SEASON SIX EPISODE SIX

MURDER 2.0

Wow! Now that was a superb episode, it really was. That is old-style NCIS, with a enthralling case, good team work, a good balance of character on-screen time, twists and for once a non-obvious murderer.

And for Ducky lovers - a lot more Ducky this week, which was lovely. And for Gibbs/Ducky lovers a couple of nice little scenes between them.

We begin with a woman (Marine Sergeant Alice Hardy) in Marine clothes going into a house. She suddenly thinks she's being watched, so calls out and then grabs her weapon and kicks open a door. Rather than find the expected intruder she finds a fellow Marine (Marine Sergeant Jack Burrell) on whom she has pulled a gun a few times. He turns out to be her husband and he is surprising her as it's their one month anniversary. Awww, how nice. She is pleased by it and goes off to grab a quick shower, whilst he lays out some 'toys' soft handcuffs, etc. on the bed. Cue scream from bathroom and you think 'my God, someone other than hubby was there and he's killed her' and then you see blood. And then very cleverly the camera pans up and blood is coming out of the shower head! Talk about a gripping and explosive start!

At HQ McGee arrives and DiNozzo runs over to him to warn him that Ziva is at his desk and not a happy bunny - he tells McGee to plead temporary insanity. Ziva has discovered that McGee still has the photograph of her in her bikini from Judgment Day, photos she has told him to destroy twice. McGee talks geek and tries to wriggle out of it, whilst Ziva threatens him with removing his eyes - or one eye if he owns up. McGee 'reminds' viewers (in case they'd forgotten) that it's Halloween this week and says he saw a black cat that morning and then confesses it was actually dark brown, but hopefully it's enough for him to be lucky. Gibbs arrives and puts a end to Ziva's threats and when asked by DiNozzo what they have, he admits he's not sure - which was a nice touch.

At the Marine Sergeants' house DiNozzo makes the first of many film, and in particular horror film (a genre I don't watch, so most went way over my head - but then most of DiNozzo's film references go way over my head) references when he likens it to the shower scene in Psycho, which I have at least heard about. Ziva tells Gibbs than given the amount of blood, they have notified Ducky, but given the lack of a body they really are stuck - all they've done is to take a few photos of the bloody shower.

It appears that the blood must have got into the base water system and Gibbs takes McGee with him to go and look at the main tank. Ducky and Jimmy are already there and when the Marines take the cover off there is a body. Ducky says the man had not been in the tank any longer than twenty-four hours and the cuts to his body were made post-mortem. He doesn't, yet, know how the man died, but he can rule out drowning. And then he finds something in the man's mouth: it's some kind of capsule and opening it shows the name of a web-site: primitus-victor.com.

In Abby's lab Abby and McGee are explaining to Gibbs, Ziva and DiNozzo how the site is a place hold site where anyone can upload anything to be viewed by anyone. We then have a moment of light-heartedness as Abby watches a video (not theirs) of a man dancing and McGee is smiling and in the mood. Gibbs pulls them back to the case and it turns out they are the first people to view 'their' video. It is of the dead man being killed, but interspersed with it are other shots: of a bear, a man playing baseball and a clock. Thus far there have been no hits on the dead man's prints, but the person who uploaded the video opened an account at a Cyber cafe a month ago - McGee goes off to investigate. Whilst Gibbs sends DiNozzo and Ziva off to do some more tracing on the dead man - who didn't turn up to work. As he's about to go, Abby tells Gibbs that 'primitus victor' is Latin for 'first victim'. Gibbs says he knows. I don't know Latin and J isn't around, but a quick Google and a look at translators (which I know aren't that great) show it's not quite right. It's actually 'primoris victor' but another translation from Latin to English for 'primitus victor' says is in fact 'first victor'. But these things aren't, as I said, great. I'll have to see if I can dig out our Latin dictionary. I have duly checked and indeed TPTB got it wrong - 'victor' does not mean 'victim'.

