NCIS: Los Angeles - Reign Fall - Review: "Drama, Backstory & Fun"

In “Reign Fall,” the NCIS team must find out who is behind the deadly bombing of a legendary CIA operative’s home. (A paparazzi friend of the woman’s fiancé was checking on the house when the bomb went off and killed him.) It turns out that bomb was intended for the fiancé, a Marine whose son goes to school at a military academy. The team suspects another military-trained young adult snapped under the severe pressure and might be protecting boys from overbearing military fathers by killing their dads.

I really enjoyed this episode for many reasons. It had some dramatic moments alongside the fun ones, it was laced with a poignant theme, we got some good character backstory on Sam, the plot felt relevant and we had a fun Densi scene as well.


Sam and Callen

When it came to finding out more about one of our central characters, this was a Sam-centric episode. We learned a little bit more about Sam’s upbringing and his complicated relationship with his father. (Which character in this show doesn’t have complicated feelings when it comes to his/her father?) I really liked that they brought Sam’s family life into the episode. And I like how Callen was used as a source of encouragement to Sam when he questions the discipline from his father.

As “Reign Fall” progresses, we quickly learn that the regimented structure and environment of military academies are a familiar sight for Sam, who grew up under his Marine father going to this kind of school. His upbringing fosters mixed feelings and emotions in the tough agent. While he defends the military schooling to Callen (“Give ‘em a boy at eight, they return a man at 18”), he also several times in the episode questions whether this type of pressure is too much for a young adult to handle. He makes a statement about that as he is sitting with the Marine waiting to smoke out the killer. He tells the man he hopes his son gets a chance to just be a “boy” instead of always a cadet and he questions if this whole murder scenario is a result of a military child being pushed too hard.

The thoughts suggest personal reflection on Sam’s own upbringing. As he talks to Callen about his father, we know he called his father “Colonel Hanna.” Sam reflects back on his childhood as a time of strict discipline and following orders from his dad. He tells Callen about a time he slacked on his workout and his father (“Colonel Hardass”) pushed him beyond his normal limits, making him run 15 miles in a day while following him in a truck. This was a great scene. After hearing the story, Callen told Sam his impressions of what those severe actions meant: by following him in that truck, Sam’s father was right there with him. Callen emphasized that no one had ever pushed him like that and that people always push you when they care. The point was taken in silence as Sam considers Callen’s words. Though he remembered a father who challenged him and disciplined him constantly, that doesn’t mean his father didn’t care.

In this episode, it’s important to note that there is a difference between being disciplined with strict methods and being abused. In the case they’re working on, the young adult who ends up being the killer had a strict military stepfather as well. But that man didn’t just keep his stepchildren on a regimented routine – he actually beat them into submission. So his methods were different than those used by Sam’s father.

By the end, Sam knows that his father indeed cared about him. He tells Callen, “As gruff as he was, I’m still grateful for everything he did for me.” And Callen offers a great perspective as he tells Sam in return, “Sometimes it takes a rock and a feather for balance.” (I also enjoyed Callen making note of Hetty being both a rock and a feather. She really is, isn’t she?)

After all this, it’s the perfect ending to see Sam stay behind and call his father on the phone. He is calling to check in and see how he’s doing, but he is also calling because he’s realized how much his father loves him. He wants to connect with his dad and let his father know he cares, too.

I have to say, I loved how this theme with Sam was interwoven throughout the episode. The main plot (of finding a young killer who may have cracked) touched on the subject of “How much discipline is too much for kids?” And that theme was then driven home as Sam considers the effects of that question in his own life. I found this double emphasis on the theme – through both the plot and a main character’s experience – a very effective tool for bringing a character’s history into the foreground. As Sam’s experience reflected what was going on in the story, it made a bigger impact. I wish “NCIS: Los Angeles” would weave the characters’ stories into the larger pictures more often. Usually the show leaves little nuggets of a character’s history dispersed randomly throughout episodes – like the dropping of crumbs along a path. But it’s a lot more moving to do it in a dramatic way that ties into the rest of the plot. It emphasizes their story and makes the plots feel more relevant.

I would be remiss to not also mention the fun side of Sam’s story this week: trying to figure out which character he dressed up as for his daughter’s Disney birthday party. I really enjoyed Callen’s quest to figure out who Sam had become. Sam doesn’t want to give any information, which just prompts more fun guesses from Callen and the rest of the crew. They offer up some good suggestions. They guess Captain Hook (“He’s a sailor,” Callen says), Baloo from “The Jungle Book,” and Beast from “Beauty and the Beast.” (You had to laugh as Kensi said the Beast was large and fearless with a heart of gold, just like Sam.) Later Callen also guesses the genie from “Aladdin,” Dr. Evil, Lex Luther, Yul Brynner and Pinocchio. Aside from Pinocchio, I could see Sam as all of these characters. Imagining it was humorous. But even better was the real revelation: Sam dressed up as Sully from “Monsters, Inc.” I’d love to see that costume on Sam. What a wonderful image left in our minds. And after Callen had tried so hard to find out, it was nice to see Sam finally reveal his choice to Callen.


