NCIS: Los Angeles - The Debt

Network: CBS
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Linda Hunt, Daniela Ruah, Eric Christian Olsen, Barrett Foa, Renee Felice Smith

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Summary (from imdb.com): A botched assignment forces Hetty to fire Deeks and send him back to the LAPD. Meanwhile, an awkward goodbye between Kensi and Deeks leaves her with unexpected emotions for her old partner.

Review: I have to admit, I was a little worried when I first heard that Deeks was being fired in an episode of NCIS: LA. I always kind of suspected it wouldn't stick, but with this show, you can never quite be certain, since they have a tendency to write off popular characters. Luckily, this was not one of those situations.

In this episode, our favorite NCIS team (in Los Angeles) was investigating stolen explosives alongside the LAPD. They were staking out a deal being brokered by a man named Clarence Fisk, who the LAPD had been trying to put away for a while. While attempting to protect a female civilian, Deeks shot and killed an Aryan thug. As a result, the LAPD dissolved their agreement with NCIS, and Hetty was forced to fire Deeks.

Deeks was then approached by John Quinn, an Internal Affairs agent who said he believed there was a leak who was giving information to Fisk and his organization. They suspected Lieutenant Bates, Deeks' supervisor with the LAPD. The NCIS team was coming to the same conclusion around this time, which is when Kensi found out that the man Deeks had supposedly killed was really an undercover NCIS agent who was alive and well. The whole thing had been a setup so Deeks would be recalled to the LAPD and get close to the investigation.

Bates had originally told Deeks he wanted him nowhere near the Fisk case, but eventually he came around and wanted Deeks' help with a raid, one that was off the books and therefore shouldn't have the opportunity to get leaked. Deeks, along with Kensi, followed Bates, while Callen and Sam followed Fisk and his gang. While Fisk was trying to make a deal to sell the explosives, Callen, Sam and the SWAT team invaded and broke it up, catching Fisk in the act. That's when they discovered three of the explosives were missing.

Deeks realized Bates wasn't the leak, and that Quinn had been playing them off each other. Quinn was the real mole, and he'd wired the car that they were using as a meeting point with explosives. Luckily, Kensi figured it out just in time and they were able to get away safely (and catch Quinn).

As a whole, I liked this episode quite a bit. So often they use Deeks as a fool, but I always appreciate seeing his more serious side. Sure, he still had some of his quippy one-liners, but he was much more the straight man in this episode. It's nice to be reminded every once in awhile that he's both a good cop and a good agent, and that there's obviously a reason why he still has both jobs.

The only thing I didn't understand was why Kensi had to be kept in the dark. They tried to explain it by saying that she needed to truly believe he'd killed an unarmed man so she could sell it to Bates when he called her in, but I don't buy it. Kensi is a trained undercover agent; she's practiced in lying, and especially lying under pressure. If she'd known the whole story, there's no way she wouldn't be able to convince someone else that this was what she truly believed.

That being said, I can't be too upset about the deceit, since it led to some wonderful moments between Kensi and Deeks, as well as between Kensi and Hetty. I'd rather NCIS: LA not go the way of its predecessor and tease the romance so long the opportunity passes (like NCIS did with Tony and Ziva), but I like the fact that they almost addressed their feelings... and that Hetty was quick to point out that it might be a good thing if they were separated for awhile if those feelings existed.

Romance aside, it was nice to see Kensi and Deeks' relationship as partners portrayed in a serious light as well. So much of it is characterized by potshots and jokes, and it's always nice to see the moments where they show just how much they care about each other.

The story was easy to figure out this week, but I don't think it really detracted much from the episode. I was more focused on watching the evolution of Deeks than caring who actually leaked information from the LAPD to Fisk, but I didn't have to work hard to figure it out. Even with this weakness, this episode was still a strong way to end sweeps and begin the coast to the midseason finale.

Rating: 3/5
Favorite line:
Kensi (storming in): You kept me in the dark?
Callen: Please tell me you didn't waterboard Nell.

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