We then go to Autopsy to the sight of Jimmy powering up the bone cutting saw and having a really good time doing so. He says he never gets tired of using it; he's having fun, somewhat inappropriately (so it seems as if TPTB are taking the odd such inappropriate comment Jimmy has made over the previous seasons and now making him into that person all the time. Hmmm). Gibbs walks in to be greeted by Ducky saying: "Nice timing, Jethro." Well he does have that knack, Ducky; he does always seem to know when to turn up. Ducky goes on to say that he thought Gibbs would like to see what they found on the scans, or rather what they didn't find.

Jimmy (in a very gleeful tone): "His brain is missing." Gibbs just looks at him and Ducky tells him not to get so excited. We learn that his brain was removed via the nose in the way Egyptians did it - yuck! Jimmy beams again. And we also learn that the poor man was alive when it was done; unconscious, but alive.

Gibbs says: "Thanks, Duck," and goes to leave, but Ducky hasn't finished - he rarely has - and tells Gibbs that the man had been frozen after he was killed, thus Ducky cannot work out the time of death; Ducky suggests that was a deliberate thing - you think, Ducky?

Ducky: "There are many parts to this puzzle, Jethro."
Gibbs: "It's not a puzzle, Duck."
Ducky: "A game?" Gibbs just looks at him and as often happens Ducky knows just what Gibbs is thinking. Ducky says: "I'm afraid it is one this poor fellow has lost."

Up in the squad room McGee has identified the victim. He is Billy Cole born in 1982 (making him 26, he looks older) in Virginia. He works at a car wash and two years ago he denoted sperm. DiNozzo arrives at that point and makes a comment about the things people will do for money. Ziva 'reminds' him that he once donated sperm, but DiNozzo says that wasn't for money. He then stars to talk to Gibbs, basically interrupting McGee who lets him know he's not happy. DiNozzo says: "Lets see who the boss prefers." (Silly boy, DiNozzo, you know he won't go with you). After both McGee and DiNozzo look at Gibbs expectantly ('choose me, Daddy') and Gibbs looks at them; he naturally does the Gibbs thing and calls for Ziva's report. Nice one, Gibbs. She says that Quantaco security are sure that no one could have got a body past them without them noticing it and then Gibbs says it was frozen.

It appears that Burrell and his wife were the first ones to use water. [Okay, now that I found a tad hard to swallow and believe to be honest as it implies it is purely a military base, i.e. no civilians and all the said military personnel were on duty at the same time, thus not in their homes using water. But I guess we have to just accept it as 'unlikely' but necessary - it is this kind of thing that does make me a somewhat irritated, I must say]. DiNozzo tells McGee to click the clicky thing, i.e. reply parts of the video and suggests there is a clue in the scenes - and they'll figure it out. Gibbs then turns back to McGee who has to confess he has nothing else for Gibbs as Cole has never been arrested. Gibbs asks McGee for Cole's address and takes DiNozzo with him. As they are going DiNozzo reminds Ziva about the screen-saver which Ziva says she had forgotten about and thanks DiNozzo and looks at McGee. And that was when I feared we were going to get that played again and again and again. But fortunately, we didn't. That was it.

At the scene, which is fairly messy DiNozzo keeps talking to Gibbs about how much quieter he is than usual and did he fear a serial killer; Gibbs says he's more worried that there isn't one. And then we hear a scream coming from inside a building. Gibbs and DiNozzo go into 'Special Agent mode' and go in. But it is only a group of teenagers/early twenties, playing what laughingly passes for 'music'. Gibbs can't make himself heard over the row so in true Gibbs style he stops it by yanking the leads out of the amplifier. We learn from the man (Tommy Doyle) that Cole disappeared a week ago owing a couple of months rent and Doyle just thought he'd done a runner. The girl (Rose Woodhouse) a not very attractive looking blonde says she can't believe it. When questioned as to her relationship with Cole, she says they were friends, just room-mates which, Doyle tells them, is the name of the band for which Cole used to be the lead guitar. But Doyle got someone else as Cole didn't get it.

