TVSquad

(S04E15) After the big revelations last week regarding the ongoing case, I fully expected a stand-alone episode that mostly ignored it this week. And that is pretty much what was delivered. It's ok though, because while it was open and shut, this was an interesting case.

What really sold the mystery for me was the way it was presented. The Club One angle worked on a couple different levels. I would have said it was worth it just for the scene with McGee, Abby, Ziva, and Lee making their entrance, but there was much more.

The exclusivity of the club put the team at a disadvantage because they couldn't investigate as they normally would. It had the bonus of putting us in the same situation, because we couldn't get a feel for the suspects.

It's a nice twist to what is the standard crime show formula. All too often the two or three suspects are paraded in front of the viewer and the endgame is given up way too early. The lack of information for Gibbs and the gang, and by extension the viewers, made for a nice surprise in the end. Pell was obviously a suspect, but I had no idea about the tables turned on the serial killer twist. Good stuff.

They managed to add in a bunch of good moments along the way too. Ziva's knife throwing class was a good way to kick things off. "In Mossad we have a saying. Knives don't run out of bullets." I especially liked Lee's reaction to Gibbs. She is just so nervous around him. It played well in the scene with Shepard as well when she kept correcting herself. "Sir...Special Agent..." It was nice to see a little more of her, and I like that they showed her as being good at her job in legal. Plus she stood up to Gibbs, despite being terrified.

That scene between Lee and Gibbs played well with his elevator confrontation with Detective Morris too. Gibbs has always been given to playing fast and loose with the rules, but it seems to have ramped up a bit of late. It's good to see somebody put him in check.

The bug thing was fun. You would think that McGee would be the last person to have any kind of bug phobia. What I really liked though was Palmer's reference to the protein and seeing it on a survival show. I'm taking it as a reference to Discovery's Man vs. Wild, which is one of those shows that will just eat up a Saturday with a marathon run.

Gibbs managed to have both the line of the night, and the gesture of the night as well. His question to McGee after Abby read off what the mass spectrometer had found, "Friends of yours, Elf Lord?" was perfect. And the 'I Love You' straw on Abby's drink was very cute. I really enjoy the Abby/Gibbs dynamic.

Ah, but there is that elephant in the room. What about Jeanne and Tony? There was good and bad here. I liked the little exchange in the restaurant where Tony admitted that he hadn't bought a Valentine's gift for her. The line about not lying about the little things had to ratchet up the guilt on Tony given the ginormous things he is lying about. On the other hand, a platinum hospital bracelet? Really?

I'll also give some credit for attention to detail with this story. If you recall, in "Sharif Returns" Tony read the email from JCARS@zedlink.com. JCARS=John Carson, of course. And Carson's story to Tony followed right along the lines of that email. Nice continuity, but unfortunately it was continuity of a plot point that seemed unnecessary at best, and hokey at worst.

I'm all for suspending disbelief, and spend most evenings from 8 to 11 doing a whole lot of it, but that's really stretching it. Undercover agent starts dating impossibly hot lady doctor, possibly for the assignment. And it just so happens that while on another case he shares his thoughts on life and love with a guy he has so much in common with. And then that guy happens to get shot to death in front of him, and it turns out they were talking about the same girl the whole time. And yes, just before he died he finally ended things with the girl. Yikes.

That revelation did effectively throw our biggest pieces of Jeanne evidence right in the crapper. So now I am hanging onto that little thread of intel where she spoke french in the restaurant. Has to be La Grenouille's granddaughter, right?

Overall, I'm calling this one a really nice effort. The implausible Carson/Jeanne angle held it back somewhat, but I did really enjoy the way the case played out.