We open with Ziva doing her version of the Italian Job (a la Charlize Theron), and immediately we the viewing audience get a flashback to Ari stalking Kate in Reveille. Of course, Ziva's flashback is to a time when she was the one on the motorcycle, off to make a hit for Moussaud. She puts one and one together and gets four, and takes off in time to witness the assassination, but not stop it.
It gets a little confusing when she sees the guy and says his name. It sounded like 'Ari' to me, but I was pretty sure they weren't going that direction. Anyway, Ziva's confused, and soon in trouble.
But that's really the unimportant, plot-type stuff of the show. What's important is all the fun OT3 stuff we get back at the ranch.
We open with hyper!Abby bounding in to the bullpen, where not only have we played musical desks, it seems we've played musical personalities. Tim's at Tony's old desk, goofing off, perving on the new probie, and looking hot.
Abby's totally freaked about Tony getting in late. She needs him! The team needs him! They are jellyfish without him!
McGee: My point is, Abby, you are really overdoing the sugar thing again.
Abby: Well, I'm eating for two.
[McGee sits forward, touching her arm and looking concerned.]
Abby: Relax. I was referring to the health food freak over there. Every time I walk past her desk, I have this irresistible urge to shove a cheeseburger down her throat.
Oh, Tim! Such concern over Abby implying she's pregnant. Have you and Tony been less than careful during your bonding time together?
Er, I mean, this is where we get introduced to Little Miss Tattletale, the new probationary officer. McGee thinks she's hot (and is probably grateful for her presence just because he no longer has to be the probie), Abby seems annoyed by her, and Tony apparently doesn't think about her at all, given his lack of a present.
Anyway. We have our fakeout, in which Tony has apparently become even more Gibbs-like since Hiatus. Abby is gleeful that he's home, nearly smothering him with a hug that goes on and on.
Now that is glee.
And then we get what is quite possibly the gayest moment of the episode. Possibly the series. *remembers face-petting* Okay, never mind. The gayest moment of season four so far.
Tony: McGeeee! Lookit you! Hm-hmmm. All grown up.
Yes, indeed. Tony totally eyes McGee up and gives him the stamp of approval. And Tim glows with Tony's regard.




*clears throat*
Right. I was doing something.
So, Tony and presents. He knows Abby very well, it seems, gifting her with a lovely (if rather cheap-looking despite its professed expense) cross necklace, and he thinks he knows Tim well. He's so proud of himself, because of course David Hasslehoff = Yanni, right?
He's so disappointed that Tim doesn't like it that we get our first head thwap of the ep--and also our first moment of Tony inheriting Gibbs' supernatural sense of what his team is up to. ("And you have an unauthorized game on your computer.")
(But Lederhosen for Ziva? Oh, Tony. You're so very odd.)
And then back to that damn plot thing. Agent Lee reports that Ziva is late. Tony's not worried at first, because he knows Ziva can take care of herself. Of course, back at the Israeli embassy, Ziva is slowly figuring out that she's in big, big trouble.
(As an aside, I really can't believe that anybody would take the whole accusation of a Tony/Ziva affair seriously. It's a mislead to tantalize the viewers, just like the promos for Under Covers. I'm fine with it, but I'm not about to get sucked in by it.)
Tim's the one now trying to contact Ziva, and Tony's glued to his hip, quietly sharing his concerns. Which means it's the perfect time for Madame Director to sneak up and be a bitch.
Tony: The question is, what would Gibbs do in a situation like this?
MD: He'd find her, Tony.
Tony: I'm working on it, Director.
MD: Well work harder.
Yeah. I just really can't stand her.
FBI, blah blah. Ziva plot, blah blah. And then my favorite part of the Ziva plot--she takes out stone-faced guard-guy, and as she holds her gun to his throat, asks him if he's ever been tied up by a woman before. I love the way this plays out. There's something hilarious about the way it's kinky and almost playful, the way guard-guy looks totally into it before she knocks him out. Hee!
Ziva escapes. More FBI blah blah, Tony and Sachs doing the Gibbs and Fornell thing, only without any warm fuzzies.