DiNozzo: "It?" [And for one DiNozzo and I are in full accord 'It'????????]
Doyle: "If you have to ask you don't get it either."

DiNozzo looks perplexed and that perplexity grows more as Rose starts to blatantly (talk about laying it on with a trowel) flirt with Gibbs, saying his name is interesting. We then see a picture of the band and in the background is the figure of the bear we saw in the video.

Gibbs and DiNozzo find another body tied to the bear; a baseball bat has been left by the body and also a picture of a somewhat clock on his mobile phone - all the things that were in the first video. And there is another cannister with another note with 'secundus-victor' on the front (Latin for 'second victim' or 'second victor' according to the translation) and 'Hello Agent Gibbs' on the back.

Back at HQ, Vance and Gibbs are in MTAC watching the new video. This shows a man being killed, a film reel with a countdown which ends with a nuclear explosion, the Virgin Mary crying tears of blood, and an anchor. Vance wants to know how the killer knew Gibbs was assigned to the case and says he has SecNav breathing down his neck; he'll deal with him, Gibbs needs to catch the killer. There was a nice bit of by-play when Vance asks Gibbs if he needs to tell him that SecNav is breathing down his neck and Gibbs tells him he can if it'll make him feel better - and Vance does tell him; nice.

Down in the squad room McGee, DiNozzo and Ziva are trying to figure out which clue is the location, which is the time and which is the murder weapon. We have more film references and DiNozzo insults McGee. Ziva interrupts him and pulls them back onto the case. McGee comes up with the suggestion that it could be killer nuns and the Virgin Mary could point to a convent and he knew some agitated nuns. When Gibbs arrives he says he wants more than 'agitated nuns'. All they have is the name of the dead man: Bob Simms, a former navy chief who has no connection with Cole other than he too had his brain removed via his nose. Again with the 'yuck'.

And then Rose turns up, she looks rather smarter and a little more 'classy' than before and she says she thinks she knows who might have made the videos (they have been all over the news/net so everyone has seen them). Gibbs and Ziva take her to the conference room and Rose says that although the band was Doyle's, Cole made it happen and she shows them a band video (which is awful) and comments she's not a professional singer which leads Ziva to somewhat cattily (but honestly) making a comment about she holds the microphone well. I think Ziva is trying to find something nice to say, but isn't quite managing it; Rose isn't offended by the comment - I think she knows her limitations. We then get other shots of dancers, etc. interspersed with the band video, just like the killer's videos, and the name of the person who made the video was Sam Lewis of Loominosity Pictures. Gibbs sends Ziva and DiNozzo there. Meanwhile Rose is still trying to flirt and come on to him, saying she feels safe at NCIS and likes more mature men. He gives her his card, but stresses she is only to call if she really is in trouble.

Meanwhile DiNozzo is telling Ziva that Rose wasn't his type anyway, and Ziva comments that she was breathing - ouch, Ziva (but justified). DiNozzo says he had standards, otherwise he'd be dating Ziva - more sibling banter and sniping at one another. They knock on the door and Sam comes out with a camera, when he learns who they are he apologies, explaining he'd had something stolen last week. Inside is, in DiNozzo's words, 'Probie heaven', and it's rather 'fun' as Sam is an older man, in fact he's retired and this is his second career. He admits to having made the band video and having seen the murder video - on-line - but says he had help from some 300,000 'co-incidences' to make the band video, as he'd never done it before and got a lot of on-line help.

Back at HQ, DiNozzo has called McGee about it and McGee says the site doesn't have an automatic tracker if IP addresses so they'll have to go through it by hand. At that moment Gibbs gets a call from a man with a 'disguised' mechanical type voice and he signals to McGee to start tracing it. The person knows a lot about Gibbs; he knows he's a decorated Marine, he knows he's got the Civilian Service award six times and Gibbs suggests if he brings the killer in, it could be seven. He knows they are trying to trace the call, but says they won't - McGee confirms the voice is being bounced over IPs all over the world. He also says that he's been looking for Gibbs for a long time and they are a a lot alike - they are both going to hell. Gibbs suggests the man might be, but not him. Then the killer says he has something very special for Gibbs that he thinks he'll like.