Kensi and Deeks

I especially loved this week’s scene of Kensi and Deeks visiting the basketball player they thought was connected to the bombing victim. I was a little surprised, though, at the fact Deeks had never revealed to Kensi that he personally knew this man. Here was an NBA player whom Deeks and Kensi had apparently watched before (in a live game – Kensi had noticed him pointing at them, which wouldn’t have happened through television). And they were close enough that the man actually called Deeks his “best friend.” So wouldn’t Deeks have told Kensi at some point that he knew him? That’s the kind of thing I imagine Deeks bragging about. But this time he hadn’t, and it made for an amusing scene. In fact, I imagine that’s why he didn’t reveal his famous “best friend” to Kensi. He enjoyed the inside knowledge of watching her get all giddy over a guy Deeks knew. I can just picture Deeks smiling to himself during the game they went to, enjoying the irony of the situation and deciding to keep his ties to himself until he felt like revealing his connection and prompting a reaction from Kensi. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realize that Deeks really loves eliciting these fun, half-upset, half-amused responses from Kensi. It’s part of his flirting game with her.

The fact that Kensi already liked this guy to begin with made the scene even better. Watching her smooth her hair as she waited at the door was amusing. And so was Deeks pretending he didn’t know anything about basketball. Obviously that wasn’t true at all, so we got an inside glimpse at how Deeks likes to charmingly harass Kensi and egg her on. He was totally setting her up here as if she was the expert, when actually Deeks was the inside man. It gave me the feeling he purposely does this a lot, knowingly making jokes at her expense – but all in fun, of course.

When they finally go inside and Kensi learns her sports idol is good friends with Deeks, the player reveals that Deeks has also talked about Kensi. “You weren’t playing – she’s bad,” he says to Deeks, right in front of Kensi. Throughout their conversation it becomes clear that “bad” is a good thing – he thinks Kensi is a hottie and approves of whatever Deeks has going on with her. And after Deeks questions him about his whereabouts during the murder, the player says Deeks has a conflict of interest and Kensi should be questioning him alone. All of this was quite entertaining. As they’re getting ready to leave and Deeks says he has better things to do than stay with the hot girls at the pool, his friend looks at Kensi and whispers the words, “I bet you do” while winking. Deeks doesn’t appreciate the gesture but Kensi doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, she doesn’t want to leave and has to be prodded to go. All these different aspects of the scene made it a lot of fun.


Nell and Eric

Nell and Eric also had a good moment after Nell gets excited about some information Eric inadvertently gives her and plants a kiss on his cheek. It happened so fast that you weren’t expecting it at all. But I think the fact that it happened in the moment made it nicer. Nell didn’t even think about it as she got excited about a new lead and showed her appreciation to Eric in this way. In the midst of an otherwise routine episode for these characters, it was a pleasant surprise.

Other Thoughts

- I was reminded in this episode how much Sam and Callen are polar opposites. Sam is someone who has learned to follow protocol all his life and respects it, while Callen doesn’t like answering to anyone.

- I didn’t quite see the connection between going from the random items left behind at these connected murders – rose petals, rings, perfume – to realizing the culprit was likely an overdisciplined military kid who snapped. That tie-in didn’t really work for me. And Nell figuring out the rose petal connection also felt kind of out-there.

- Deeks was funny as a coffee barista who couldn’t get Sam or the Marine to order any fancy coffees.

- I enjoyed the creepiness of the two brothers being mentally unbalanced. It brought a real sorrow to the situation. Watching the first boy hit himself, call himself stupid and then hum to himself made him seem crazy. By the time the mother came in and sang a lullaby to him while holding him like a baby, I was both saddened and very creeped out. Then when the older boy hummed the same lullaby, it was really effective. The misery and eeriness behind these scenes enhanced the episode. It was nice to have some dramatic plot scenes in addition to dramatic character moments.

- I thought Callen was really adept at reading the situation with the mother. I didn’t understand at first what had happened with her second husband until Callen mentioned she knew what happened to her husband – her son had protected her from him and killed him.

- On second viewing, I was shocked to see a bad swear word starting with “F” on the graffiti in the classroom. That’s not a word you can show on primetime TV, yet there it was on the wall. Yikes! Anyone else catch that?

- I’m usually not impressed with all the explosions. But the explosion at the end of the episode where Sam grabs the kid and they fall into the pool was really cool! That was a nice twist. And I laughed out loud when Callen asked Sam how the water was and Sam answered, “Perfect” with a very annoyed look on his face.

- I loved the ending chat about grabbing food together. Kensi was funny as she put Deeks on the spot asking if he was going to buy for everyone. I love how he just gave her a look instead of answering. It was perfect how the lilting music stopped right then, adding to the humor. And then Kensi decides she’ll buy. That is, until Deeks tells everyone, “You better hurry because you know there are limits to Kensi’s generosity.” That comment definitely backfired.

- I’m so excited for next week’s episode after that promo teasing love for Callen and a potential kiss between Deeks and Kensi. Hoorah for the holiday season. I’ll take holiday gifts like this any time!

What did you think of "Reign Fall?" Which was your favorite scene? And what would you like to see next week? Join our discussion in the comments below.

About the Author - Tonya Papanikolas

Tonya Papanikolas is a freelance journalist who loves covering entertainment and television. She spent more than 10 years as a broadcast news anchor/reporter and now does everything from hosting to writing. She loves covering NCIS: Los Angeles for SpoilerTV. (She's a big fan of Kensi and Deeks!) She also writes SpoilerTV articles on other great shows.