NCIS - Episode 11.16 - Dressed to Kill - Review: Wrong assumptions

When the first news came in on the 250th episode of NCIS, I wasn't particularly thrilled with the announced storyline. It was hinted that there would be a love triangle between Tony, his father and his father's new girlfriend. Also, it felt that the case would be somewhat similar to the season 3 episode "Probie". The trailer didn't really do anything for me either, so I went into this episode with quite low expectations.

And I was pleasantly surprised!

First, a brief recap of the case of the week. When Tony meets with has father at a hotel, he sees a Navy officer coming out of the hotel. Tony can tell that he is not Navy, and chases the man into an alley. The man pulls a gun, Tony draws his, and he shoots the man when he points his gun at Tony's father. The subsequent investigation revealed that Tony was right: the man was impersonating a Navy officer. In fact, he was a private investigator who had just killed someone himself. The dead guy was the assistant of a U.S. Senator who was voting on a bill in the next week. As it turns out, he had discovered a bribery scheme that involved the P.I. and the secretary of the Senator, which is why the P.I. killed him.

Elsewhere, Tony's father had invited his son for brunch to tell him some great news. Unfortunately, the shooting came between the two men and telling the great news had to be delayed. When Tony finally gets into contact with his father, Senior tells his son that he is going to get married. Tony doesn't react overly happy as he says that Sr. has said that before, but his dad tells him he has found true love. When Tony hears from Bishop and McGee that they saw his father with a woman half his age and a pregnant belly, he (wrongly) assumes that the woman is his father's big love. He ignores his father's calls, but after a chat between Senior and Gibbs, the latter one forces Tony to talk to his father. Senior then reveals that the woman who he was seen with in the hotel, is his fiancée's daughter. He also tells Tony that his fiancée is the long-time friend of Tony's deceased mother (and no, they were not having an affair!). In the end, Tony gives his blessing for the marriage, but more importantly, tells his father that his mother would approve of it.

Much like Tony, I (and possibly more viewers) had the wrong assumptions about this episode. It did not focus on a love triangle at all. Yes, Tony wanted to find out as much as he could about his possible future stepmom, but that did not involve any romance. In fact, although Tony knows her, his father's fiancée doesn't even make an on-screen appearance. I don't know if the producers changed their initial story or if or if it was some press hype that we as viewers wrongly assumed to be a love triangle, but I am glad with the way the episode played out. I am glad that Senior is no longer an old man going after women half his age, but instead is in a relationship with a woman of his own age. I can even say that I am happy for Senior. He has been searching for a replacement for the love of his life for quite some years and now he seemingly has found happiness again. I do feel sorry for Tony as he has to see his father being happy while he is still alone.I also liked the last scene when Tony gave his approval. It finally found the two men ending in a good place, especially with Senior saying that he loves Tony.

As the 250th episode, this episode doesn't feature anything particularly significant. It does provide an enjoyable episode, but it's not really a special milestone episode. There was not a lot of promotion on this either, but due to that I didn't really have high expectations and yet I turned out to be quite surprised (unlike episode 200, which disappointed me). I liked the Tony/Senior interaction and also the Gibbs and Senior talk. The case also was interesting than some others we have seen this season. And as always, the little team moments were appreciated: Abby saying no one messes with her team, the Palmer/Tony talk and McGee continuing to give Bishop the probie treatment which he has suffered himself years ago.

What did you think of this 250th episode? Did you like the return of Robert Wagner as Anthony DiNozzo Sr? Surprised that his fiancée is actually someone of his own age? Happy that he has found love again?

About the Author - Daniel

Daniel (Veer95) is a Dutch university student studying Psychology. On SpoilerTV he is a reviewer of NCIS and the upcoming shows Crisis and The 100. He also likes to watch Arrow, The Tomorrow People, NCIS: LA, Nikita, The Blacklist, Under the Dome, Intelligence and Hostages.