And then Abby calls to say there's another video and she's sent it to McGee. She then identifies some posters from outside her room: the video has been taken there. But it's not a video as such, McGee discovers, it's a streaming video - the killer is there, outside Abby's lab! Gibbs and McGee race down to the lab, Abby is hiding beneath the desk and then she crawls out and grabs something. Gibbs and McGee, guns in hand, arrive outside the lab to find only Harry - the janitor. McGee leaves Gibbs with Harry and races in to see if Abby is all right and ends up flat on his face as he falls out of his shoes that have got stuck to the floor!

Back in Abby's lab we have Abby with a blanket around her, McGee, DiNozzo (who makes a reference to the Janni Cam) and Ziva whilst Gibbs is talking to Harry. Abby says she'd never been so scared before and then goes on to document the three other times (from episodes) when she has been: When her psycho ex-boyfriend stalked her; when Chip threatened her with a knife and when McGee's fan held a gun to her head. So she's been scared a few times.

Gibbs arrives to confirm that Harry is innocent; he has an alibi for each of the murders. The camera was in his lunch box and McGee asks Gibbs if Harry has any idea how it got there. Abby tells them that he was moonlighting last month, but as DiNozzo rightly points out how could the killer have known a month ago that Gibbs would be assigned to the case? Then Vance enters and says that the killer had been targeting Gibbs from the beginning, adding that Gibbs 'must have really pissed someone off'.

DiNozzo: "It's not a short list." Oops, silly boy, DiNozzo. He gets the 'Gibbs glare' and then makes matters worse by trying to talk his way out of what he meant.
Vance: "Why don't you quit while you're behind, DiNozzo?"
DiNozzo: "I'm trying."

A nice little scene.

Gibbs still doesn't think it's about him. They have a serial killer and they know nothing. Sam is ruled out as he was with Ziva and DiNozzo when the call was made to Gibbs. Gibbs then rubs Abby's shoulders and she says she has two questions: one why was that video different from the others and two can she stay at Gibbs's house that night. And then Vance steps in and tells someone to get McGee a new pair of shoes - again with Vance being so 'caring' about the team, what is his game?

Down in a darkened Autopsy, the only light being on Ducky's desk, Ducky is sitting listening to a tape of the killer's call to Gibbs. And we see a figure walking quietly and slowly up to him. I'm not sure if we were meant to think that Ducky was being threatened, but probably not as he'd have heard the doors to Autopsy open; plus as we've seen more than once he pretty much always knows when his visitor is Gibbs.

Ducky (talking to the voice on the tape): "What do you have planned?"
Gibbs (coming up behind him): "Well, I was hoping you could tell me that, Duck."
Ducky: "This is a fascinating individual, Jethro."
Gibbs comments he can think of another word.
Ducky suggests 'crazy'. He then qualifies it saying he should say 'he has a narcissistic personality disorder'.
Gibbs says he's familiar with that too.
And Ducky, knowing just who Gibbs means smiles and explains that 'whist Agent DiNozzo has an excessive need for admiration, he also has empathy' which the killer does not.

Ducky has prints of the various extra scenes on his wall to study and he comments that it appears to all be a game and wonders why the killer is playing it with Gibbs. He goes on to explain that the killer sees himself as the hero and Gibbs as the villain. It appears he doesn't care who he kills, he just wants his fifteen minutes of fame. Ducky then ponders what he has planned for the finale and something comes to him. His look and exclamation earn him a slightly concerned 'Duck?' from Gibbs, as Ducky hurries off to get something from the room that leads off Autopsy. [Note to fellow Ducky-fen, does Ducky appear to be sitting down a lot more at the moment? He was at his desk which necessitated him having to put his head quite a way back to look up at Gibbs to keep eye-contact and then after he fetches the book, he sits down again on the stool by the small mobile table].