Abby's still scarfing down the candy like my pudgy cat with the good food, talking to Gibbs' picture and sending out vibes for him to call home. The phone rings, but it's Ziva, trying to find Gibbs. (It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out that Ziva was hiding out in Gibbs' basement. Duh.) She makes Abby swear not to tell Tony, because she's afraid Tony will get in trouble. (Apparently Abby always flies under the official radar. Personality, appearance, or position?)
Oh, and then more lovely, lovely OT3 as Abby feeds Tony and Tim a crazy story about some nuns. I thought surely they'd see through her, but Abby has a way of befuddling even the best minds.
I told you the guys were glued at the hip during this ep, didn't I?
Next, it's CoronaCommercial!Gibbs. Or actually, it's not Gibbs, but his mentor Mike. Gibbs can't just sit back - he has to be busy building something. Mike suggests a hot tub. Scenes like these are the reason I sometimes really, really hate my slash goggles.
Ziva manages to contact Gibbs, beating around the bush at first regarding what she wants. I must admit it was a bit of a relief when Gibbs barked, "Today, Ziva." I was starting to lose touch with who the old ratty guy was. Anyway, Ziva confesses that she's in big, big trouble, and begs Gibbs to come help her out. This scene actually got me the first time through - Cote de Pablo is good at tugging the heart strings on a dime. (Not in Hewlett's league, but on the other hand, I expect to be moved by him. Cote always catches me by surprise.)
Back at the ranch, the FBI are going through Ziva's things, and Agent Lee is sure of Ziva's guilt. I, however, am far more interested in the hotness that is McGee in his new look, being loyal and defensive.
Notice Tony being all hot and stealthy and growly opposite McGee. Yum.
Tony: McGee, you're with me. We have places to be.
And off they go to their pow wow. Tony swears Tim, Abby, Ducky, and surprisingly, Palmer, to secrecy. We find out that Palmer's off to medical school next month (what does that mean for him on the show?), and that he likes being called Black Lung. Tony assigns everyone tasks, but hey, Abby finally confesses. She really hates being stuck between people she cares about.
Tony calls the number, and gets surprise number two: Gibbs is in town. He goes over to Gibbs' basement, where the two play off each other as they tell Ziva she was set up. Tony has the same reaction to Gibbs' appearance that many of us have, looking rather boggled by the whole beard/longer hair combo. Gibbs in the meantime totally fucks with Tony's head, smiling and calling him McGee and saying stuff that's both insult and compliment.
Then we have more OT3 glee! Back in Abby's lab, Tim is wondering how to put out a BOLO on the dude without tipping off the FBI. Tony is üaut;ber cute as he pulls out his recorder and holds it up to Tim.
Recording: I knew you'd ask me that, McGee.
Tony: See, I knew you'd ask me that, McGee.
So silly and cute. Look at them look at each other:
McGee decides that they need to lie on the BOLO to make things happen.
McGee: ...we put out a BOLO for a wife beater.
Tony: It's underhanded, devious...
Abby: And it's completely getting me hot.
Tony: Glad to see I'm finally rubbing off on him.
Come on, people. They're handing it to us. A visual:
Back to plot: Gibbs and Ziva go to check out a safehouse that Ziva had set up for Ari. It is of course booby trapped, complete with cameras and bomb. They manage to get out of there without anybody, including the FBI, getting boomeded.
Of course, the FBI doesn't know that Gibbs and Ziva got out, so the rest of the team is worried. Tony has a moment of self-doubt, but Ducky is there to kick him in the ass. Ducky didn't get a lot of face time this ep, but he was as wonderful as always when he was present.
Tony: What would Gibbs do, right? I got a bulletin for you, Ducky. I am not Gibbs.
Ducky: No. You're not. Gibbs quit. You're still here.
In classic style, just when Tony starts to go off on Gibbs' less than stellar appearance, Gibbs shows up right behind him. But Tony's so relieved he gives Gibbs a hug. Awwww!
(I really love how literally touchy-feely this show is. They don't go overboard, but there are lots of little pats and touches and arms across the shoulders. They like each other, they really do!)
Gibbs and Director scene, la la la not watching. (I actually need to get out of the habit of not paying attention when she comes on screen. It's so ingrained that I tend to miss things on first viewing.) MD starts pulling the "do you remember when we were busy boinking instead of doing our job" crap near the end of the scene, but to my delight, Gibbs shuts her down.
