NCIS: Los Angeles - Black Wind - Review: "Humor and Fun"

I have to commend the “NCIS: Los Angeles” producing and writing team. The second half of the season, beginning with the holiday episode, has been fantastic. This week the fun ride continues with “Black Wind.” The episode follows the investigation into a man’s anthrax infection. The case takes the NCIS team to Tijuana, Mexico, where someone has used a warehouse to produce the biological agent. Sam and Callen go undercover as food truck operators to gain intel while Kensi and Deeks get help from the infected man’s father.

I loved the humor in this episode. It had so many funny moments and great scenes that it was hard to pick a favorite. And I love that the episode highlighted all the main characters. Sam and Callen were hilarious together, and Kensi and Deeks were both amusing and sweet at various times. The funny banter seemed endless. It reminded me how great the character writing is on this show. The characters are so well-defined and individualized and fun and the writers do a wonderful job of giving them great dialogue that adds new layers to their character definition. Combine that with the great acting and you have a character recipe for success!

Another thing the episode did well was give us a little drama in the midst of the case. I loved how the touching scene at the hospital – where the grandpa, Alejandro, was so thankful to the NCIS team – was immediately followed by the heartbreaking scene of ICE coming to pick him up to deport him and send his family back to Mexico, where they were in danger. The juxtaposition of those two scenes made it all the more devastating and made you feel even more for Alejandro – and Deeks and the team who hadn’t been able to help him. It was great that all the team members, but especially Deeks, were so invested in trying to help this man. They wanted to do right by him since he had helped them with their investigation, and it was awful to see both the grandfather and the young boy saying to Deeks, “This is not what you promised,” and, “You said you were the good guys.” Deeks looked distraught, which just showed how much he cared and wanted to keep his promise, but he was helpless. His word became hollow and he couldn’t do anything to change it. Those dramatic moments added a nice element to the show and made it even more meaningful when Granger spent four hours on the phone to get the man and his family released. Each character expressed his/her relief at the news. But Deeks summed up the scene’s emotions best by hugging Granger – after announcing he was going to do it. (Granger’s aversion and surprise to the hug made it even better.)

Sam and Callen

The two partners had a lot of wonderful scenes and dialogue together in this episode. They were cracking me up! I loved them ribbing each other about who would survive in a Mexican prison. Sam was hilarious as he boasted how he would have a long line of friends and family coming to feed him in prison while he claimed Callen, with only Jo in his corner, would starve to death. We already know how much Sam cares about Callen – he spent two weeks in Atlanta at Callen’s side when “G” was being treated for a deadly virus, all because he didn’t want Callen to wake up alone. He is a great friend. That knowledge just made their good-natured teasing even funnier.

I also adored the scene of them cooking in their “Fast Gringos” food truck, which offered a lot of great moments. My favorites were Callen teasing Sam about buying veggie burgers (which later come in handy) and Sam insisting he has to take over the burger cooking because he can’t stand how Callen is cooking them. I love that Sam is a person who is very specific in how he likes things accomplished. Most of the time, he likes them done his way. He doesn’t like corners cut, and he loves to be right. And Callen knows that. This scene played with all those elements.

The duo wasn’t lacking in action, either. Someone had removed their brakes and rigged their truck to speed up, but their calm thinking under pressure and quick actions saved them from a crash – by just inches, of course. Seriously, I want these guys with me if I’m ever in a pinch. And then there was the shootout at the airport. Callen had some great golf-cart-riding skills, hanging off the side while maneuvering it. I was impressed! As usual, he and Sam worked as a team to take out the bad guys. The hosing down of the helicopter was also a fun touch.

Kensi and Deeks

I really loved Kensi and Deeks’ interactions in this episode. And Deeks had some great scenes with the team. It starts with him bringing in his cactus. I love how Deeks gets so intensely dedicated to a cause in which he believes. He is hilariously focused. And this time his cause is saving water. So he brings in a cactus that hardly needs any water and tells the team not to flush the toilets if they pee. (I laughed out loud at the flier he handed out: “In this land of fun and sun, we don’t flush for number one.”) Everyone – especially Sam – thinks he’s crazy, and during the hubbub, Deeks inadvertently backs up into his cactus and ends up with several thorns in his butt. I loved how no one would help him remove them and Kensi told him he was getting “cactus karma.” (Although later she clearly enjoys inflicting the pain of suddenly pulling them out.)