He comes back with a book commenting that he had seen the clock before: the killer seems to be being quite literal. It is the Doomsday clock, and then Ducky obligingly explains to the viewers what that is: it shows how close we are to nuclear annihilation. He explains that the clock changes with the geo-political situation and is currently set at five minutes to midnight. Which is less than three hours from now.

Back in the squad room Gibbs has told them about Ducky's theory and Ziva goes off to warn all the churches and DiNozzo all the ship yards. McGee is still trying to back track the killer's call. Gibbs sits down and looks at the big screen and then gets up again, declaring they are playing the killer's game - but it is the only one they can play.

He and Vance then have a slight run in because Gibbs wants to close down the entire Navy yard. Vance, somewhat sarcastically 'reminds' Gibbs that they run the navy from the navy yard and they can't just abandon ship on the basis on Gibbs's hunch. However, Gibbs is certain the killer will go there, but if there isn't anyone for him to kill, he can't kill anyone. In the end Vance agrees; he has an exercise planned for next week and will simply move it up. But then McGee calls with the news that a person did not have to be at the other end when the call to Gibbs was made. It was a recording that would have been triggered by certain words Gibbs said to make it sound like a conversation - and it did it darn well, I must say. And we also discover that Abby lifted a print from the lens of the camera on Harry's cart.

Lo and behold Sam is in the interrogation room with Gibbs, McGee and Ziva outside. Then DiNozzo comes in and comments they got him with five minutes to spare and Gibbs just throws the file at him and stalks off - methinks the Gibbs gut was in play and he wasn't sure they had the right man; it was all too easy. And it was.

In the interrogation room Sam is hot and takes off his jacket - and I knew something bad was going to happen; I suspected Sam was not going to be walking out of the room alive. Gibbs says that Sam's alibi doesn't hold up as the woman (Sally from the retirement home) he said he was with doesn't remember him. Sam says she's old and never remembers his name, but suggests they mention 'magic fingers'. Outside DiNozzo 'delegates' that task to McGee. Sam also says that the gizmo used to make the call to Gibbs was stolen from him a month ago. Gibbs asks if he'd reported it, Sam says no, but he did fire his cleaner. And then Sam stands up, he's getting hotter and hotter, he challenges Gibbs, saying he can't do this, Gibbs tells him to sit down but instead Sam collapses. Gibbs tells them to call Base Medical, but it's too late: Sam is dead and his is 'crying' 'tears of blood'. And the clock shows: 11:55.

Then we have another Autopsy scene between Gibbs and Ducky. Ducky explains how Sam was killed, he was poisoned via a patch he wears for arthritis; the poison made his blood pressure sky rocket and to say he had a heart attack would be putting it mildly. The 'tears of blood' came from the sheer pressure his veins were under. Ducky says the killer is a show man and that killing via this kind of method can be very precise - [can it be quite that precise? To the minute?]

Gibbs is about to leave, but Ducky calls him back - he is clearly very concerned for Gibbs and his well-being and probably his life

Ducky: "Jethro, it's not every day you suffer a set back in a case."
Gibbs: "Setback?" He is slightly pissed and askance at the comment. It's something no on other than Ducky could say to him, of course.

And Ducky is not put off or cowed by the comment and look. He points out that Sam was murdered in Gibbs's custody and Ducky can imagine how Gibbs is feeling. But what really makes Ducky concerned is that the killer will be able to as well. The killer is pushing Gibbs, he is taunting him; Gibbs is the arch-enemy. Ducky ends with: "One cannot help but wonder towards what he is pushing you." At that point Gibbs's phone rings: it's DiNozzo with more bad news. Ducky: "Oh, no." Gibbs just spreads his arms in a 'what can I/do you want me to do'? gesture and goes.