Ziva's stuck in Gibbs' basement, trying not to go mad. Back at the lab, Gibbs and Tony are sharing the 'Boss' role, as well as sharing coffee (not to their delight). I kind of wish that we got to see Tony on his own more, being serious about taking charge, but the way they play off each other is so fun that I don't resent it much.
Abby's unable to narrow down the area their suspect is in enough to help, but fortunately Tony remembers the BOLO they put out yesterday. McGee has a moment of "OMG I'm so stupid" and engages in a little self-abuse. Heh.
(Did you realize he has really pretty green eyes? See:
Mmm.)
Gibbs, against Tony's advice, calls Ziva to tell her the location of the suspect. Ziva takes off to find him. Tony faces off with Gibbs in the elevator, reminding Gibbs that he's in charge until Gibbs gets his head out of his ass and comes back. Really nice scene, especially when they smile at each other at the end.
Bad guy plot reveal. Iranian hot chick shoots Israeli hot guy. Ziva shows up and tussles with Iranian hot chick, tricking her into revealing the plot--which Ziva was smart enough to record. Go Ziva for learning! Tony, Gibbs, and McGee bust in just after she's gotten everything under control--another thing I like about this show. They always let the person in trouble get themselves out of the hot water, even though the team is always there to back them up.
Wrap up with Madam Director, blah blah. Tony looks yummy. Gibbs takes off, disappointing Tony because he didn't say goodbye. Unfortunately, Gibbs did leave a pic from Serbia for MD, thus ruining his earlier shut down. Ah, well. Can't have everything, I suppose.


I've seen some people complaining about the plot of this ep, but I'm afraid that when it comes to my core fannish shows, I hardly ever pay attention to the action plots. I'm much more interested in the character dynamics. I thought this episode was an interesting opener from that perspective. It was fast-paced, so we didn't have a lot of time to dwell on remembrances or consequences of Gibbs' departure. However, we definitely saw the effects.
Tony's definitely stepped into Gibbs' shoes, down to his look and his coffee. We didn't hear a peep about hot women or dating, though there's definitely a bit of shallow still lurking around his edges. He himself might not be completely comfortable in the role--we see his self-doubt early in the episode, when he's talking with McGee, and again later with Ducky--but the team has accepted him in it.
Abby, who has always been fond of Tony, is clinging to him even more these days. She has an almost desperation about her--Kate left her, and now Gibbs, and she's trying her hardest to make sure that Tony stays with her. She's worried about Ziva, and I'm sure she'd be frantic about McGee if something happened to him (and I think it's about time for another woobie!McGee ep), but Tony seems special in this regard. I think that's because he's fulfilling two roles for her now--his own, and Gibbs'.
McGee, on the other hand, is on a new level with Tony. Where there was a definite distance between Tony and Gibbs, no matter how companionable and full of mutual respect, that distance didn't transfer to Tony and Tim's new relationship. They seem closer now. It really feels like Tony depends on Tim a lot. He knows he can cow McGee if he needs to, because he did it when McGee was 'the Probie'. So he's got the freedom to be more partner-like with him, rather than Boss-like. (McGee does, however, call Tony 'Boss'. They both seem to like it.) I get the impression this is much different than the relationship Tony has with Ziva--she turns to Gibbs when she's in trouble, and complains to Gibbs that Tony's been acting superior to her.
I wonder what that long summer was like for the team. Tony's been visiting Ziva once a week for one reason or the other; I can't help but think he probably spent time with the others, too. This is fairly big change from the past, from the hints we've been given. Tony never knew where Kate lived, and they didn't go out together. Tony might have spent the night at Gibbs' a couple of times, but he didn't seem to be anybody's favorite houseguest. Tony and Kate had never seen Tim's apartment until they burst in on him that morning in Red Cell. They liked each other in the past, but the relationships went so far. I think that they are definitely tighter than before, and I love that change.
One more pic, by request of kagey. This is Tony being proprietary, hovering over McGee and Abby. Our favorite part, though, is Bert's fuzzy little butt right in the middle of the shot.