Season 14, Episodes 20 & 21 -- "New Beginnings"

 

Even though this is a review of the finale, it's not going to be all sunshine and roses (maybe more like sunshine and gunpowder), so if the reader expects a review that doesn't point out any weaknesses or problems, this isn't the review for them. I've followed the series since season 1 and grown to love and appreciate all the characters and the actors in their roles, but that appreciation doesn't mean that a critique shouldn't be honest. And my comments are not a personal opinion about any of the cast, crew, or writers but reflects my views of their performance or their work in their chosen or assigned capacity on the show. I've never read any negative personal comments about anyone associated with this show--and I'm not prone to believe gossip anyway--and the comments in my reviews are not a personal criticism. Everyone who makes a career in this highly competitive field of entertainment has worked hard, but working hard--however sincere the effort--doesn't automatically result in an outstanding result.

The finale of any series is special, and when a series has been on-air for more than a decade and aired more than 300 episodes, that's something to celebrate. This two-part finale was the writers' effort to celebrate the characters and the series. Were they successful? Yes and no. There were certainly memorable, emotional scenes, but, taken as a whole, the episodes--like too many in recent seasons--fell short. As has been true the past few seasons, the acting was superior, the writing mediocre. And that's disappointing because everyone involved with the series gave it their best effort and worked hard to make the show and this finale successful. But no amount of fine acting or sincere effort can make up for a mediocre script.

The entire premise for ATF involving NCIS didn't make sense, and one thing bugged me: it wasn't that long ago that Anna worked as an ATF agent. Why wasn't she asked if she knew anything about either Newsome or Adams since both had probably been with the agency for years? It was annoying that the writers completely ignored Anna as a resource. Anyway, Newsome, the ATF agent has been undercover with an illegal arms group for 7 months and has catalogued the weapons being sold, but ATF hasn't been able to identify where the weapons are being stolen from (not sure how they knew they were being stolen if they don't know the source), but in one day NCIS identifies the source. Amazing! And when Fatima and Rountree see the list of military grade weapons, they don't contact naval weapons stations in the area to confirm that there are no missing weapons. Instead, their first instinct is to reach out to Nina Barnes. Naturally. When Kensi and Deeks meet Newsome in the boatshed (equipped with the new weapons dumbwaiter), Kilbride says, "We don't have much background except there are ten bodies tied to him." Who's Kilbride talking about? Who's "him"? We never know. The plot just gets more complicated from here. If Adams, the ATF SAC, was dirty and working with the bad guys, why wouldn't she just have the bad guys take out Newsome? Why let him stay undercover with the organization for 7 months and then involve another federal law enforcement agency? If she's in cahoots with the bad guys, does she know the identity of the person running the organization? Why did they contact her? If she's passing along information, who does she pass it to and how? Eventually Fatima, through a slip, discovers that Adams has money from an unidentified source, so Callen and Sam go to question her. They arrive as she's leaving and a gunfight ensues which was the end of episode 20. This was clearly supposed to be a cliffhanger leading into season 15, but with the cancellation, the writers had to scramble to resolve the plot quickly, along with several other storylines. There is a fight at the house where Kensi and Deeks are (after they confirm Argentina is the source of the weapons because there are labels listing the place of origin on the crates, no kidding), Newsome turns out to be a good guy, the bad guys are captured or killed, and the head of the organization uncovered--I think. One thing I really wished was that the writers had had Switch and Mr. Carl go undercover one last time instead of Switch and Nina.The writers missed a perfect opportunity: Callen and Sam went undercover in the first episode, so going undercover in the final episode would've brought the series full circle.

The scenes that worked the best in both episodes were the scenes between Callen and Sam, the scenes between Kensi and Deeks, the scenes between Callen and Anna, and the scenes between Sam and Raymond and Anna and Arkady (in episode 20). The opening scene between Callen and Anna in episode 20 included a story about Arkady at the Playboy Mansion on a Halloween long ago. That was another addition to the legend that's Arkady and Callen's reaction was priceless as was Anna's suggestively dropping hints. (Their worry over the seating assignments for their wedding wasn't believable, but none of the wedding planning scenes this season have been believable for either character). The scenes between Sam and Raymond were bittersweet and a touching tribute to the strength of each character and the love they have for each other. The morning scene at the Deeks' household was realistically chaotic and charming, and every viewer probably guessed that the "food poisoning" Kensi suffered from was morning sickness.

The scene in episode 20 between Rountree and his sister as she prepared for her interview was also a nice one, but it could've been handled in one scene in episode 21. The banter between Callen and Sam while they waited for Nina Barnes was touching: Callen wondering about his upcoming marriage, Sam's affirmation he was doing the right thing, and the conversation then turning to Michelle and Sam's memories of her. And then followed the scene with Nina Barnes, the former arms dealer now baker and private investigator. This conversation was awkward. It was meant to be humorous, but there was no context, so neither Callen's nor Nina's attitude towards one another made any sense since they'd never met as far as we knew. Same with the comment about the order for 200 pastries. That also made no sense since, given Callen's attitude, he certainly wouldn't have placed such an order with Nina. The conversation between Kensi and Deeks as they performed their overwatch duties was spot on (Lucky, lucky me.) I do wish the writers had gotten Deeks' Daryl Dinkins story right (keeping details--and characters--consistent has been an ongoing issue for the series), but his effort to distract the guard by searching for his lost Burmese python, Bubble Gum, was classic Deeks.