In the squad room we have the fourth video. It's being routed via a proxy server in China and McGee has a snooper on it, but he doesn't think they should hold their breath. And we see it. It is a video of Gibbs and Sam in the interrogation room interspersed with shots of buildings, an eye, Christ being crucified and what looks like snow. And finally newspapers and an NCIS badge. The papers show shots of Gibbs, one crouching down in his NCIS jacket, another in his suit and references to 'distinguished awards'. And then we hear a shot. Does it mean that Gibbs is next?

The kids are concerned for Gibbs, but Gibbs is concerned as to how the hell the killer got the video of the interrogation. Abby appears to confess that she sent it to him! She was trying to figure out how the killer managed to broadcast live feed through Harry's cart, and to find out she uploaded some live footage. But as she did she got herpes. Gibbs looks at her and McGee explains it is a computer virus. The camera then uploaded a Trojan which uploaded the interrogation room footage - they've been broadcasting it for over twenty-four hours. Gibbs says it isn't Abby's fault. Abby then goes into ultra caring mode and snatches Gibbs mobile phone saying there could be a bomb in it. She swiftly dismantles it (er, if there had been a bomb in it, Abby, you might all be dead now) and calmly gives it back to him, in pieces. He looks bemused as Abby and McGee are talking about someone might be dead in less than an hour.

Gibbs asks Abby why she hasn't traced/dealt with the Trojan horse. Abby says she can't and then she and McGee talk geek, culminating with McGee's suggestion that they upload Janni Cam and the Trojan together. Abby calls McGee 'a god amongst men' and after both of them looking at Gibbs waiting for him to either tell them to do it or to praise them (kiddies want daddy's approval time again) he basically tells them to do it, they do it. And they find that the video is being routed to an account registered to . . . Rose Woodhouse.

We soon discover that not only is Rose gone, but Doyle hasn't been seen by the neighbours for a couple of days and there is blood all over the room. She has registered a site in the name: Cybervid Killer and to top it all off her father was an Egyptologist - a tad too many clues, maybe? They look at the video again and have less than thirty minutes to figure it out. Ziva suggests that if Gibbs is the intended victim, they just stay there. But what, Gibbs, asks if he isn't the victim? We see the snow storm and the buildings. McGee asks what the first one is. It is the Shears Tower in Chicago (DiNozzo). Another picture is from Moscow (McGee). The crucifixion is from Rio (Ziva). But Gibbs realises the pictures aren't the clue: the snow is.

That gets McGee excited and he says that he's not a god amongst men, but Gibbs is. He grabs the video and runs off to MTAC saying his CPU is too small, which generates another teenage-like comment from DiNozzo. As McGee runs up the stairs DiNozzo adds, "Well, it is a cyber vid killer. If McGee was not meant to do the heavy lifting, who was?"

In MTAC McGee is explaining that this video was the only on to contain flash frames. Basically it's radio graphic static, otherwise known as snow. But it's more than that: encrypted data, another link, has been hidden in the snow. And we see another video of Doyle, a shotgun and Sam's place. Ziva tells Gibbs that they'll go - but there's no way Gibbs will allow that.

At Sam's place, Gibbs sends Ziva and McGee off together and DiNozzo goes with him.

DiNozzo: "Really wish you'd stayed in the car, boss."
Gibbs; "DiNozzo, will you shut up or I'm going to shoot you." [Hmmmm, I've used that line more than once (in various forms) in stories!]

And all four of them, guns drawn, go in. We find Doyle tied up with Rose holding a shotgun pointed towards him. They tell her they'll shoot her if she shoots and tells her to put her gun down. Ziva then tells her they'll shoot her if she doesn't put the gun down in three seconds - but she still doesn't. Doyle gets the gag off his mouth and starts saying 'Don't let her shoot me'. After more 'shoot' than we probably needed, Gibbs sees the camera and immediately turns his gun, to the surprise of the other three, onto Doyle. Rose says Doyle said he'd kill her; Doyle is still trying to brazen it out and Gibbs tells him the only person he'll be shooting is Doyle. Then Doyle plays his trump card: he is holding a dead man's switch and Rose is wired with C4 and if he, Doyle, dies, they'll all die.

