Till Death Do Us Part (15 May 2012)
"NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service" Till Death Do Us Part (original title)

The team is now certain that Harper Dearing instigated the explosions but finds him elusive. He manages to kidnap director Vance and lock him in a tomb with a Junior officer who died in the... See full summary »

Director:

Tony Wharmby

Writers:

Donald P. Bellisario (creator), Don McGill (creator),

Stars:

Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Harmon	...	Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Michael Weatherly	...	Anthony DiNozzo
Cote de Pablo	...	Ziva David
Pauley Perrette	...	Abby Sciuto
Sean Murray	...	Timothy McGee
Rocky Carroll	...	Leon Vance
David McCallum	...	Dr. Donald Mallard
Brian Dietzen	...	Jimmy Palmer
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Samantha Ryan
Scott Wolf	...	Jonathan Cole
Sheila Kelley	...	Victoria Dearing
Michelle Pierce	...	Breena Slater
Cassius Willis	...	NCIS Special Agent Russell Wallace
Daniel Polo	...	Parker Ryan
Richard Schiff	...	Harper Dearing

Storyline

The team is now certain that Harper Dearing instigated the explosions but finds him elusive. He manages to kidnap director Vance and lock him in a tomb with a Junior officer who died in the same avoidable accident as Dearing's late son. It turns out he was also involved in bullying junior, the root motive for Dearing's latest terror acts, the latest of which is against a retired NCCIS officer. Psy Ops Samantha Ryan's adolescent son Parker is shown a potential target but spared. Gibbs makes a vague deal with life-jailed secret fleet hit-man Jonathan Cole, presumably Dearing's most likely desired ally. He accepts to lure the fiend, but even that was anticipated and a last gruesome bomb crime can't be prevented. Meanwhile Jimmy ponders collegial loyalty and marriage plans.

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Plot Keywords:

explosion | bomb | adolescent | father figure | father son relationship | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 2012 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Belisarius Productions, CBS Television Studios

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays Samantha Ryan, also starred opposite Mark Harmon in the movie Freaky Friday where Harmon's character was named Ryan.

User Reviews

Interesting Cliffhangers

I love NCIS. I think it is one of the best shows out there. When it is good, it is very, very, good. NCIS can be an outstanding mix of Sherlock Holmes, Rambo, John Wayne, and Jimmy Neutron (Boy/girl Genius) all rolled into one.

Unfortunately, over the past couple of years, it often seems like there is too much time spent on the rapport between Ziva and Dinozo. I like the characters, but there is so little of their actual personal lives developed, that there is not much for them to talk about. Beyond her life in Israel, and her father, what does anyone know about Ziva?

So it ends up being about whether or not Ziva likes Tony, and whether they might have a relationship. If I was listening to their idle discussions at my work, it would be somewhat boring to listen to all day. I hope the real NCIS is not talking about bridal showers when they are at the scene of a murder.

This show really needs some actual Navy sailors, police officers, or former NCIS to write some of the scripts. NCIS was a spin-off of the JAG series, and one of the great things about JAG was that most of the time the lead characters had to be on board the ships, subs, aircraft carriers, etc., so that they could do their job.

Not only did that keep it real, but it kept them talking about the military, the navy, marines, etc. The first seasons, the NCIS team was on ships, etc., a lot more often than they are now. The discussions tended to be more about the main topic of the show, and less about the relationships of the characters. Hopefully, the next season will feature less personal small-talk, and better stories that require the attention of all the characters.

In this season finale, the story of Mr. Deering's obsession with vengeance on the Navy is given some additional details. Apparently, Deering's son died as a result of a combination of negligence, and some malice. So Deering has been planning revenge for ten years. That does not seem very realistic. Considering all the poor soldiers, sailors, etc., that die as a result of friendly fire, accidents, mistakes, etc.; if everyone was going want revenge against the military, then we would have some major problems in defending the U.S.A.

As improbable as it may seem, Deering is sabotaging submarines and ships all over the world, thanks to various traitors that he has paid off. Into the mix is NCIS, which Deering also blames for having prosecuted his son for a minor incident. So where will Deering strike next? The show spends all its time dealing with Jimmy, the coroner's assistant, and his wedding. That is foreshadowing that Jimmy might be the sacrificial lamb, but is it? Personally, I was hoping Jimmy would get blown up, as he is easily the most irritating character in the cast. I can imagine him as an underwear model, or as a male stripper, but not as a coroner or medical doctor. Hopefully, whether as a result of death, or marriage, Jimmy will be somewhere else next season.

The end to the season finale turns out to be very surprising, because it seems that all the most popular characters are the ones that might die, and all the most likely targets (second stringers) are the ones who seem to be safe. I have to admit that I was shocked. I had scratched off Jimmy, early into this episode, and by the end it looks like Jimmy was the safest of them all.

I do not want to reveal the most disturbing part of the season finale. One of the most important characters seems to die, but not as a result of sabotage. That was another shocker. Without him, the show will never be the same.

Let's hope the next season brings back all our favorite characters, and that they can spend more time at military scenarios, solving mysteries, and helping to keep America safe from terrorism and anarchy.