callen and Anna, but one that would be worth exploring (I can already hear the jokes and genuine helpful tips from Sam). The fact that the writer tossed in "the curse" is a little troubling since it provides a way to throw a wrench in Callen's future with Anna--something the writers have been doing since season 8. In addition to his future with Anna, his relationship with Hetty will be explored--and might explode--in season 14, so it would be nice if Callen had a life partner to help him through what might be an emotionally charged episode in his life since he's faced so many alone.

As for the other characters, they haven't been established long enough to see any particular futures for them coming out of this episode, so whatever the future holds for them will have to wait until season 14.