After being very disappointed by the previous episode, watching “One More Chance” was like eating comfort food. It contained many of the elements viewers have grown to love in “NCIS: Los Angeles” – the action, the funny dialogue, a heartfelt Kensi and Deeks conversation that took a comical turn, a show of trust between Sam and Callen, and Hetty reinforcing she’s in charge.
Some of my favorite scenes in “NCIS: Los Angeles” happen as the team arrives at work in the morning before they are assigned a new case. We find some of the funniest banter in these scenes as the characters simply chat about their lives. Often these scenes revolve around Deeks’ idiosyncrasies. “One More Chance” was no different. I loved the scene that dealt with Deeks spring cleaning his digital life. As he comes in to work quoting Dickinson, he soon sits down to delete his Facebook friends. He says his first group of deletions will be those who post food pictures – “foodbookers,” he calls them. He then calls Kensi a “vaguebooker” because she posts vague Facebook pictures that encourage people to comment. The scene had so many great quotes, I kept laughing out loud. I especially loved the hypocrisy that Eric points out to Deeks when he says, “Last Tuesday… Olive Garden…. I posted my Tortellini al Forno. You hit ‘like.’”
“Did I?” asked Deeks coyly. He is caught but still acts like he has the upper hand.
I truly think the character of Deeks is one of the most well-written and expertly acted characters on television. Eric Christian Olsen has given this unique, quirky character so much life that you feel you know and understand all of his weird ways. They make him so fun and lovable. It takes a nice symbiosis of writing and acting to accomplish this depth in a character and it has worked extremely well with Deeks.
This week’s case for the team hits home for Sam. A 10-year-old girl named Riley Peyton is missing – a girl that Sam knows and loves as he previously offered protection to her family in Saudi Arabia during his task force days. He even taught her to play the drums. The girl’s mother, Jessica, is the chief engineer at a company that builds unmanned aerial vehicles. Some of the company’s software was also just stolen so the two incidents at the company may be connected. But the mother insists her daughter is safe with her estranged husband.
Sam isn’t so sure, though. As they investigate the theft, everyone keeps questioning his closeness to the case and in turn his judgment. But as usual, his judgment turns out to be right. Eric recovers a video file that shows the little girl has indeed been kidnapped, along with her father.
For Densi fans upset about where “Three Hearts” left things for the partners, it was nice to see some heartfelt and also fun scenes this week between the two. My favorite was the scene that began with them talking about kids. With everything going on with the kidnapped girl, Deeks says it makes him wonder if having kids is worth it. Kensi says she thought he wanted kids and Deeks responds that he did, but when cases like this come up, it makes him question that choice.
The conversation was a nice way for them to have a relationship-type chat in a non-relationship setting and manner. They explored topics that couples might have without committing to any kind or relationship or acting like a couple. They were not talking about having kids in the way that a regular couple would. But they were still talking about it. And they were also addressing the importance of having people around you who care about you. Kensi gave Deeks something to think about as she rebuffed his arguments that it is sometimes better to be on your own in this line of work because then you don’t have to worry about anyone else and can be fearless. But Kensi counters that then no one is looking out for you or has your back.
Deeks suddenly reacts to Kensi’s encouragement by saying, “Oh my God.”
“What?” Kensi asks.
“I just realized you’re the yin in my yang, so to speak,” Deeks tells her.
Kensi is amused and replies, “Explain to me how you have this capability of making everything sound so wrong.”
“It’s a gift, isn’t it? Deeks responds. “I’m just saying you’re the right to my wrong, I’m like the good to your evil.”
Kensi doesn’t hesitate as she picks right up where he left off. “The beast to my beauty?” she offers him.
“That’s hurtful,” Deeks says mockingly.
Even the lighthearted part of this conversation was enlightening. Deeks, in his goofy, non-serious way, was expressing his realization that they complement one another. Even though he did it in a way that made fun of the essence of their partnership, the meaning was clear.
Perhaps the thing that made me happiest in this episode was realizing that despite the up-in-the-air, confusing, go-nowhere ending of the last episode, the fun dynamic between Deeks and Kensi remains unchanged. Their way of making fun of each other is still intact. Though they haven’t moved forward with anything, they are still at a great jumping off point to be able to do that at any time. I was reassured to see that even though they are not moving forward, at least they are not moving back. They haven’t changed the way they interact with each other. (This wasn’t the first time this season I’ve been relieved at seeing this, but I needed that reassurance again after last week.)
Nell and Granger were also part of the surveillance team and I was amused to see Nell kissing Granger on the cheek as she approaches him, pretending he is her father. Granger doesn’t like that choice too much.
When the mother, Jessica, finally does receive the kidnappers’ text (which NCIS intercepts) and gets in her car, she veers off the expected route and pulls into a parking garage, where she disappears.
Utilizing the bad guys’ driver (whom the NCIS team had arrested earlier in an undercover shoeshine operation), the “NCIS: Los Angeles” team infiltrates the kidnappers’ location. Sam’s good instincts that everyone else doubted help him recover the young girl (along with the mother and the father). Young Riley cries as she is reunited with her mother and tells Sam she knew he would come for her. I was so impressed with this little actress. Her emotion and the character’s devotion to Sam drew you in and made you love Sam even more as you saw how special he was to her. She gives Sam the cover booklet from the CD case and tells him to keep it for good luck and asks him to come by for a drum lesson that weekend.
As the team wraps up the case back at work, Hetty tells Granger she has called the Secretary of the Navy to report the outcome. Granger is surprised she made the call and it quickly becomes clear these two still don’t fully trust each other. Hetty is testing Granger, almost marking her territory. She is pushing the boundaries with him and exerting her influence. These two are still feeling each other out in terms of who is in charge. Hetty does not want to answer to him or give him all the power. Through Granger recognizes what she is doing, he lets the issue go.
Clearing out for the night, Kensi is looking for a drinking buddy. Sam says he is going home to be with his family and Callen has a date. Without being asked, Deeks volunteers to get a beer with his partner. But then Granger shows up and asks Deeks if he is going to have a drink or post the drink on Facebook, calling Deeks a “brewbooker.”
“That was one time… and how dare you, sir!” Deeks responds. Deeks’ digital hypocrisy is called out again. In an unusual camaraderie, Granger offers to buy the drinks.
Other great quotes from the episode:
Callen: “Deeks speaks Dickinson.”
Sam: “Deeks doesn’t speak Dickinson.”
Deeks: “Oh, Deeks is full of the Dickinson.”
Sam: “That I believe.”
Deeks: “Wait… so you special agent ninjas don’t dust off your digitals?”
Sam: “I dust off my digitals daily.”
Nell: “Holy s’mores, Batman. This gives new meaning to fried hard drive.”
Eric: “And now I’ve begun what will be a monumental restoration. Stella is going to get her groove back.”
Nell: “Did you say Stella?”
Eric: “Yeah, that’s what I named her.”
Nell: “Wow. This could end up as quite the notch on your bedpost…. I’m gonna go now.”
Kensi: “Your brain really doesn’t work like everybody else’s, does it?”
Deeks: “No, no it doesn’t. Like Steve Jobs said, ‘I think different.’”
Kensi: “I don’t think he was talking about you.”
Deeks: “Or was he?”
Kensi: “No, he wasn’t.”
What did you think of "One More Chance?" What was your favorite scene? Your favorite quotes? Let us know what you liked (or didn't like) in the comments below.