Gibbs calls Doyle's bluff and walks towards him gun still pointing at him. Doyle wants to know if Gibbs wants to die and Gibbs counters it with asking if Doyle wants to. Of course Doyle doesn't; Gibbs knows that. Doyle wants to be famous, not dead. He takes the switch from Doyle and Rose has the C4 removed from her - not surprisingly she is somewhat hysterical. Doyle then says he should have gone with the FBI, his mistake was targeting NCIS. When Gibbs was asked how he knew, he nods towards the camera - in all the other videos the camera was focussed on the victim. Doyle says that Gibbs was the murder weapon and DiNozzo, duly cuffing Doyle, says he'd ripped it off from seven (????? obviously one of these horror flicks with multiple parts). But Doyle disagrees; he says in seven the cops killed the serial killer, not the victim.

He then tells Gibbs: "You may be the famous Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but you're nothing but a set piece." Basically, Gibbs won't be remembered or known, but by the 10:00 o'clock news, everyone will know the name 'Tommy Doyle'. He's crazy - but what was his reason for doing the killings and targeting Gibbs? Was it just, as Ducky said, to have his fifteen minutes of fame? Was it just because he was insane? And why Gibbs? And how did he know so much about Gibbs? Okay, that was a rather clever red herring we were meant to think it was someone from Gibbs's past. But when you think about it, the medals and awards would probably be be common knowledge and I guess he gambled (and won) that as senior field agent, a case such as that of a serial killer would be handed to Gibbs. But I felt that was the weak point of the case; I was left with a 'huh'? Why? How?

But after all that, Doyle doesn't get his fifteen minutes. Because of possible terrorist links, his name and the method of his apprehension are not being released. We see the team (sans Gibbs) at an award ceremony (oh, yes, we all knew what was going to happen - that irked somewhat, I didn't feel we needed a complete repetition of something we already had seen three seasons ago). McGee is listening to and watching the news report, Vance is handing out awards and the team are chatting whilst applauding. They agree how pissed Doyle must feel after going through all he did just to be a question mark. Ziva smiles. And then it is left to Ducky to sum it up.

Ducky: "It's very revealing what lengths some men will go to to thrust themselves into the limelight. Whilst others are content to live quietly in solitude."

And if we hadn't guessed what was going to happen by them, we did now. Vance calls out Gibbs's name (just like Jenny did) and no Gibbs. So DiNozzo starts to walk forward.

OVERALL

An excellent episode, IMO. A clever case, not novel, I'm sure - but then what is? Although I did find the resolution and Doyle's rationale a tad odd, not to mention how he knew Gibbs would be assigned - but I can just about justify it. If only by: there was no rationale, as Doyle wasn't rationale or sane - but he was enough to be able to plan intricate murders, not to mention be a technology whiz. So a bit disjointed and a little far fetched, but it didn't, for me, spoil the episode, even if it did stretch credulity a bit more than some.

I didn't guess the killer, I didn't even get close. Nor did I guess the twist. In fact for once I had no idea. I knew it wasn't Sam, but other than that . . . I thought we were going to get someone pop up from Gibbs's past. So full marks for that.

Lots of Ducky *smiles*

Some Gibbs/Ducky moments/scenes *smiles*

Jimmy *smiles* [Although, I don't care for what they are doing to his character - please NCIS PTB don't continue in this vein. A bit is fun, but if you go too far it won't be believable for Ducky to want to keep him as his assistant].

Abby still 'old' Abby *smiles*

Minimal Vance and what we had was proper Director stuff.

Good teamwork.

DiNozzo didn't annoy me as much this week.

I didn't feel that anything was overplayed this week. I feared the Ziva screen-saver would be, but it wasn't.

I thought the re-hash of the Gibbs gets a medal and isn't there to collect it, so DiNozzo does was a tad 'off' and obvious. Okay, so it tied in somewhat and fitted nicely with Ducky's remark, but . . . However, it was one of a very few gripes, so . . .

Storyline: 9.75

Enjoyment: 9.75

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