SEASON NINE EPISODE SIXTEEN
PSYCH OUT
I
was fairly 'meh' about this episode as it had a named guest star in it and all
too often those episodes tend to be a case of getting the guest star and then
coming up with an idea and often not a very strong idea. So as much as I like
Jamie Lee Curtis, I can't say I was really looking forward to it.
I'm glad I didn't know that as well as Jamie Lee we were also getting Dr. Rachel
Cranston back again or I really wouldn't have looked forward to it. Don't get me
wrong, I like Kate's sister well enough, but quite frankly once was enough. I'm
so tired of TPTB bringing back a character time and time and time and time
again.
To my mind Cranston had no real part to play in this episode, not that needed to
be her as such. She was there because she was Kate's sister and also because she
had a history with Dr. Ryan. I felt her role was very much shoe-horned into the
episode, to me that really was clearly as 'oh, let's bring Kate's sister back
again. Now what can we get her to do'? And of course with two major guest stars
it as always leads to certain of our characters losing out. I watch NCIS for the
team, not for all these darn extra characters they keep bringing in.
Plus, I cannot believe that she would be allowed to sit in on interviews as she
did. And she should have been a suspect. In fact had she been anyone other than
Kate's sister, she would have been a suspect. I put her on my list, simply
because she would have been on it had she been anyone else, even though I knew
she wouldn't be the guilty one because of being Kate's sister.
Overall I did enjoy the episode, I thought it was solid, the case was
interesting, the red herrings were both good and poor. It was so obvious from
the off that Baxter wasn't going to be the baddie. Both Mitchell and Wade (so
Wade was a good red herring) were under my radar for being suspicious and whilst
I didn't suspect daughter, J did. I did believe Mrs. Banks when she said she
hadn't know about the $4 million life insurance - but J was sure the daughter
had known and she had.
Poor Banks though, what he was being put through and by his daughter of all
people. Nasty, nasty piece of work - she certainly was the instigator in this
and used the weak Mitchell to get what she wanted. How anyone could do that to
anyone, let alone to someone who loved them so much. She deserves to be locked
up and the key thrown away. A terrible way to drive someone to take their own
life through drugs and sleep deprivation gadgets. And the double tragedy in this
was that it wasn't just that Banks still loved his wife, his wife still loved
him, but she just couldn't go on living with him due to the nasty piece of work
that was their daughter. Suicide by murder in effect, poor Banks and his poor
wife too.
It's actually a terrible thought that there are units that are there solely to
put this kind of drug/device together and that it's considered an acceptable
form of getting information or whatever. And yes, I know that the argument is
that if the other side has it, then so do 'we', but it's still somewhat chilling
that human beings work on coming up with these kinds of things to be used on
other human beings. It must take a certain kind of person to be able to do that,
there must at some level within someone who can do this be some kind of
amorality about them - you certainly have to wonder whether they can form and
keep relationships. And I think that showed to a great extent in Dr. Ryan, in
her behaviour, her whole being and her lack of being able to sleep for any
length of time and certainly in the matter of trust.
Mind games - there were a lot of them being played in this episode and not just
by Ryan's lot. But we know how good Gibbs is at such things!
The wee sub-plot that began in the opening squad room scene and finished with
the final squad room scene was fun. Typical Tony to open Tim's play slip,
because it was on his desk. I'm 50:50 as to whether he saw Tim's name on it or
not and if he did just decided to open it on the grounds it was on his desk. In
fact I'm actually 60:40 in favour of him actually seeing the name, but opening
it anyway - because that's what Tony does. Of course once we knew he'd
'complained' to Payroll about the fact Tim was being paid more than him it was
obvious that it was going to come around and bite him in some way. And it did.
Yes, Tim was being over-paid but Tony hadn't had enough deductions deducted -
being hit with an instant payment of use over $2,000 was quite the 'bite'. Poor
Tony, his face; Tim didn't seem that perturbed by learning he'd been over-paid,
which made me think he probably expected it and was waiting for them to discover
it. But Tony was certainly hit for six.
I did like how, apart from the wee scene when Tony mistook Ryan for a Payroll
clerk, the thing wasn't played out throughout the episode, it simply opened and
closed the NCIS scenes, which I though worked really well. All too often these
things can be overplayed. But this was well done.