Then we witnessed some great moments between the couple themselves. I loved their discussion as they fought over who would go up the opening of the tunnel into an unknown, potentially dangerous situation. After Kensi loses at Rock, Paper, Scissors, she amusingly plays the girlfriend card, which I found hilarious because it wasn’t typical Kensi who volunteers for the tough assignments. This time she didn’t want to go up and risk her life if she didn’t have to – if Deeks could do it instead – so she worked the situation by telling Deeks sarcastically (and good-naturedly), “You’re such a gentleman.” It works – Deeks feels guilty, which is cute that he wants to be a gentleman. So he heads up instead, commenting on his way, “This is why you should never fall in love.” It’s so nice to hear him acknowledge his feelings, even in funny moments like these. In fact it’s perfect in these kinds of moments because they feel natural. After all they’ve been through, it’s satisfying to finally see these two acknowledging their relationship in their everyday life. I must say, I’ve loved how they’ve worked as partners since officially dating. They don’t impede or hinder one another as some critics of the pair suggested they might; instead they continue to bring out the best in one another both professionally and personally. They work well together on the job, which was clear in this episode as they made smart decisions in the tunnel, and personally they continue their teasing banter as their way of flirting.

Deeks was also sweet to Alejandro’s family as he and Kensi were working to get the daughter-in-law and young grandson out of Mexico. What a touching scene as Deeks comforts the scared boy by showing him a Mighty Mouse cartoon on his phone. (Kensi loved it, too, as you could see by her smile.) As someone on a bike comes to shoot them, the child was so preoccupied with the cartoon, he didn’t notice Kensi taking him out. Deeks wins new points here for being great with children.

And let’s not forget the love story at the end. After Deeks was trying to find some hope in their situation through a “sign” of a flower on his cactus, Hetty gives them a different kind of hope in her tale about two young lovers who were forbidden to marry. She tells them of a goddess who took pity on the couple and turned the man into a cactus and put the woman’s spirit inside. That way they were always protected and together for eternity. And occasionally when the woman wants to see the view, she emerges as the cactus flower. The story was sweet, but it was the reactions it received from Kensi and Deeks that were the most enjoyable. During the story Kensi looks away, as if she’s uncomfortable with where it’s going. But when Hetty finishes, Kensi and Deeks each share a meaningful, loving smile or gaze at one another that held no doubts about their own love. With all the “prickles” these two gave off with each other for so long to protect themselves, Kensi and Deeks have finally let one another inside their walls and are “protected” and stronger together now because of it.

Other Thoughts

- I enjoyed the character of Mauricio. He was amusing how he first tackled Sam and Callen and then really wanted to help them, even promoting their food truck (as if booming business was really what they needed). These touches made it sadder when he was found dead.

- I loved how every character spoke Spanish in the episode. It seems they all know the language. But Kensi’s (and Daniela Ruah’s) language skills were the most impressive. I loved hearing how the language rolled off her tongue so easily. Maybe we’ll get to hear her speak Portuguese one day!

- Deeks really wanted to go to Mexico, didn’t he? Sam and Callen always outrank him and get the destination assignments, so it was fun to see Kensi and Deeks end up in Mexico later, after all. I love it when they’re all together in new places.

- What a great name for the food truck: “Fast Gringos.” Hilarious!

- I thought Eric’s rain stick could have been used a little more in the episode. He held it and mentioned it but they could have played it up a little more to make it more relevant. Eric and Nell’s role in the episode was pretty routine this week.

- As much as Granger seems to want to stop many of their ideas, he always comes around to seeing their side in the end. I was amused how in the tunnel – after he’s allowed Kensi and Deeks to go after the shooter and Alejandro has been shot – Deeks yells, “Stop the bleeding” and Granger yells back, “Stop the shooter.” Touché, Granger.

- I really love how the episodes usually end with a team scene, whether they’re talking together or celebrating their win. Their toast with tequila was a great wrap-up for “Black Wind.” I wish I could end my work day every day like they do!

What did you think of "Black Wind?" Is it easy for you to pick your favorite part? Join our show discussion in the comments below.

About the Author - Tonya Papanikolas

Tonya Papanikolas is a entertainment journalist who loves covering her favorite TV shows, including "NCIS: Los Angeles." (She's a big fan of Kensi and Deeks!) She spent more than 10 years as a broadcast news anchor/reporter and now does everything from hosting to writing. She writes reviews and feature articles for SpoilerTV on a ton of great shows.