The primary problem in episode 21 was that the plot in episode 20 was so complicated that it took up too much time to resolve. It took half the episode to complete a plot that, since it was the series finale, meant nothing. If I'd been the showrunner, after the shoot-out, I'd have had Adams confess and give up the bad guys and wrapped up the case in 15 minutes, tops, because nobody cared about the case.  As it was, the most personal scenes in episode 21 were very short, too short, and those were the scenes that mattered most. The scene where Kensi discovers she's pregnant was fine, and it was appropriate that Rosa be included in the scene as a member of the Deeks family, but the lack of a follow-up was a problem. The wedding scene itself took less than 3 minutes--the shortest wedding ceremony I've ever seen on a TV show--although the conversation between Callen and Sam that preceded it was lovely (I really wanted to see a similar conversation between Anna and Kensi, but Anna never had any conversations with Kensi about anything in 7 seasons). The ceremony itself was not only brief but lacked a personal touch. Both Callen and Anna could've written personal vows--they're allowed at courthouse weddings, but evidently, that seemed unimportant or too time consuming to both writers. If they weren't going to write their own vows, at the very least they could've repeated vows before the ring exchange instead of simply saying, "I do" just so we could hear Anna say Callen's first name once before the series ended. That's also common--and allowed--at courthouse weddings. But again, that must've been unimportant to both writers. (The judge had more lines during the wedding ceremony than either Callen or Anna, and that was ridiculous.) And who took pictures for the couple? Not one person had a camera or even their phone out to take photos. That's a memory that's lost forever. And, sorry, wardrobe department, but nobody covers a beautiful, elegant gown with a suit jacket. A dressy jacket wouldn't have those lapels or pockets or full length sleeves with plastic buttons; it would be more like Chanel and less like a blazer no matter the material.

And then there was Hetty's letter. Of course, it was ridiculous that the letter would be delivered the exact day and time and location of the "impromptu" wedding, especially from another country (and, btw writers, Callen has spoken Arabic). But while many viewers were thrilled to hear Hetty's voice again--which was a nice touch--the letter itself was quite impersonal. The letter included no personal message to Callen, her "son." There was nothing in the letter a mother, especially a mother who wants her "son" to know how much she loves him and wants to make amends, would write to a son she might never see again. She said nothing about being proud of him for the man he's become, for moving forward and not letting his past hold him back, how happy she is that he's found happiness and someone to share his life with him, or even her hope that she will see him--and Anna--again. Her comments were a bland, generic observation about "family" that could've been written to any member of her team. And in the end, was the letter even written by Hetty, or was it written by Nell? If it was written by Nell, that made the letter not only impersonal but a fake--not a good message to Callen.

And what happened after the wedding? This brings up something that was a problem with both episodes: the lack of scenes with the entire team--a problem that's been an issue for awhile and could've easily been corrected with a scene after the wedding. It's one thing to say the team is a family; it's another to actually show the team is a family. And for too many episodes--including the finale--we haven't seen the team family. And since it's not difficult to show, I'm not sure why. In the finale, it would've been easy. Why, for heaven's sake, were they all hanging around the courthouse after the wedding? That made zero sense. Who would do that? Nobody. They all would've gone some place to celebrate, and celebrate not just the wedding but Kensi's pregnancy. A family celebrates good news for everyone in the family (it was a shame not to see Roberta's expression at the good news). Since it was so casual, why not have them go back to Kensi and Deeks' home and order some food, sit around and talk, maybe even dance? The episode needed a celebration similar to the one in the finale last season. That would've been a much better ending than wasting time wrapping up a pointless case. It was a treat to see Nell, Nate, and Sabatino a final time, but they (and Willis) could've shown up at Kensi and Deeks' and joined in the festivities before asking Callen and Sam to join them in their search for Hetty. Kilbride could've given Callen and Sam his okay, and Kensi and Deeks could've stayed both because of Kensi's pregnancy and because OSP still needed to be fully staffed. 

Showing Callen and Sam in Morocco was unnecessary, not to mention probably an added expense. (In a TVLine interview, Gemmill mentioned the budget as one reason more former actors weren't included, but shooting on location is usually more expensive than shooting on a studio lot.) 

There were other issues that the writers either ignored or tried to make work that didn't, but I'm not going to go into them. I'm glad Callen and Anna were married and that Kensi and Deeks are going to have a baby. I don't much care about the other characters even though I like them Truth be told, I'm also a little glad that, as much as I love these characters, there isn't going to be a season 15 after hearing some of Gemmill's ideas for it. Sunday nights will never be the same, but I enjoyed watching this cast for 14 seasons.

Contrary to what readers might think based on this review, I've enjoyed the series since its inception, but these past few seasons I've watched it more for the characters and the acting than the stories. The early seasons will always be the best, in my opinion, although the later seasons had some excellent episodes, and the wonderful cast--especially Chris O'Donnell as Callen--were a joy to watch and will remain a joy to rewatch. I wish all the writers and crew members the very best as they move on to new positions, and it'll be exciting to see what the future holds for each of the actors, the regulars and the guest actors, who graced my TV screen for 14 seasons. The 14 seasons, while not perfect, were an amazing accomplishment, and everyone who worked on this series has a right to be proud of what they accomplished.