I loved Ducky's knowledge about hanging and how Gibbs let him ramble on telling
the entire story.
I didn't quite get why Gibbs insisted they couldn't use their computers and had
to do it all by hand so to speak. I know it was partly down to trust after what
he read on the file Ryan gave him, but to be honest it seemed OTT and OOC even
for Gibbs with his dislike of/sometimes I think fear of/lack of trust in
computers. It didn't actually ring true, to be honest. It was meant to be fun
and amusing and it was to an extent to see Tim so far out of his comfort zone.
But it didn't work. Especially as it seemed it was perfectly okay for Abby to go
on using her computer. One of those things you have to hand-wave, but it didn't
really work for me and irked me a little.
I'm actually glad Ducky proved that Banks's neck would have snapped seconds
before the bullet hit him. I rather 'liked' the inept burglars in a way. They
just had something and they did call 911, so that has to be something. I'm glad
it wasn't their bullet that killed him. Of course the moral to that is: if you
are going to commit burglary never, never, never take a fire arm with you - it's
too tempting to use it and you could end up being imprisoned for manslaughter
rather than just burglary because you got spooked and fired the darn gun.
It was nice to see Vance's office 'toy' again - lock down the whole room.
It was also good to see Fred again.
I did find Ryan very annoying and 'in your face' which is what she was meant to
be. I can't say I cared for her character, but I didn't hate her as such - I did
want to shake her a few times. But she got shaken, figuratively at least, by
Gibbs.
*Smiles* at the pancake reference because of course this episode will air in the
US today on Shrove Tuesday (AKA Pancake Day).
I thought Sean Murray looked and sounded really ill - his voice was so low and
almost croaky and he looked a lot paler than usual. I wonder if Tony's comment
about him always being indoors was put in because he was unwell or if it had
always been intended to be there? I definitely thought he seemed to be suffering
with something.
Not an episode that will go into my top ten overall episode (or even top twenty)
and certainly not my top five for the season, but it was solid enough. It held
my attention for the most part and I was mostly engaged by it. There was nothing
really hugely outstanding but also nothing really, really annoying - for me the
most irksome thing was Kate's sister's 'role'. I feel somewhat 'flat' after it.
Favourite Scenes:
- The opening squad room scene from beginning to end.
- The crime scene with Ducky telling the story about the perfect way to hang
someone/yourself.
- The bit with the burglars being arrested. I loved the idea of burglars with a
conscience and also the little bit as they were leaving under arrest where one
says to the other 'Next time I'll choose the house'. It as a throw-away line,
but just so good.
- Tony and Dr. Ryan's first meeting.
- Gibbs and Abby in her lab with the pills under the pots.
- Gibbs and Ducky in Autopsy.
- Gibbs with his 'I like paper' line to Dr. Ryan.
- Gibbs turning up at the party.
- Gibbs waiting at the school. I loved the way he just stood there with that
little smile on his face, basically making Dr. Ryan talk and talk. Very cleverly
done.
- The final squad room scene.
- The final phone call between Gibbs and Ryan - interesting too. And I'm sure we
all know the diner to which he referred, don't we?
We learnt and had some things confirmed too:
- Another rule. Rule #42: Never accept an apology from someone who's just sucker
punched you.
- Tim gives a lot of money to charity and Gibbs knows about it.
Minor Irks:
- The presence of Rachel Cranston. She had no real role other than to have a
spat with Dr. Ryan. To me her presence was solely 'oh, look, let's use this
character again. After all, we've used her before so let's use her again - as
sadly happens with so many guest stars.
- Gibbs not letting Tim use his computer.
- Gibbs smashing the bug like he did. It was evidence; he would have taken it
whole to Tim.
- And the famous 'do you have kids' line, yet again. Okay, so that was partly
Ryan playing with Gibbs as she already knew, but even so it does irk.
- No Jimmy.
- Too little Ducky - although the Ducky scenes we did get were both good.
- Too little Abby.
- Too little Tim.
Pairing of the week:
Gibbs & Dr. Ryan
Character of the week:
Gibbs
Actor of the week:
Jaime Lee Curtis
Storyline: 8.00
Enjoyment: 7.50
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