NCIS: Los Angeles - Kolcheck, A. - Review: "Setting Up the Finale"

The penultimate episode of the season picked up where we left off in “Beacon.” When crew members of a missing oil tanker turn up dead, the NCIS team renews its search for the ship that holds connections to Arkady. They eventually find the tanker with Arkady’s help, but the hundred million dollars of oil on board is gone – and so is Anna, the blonde woman from Arkady’s phone. Arkady claims she is his employee, but Callen eventually figures out she’s Arkady’s daughter.

Arkady has proven himself to be an interesting and funny character. He is charming yet difficult, uncooperative yet helpful (when forced). I thought it was an interesting development that Anna was his daughter. The revelation reminded me of the moment in “Beacon” when he and Callen both agreed that loyalty to family was the most important thing. It’s a comment that now seems extremely relevant. I’m not quite sure why Arkady wanted to keep his daughter’s identity a secret. But it’s clear he will do everything he can to find her.

Overall I found this episode enjoyable but not fantastic. We saw some nice action and good moments with almost all of the characters. But the emphasis was on the plot, and unfortunately it really wasn’t interesting enough to carry the show on its own. However, I felt this episode was meant to lay the groundwork for what comes next. It was intended to set up the finale, and it accomplished that goal well. It left me excited for the finale, where we will see the team travel to Russia to find Anna, the oil and the vicious thief who took them. And hopefully we will finally find out more about Callen’s father.

The Team

The team moment this week revolved around loaning things to your friends. We start off with Kensi telling Deeks his friend is using him as an ATM. Deeks is planning to loan the friend money, even though he doesn’t know what it’s for. Deeks admits he’s given seven loans to this friend who has never repaid him. (In actuality, it’s eight). And he is still thinking of helping him out again. But it turns out Deeks isn’t the only one in the loaning business. Sam has loaned Callen many items that his partner has never returned, and Sam is bitter about it. I thought all of this was pretty amusing. Callen was funny how he didn’t seem to feel bad about not returning Sam’s items. Sam was funny because he was so annoyed. And I enjoyed Kensi and Deeks’ different philosophies about his actions. Deeks saw himself as a good friend (who apparently doesn’t ask too many questions about these loans) while Kensi sees his actions as financially reckless. Even though she was making fun of Deeks, she was also looking out for him.

I was entertained that Eric ended up being the friend in question (and that Deeks protected Eric by not revealing that fact). But at the same time it also felt strange. Eric has asked Deeks for money eight different times? And Deeks gave it to him every time without a single return on his investments? Weird. Plus, the two had very different versions of what was happening. Eric thinks they’re “equity investments” when Deeks considers them loans. They clearly didn’t lay out ground rules before Deeks funded Eric’s business plans. And I wouldn’t think intelligent Eric would come up with a bunch of crappy ideas that never go anywhere. Sure, even smart people can be dreamers with bad ideas. But the scene left Eric looking like a clueless friend who is taking advantage of Deeks. And it portrayed Deeks as a kind but naïve guy who isn’t very smart with his money. The idea of this scene was funnier than the reality. But I did find it interesting that Deeks ultimately listened to Kensi’s advice and stopped loaning Eric money.

Sam and Callen

I enjoyed both Sam and Callen in this episode. Most of their interactions revolved around Arkady, leaving us with a lot of entertaining tongue-in-cheek banter. These three are so funny together. Arkady definitely has a different dynamic with Callen than he does with Sam. Sam puts up with him, but Arkady and Callen have a deeper connection. Callen has more patience with Arkady than Sam does. And Arkady seems to trust Callen. But Sam always seems to be amused by the Russian.

We saw all these dynamics play into their scenes together, beginning with Sam and Callen driving in front of Arkady’s car as he’s trying to escape. I thought it was funny that Arkady called them idiots when he had run the red light. And I loved Sam’s reactions to him. Telling Arkady he had road rage, putting down his silk suit, and commenting that he didn’t have a job were all great exchanges. Arkady was hilarious as he claimed Sam’s words stung, but he knew he said them because he cared. Callen was also funny when he found the guns in the car. The two partners were clearly amused with Arkady. They know he’s full of crap but they don’t let him get away with anything.

When Sam interrogates Arkady on his own, he’s tougher on the Russian. He outright tells Arkady he’s not his friend; he’s just “a source” to Sam. As he questions him, Arkady tries to punch him. The move was surprising. But Sam has quick reflexes. And he doesn’t get mad. The action only intrigues him more as to why Arkady is acting so strange.

Later when Callen comes back, he and Arkady have a serious conversation about the coin. I was happy to finally see Arkady telling him the truth. It’s about time he gives Callen some real information. Not that he gave them a lot here, but at least it was something. Arkady tells Callen the coins he found were used to identify refugees who wanted to escape from Russia. Callen’s father may have been the man handing out the coins. While Arkady doesn’t know for sure, you get the feeling his dad was definitely the man on the other end. And you also get the feeling Arkady values how much this information means to Callen. He knows this is a big deal for the agent. I hope this bit of information is followed by even greater revelations.

Callen was clearly thinking about his father during the entire case. I think my favorite scene was the one in which Callen goes home to look through his box of clues about his family and Hetty shows up. The scene starts without any words, yet it grips your attention. As Callen looks through his few pictures and news clippings that leave him with more questions than answers, you can see how unsettled he is. He’s distracted and tense. But Hetty is there for him. Callen doesn’t tell a lot of people what’s he’s thinking when it comes to his family. But he trusts Hetty. She can see how concerned and preoccupied he is. She gives him potential information about the coin while at the same time encouraging him not to focus too much on personal matters that could interfere with his job. But for Callen, his job and his personal history are intertwined. Knowing who he is affects every aspect of his life. His desire to know more about his background could easily impact his job. I don’t believe he would endanger anyone else to find out information. But he would certainly defy orders to gain some peace of mind.

Kensi and Deeks

I would love to have seen better interactions from Kensi and Deeks in this episode. They definitely had some funny moments that made me laugh but they also had some cheesy moments. The first was Deeks’ suggestion that the brother and sister shipping duo could have been lovers. The dialogue was so strange that I was happy to see Kensi acknowledge it made no sense and was just gross. Granted, Deeks excels at weird and gross. But this one was more odd than charming.

And I found the scene at the hospital funny yet a little too goofy. When Deeks tells Kensi to go distract the security guard with her cleavage, their dialogue was amusing but also over-the-top. Kensi was perfect as she again called Deeks out on his craziness by mouthing “Really?” to him. It was the same thing the audience was thinking. Oh, Kensi. You never know what this guy’s going to say, do you? He’s a whacky one – and he doesn’t mind being inappropriate. But I guess that’s Deeks for you. I just didn’t think this was Deeks at his finest (or funniest). And their threats to the prison guard also didn’t hold their usual zing for me.

But they did share some good moments together, too. I liked their banter about Deeks being a “sugar daddy,” saying he has to keep his “ladybird happy.” And I enjoyed their chasing of the prison guard. Deeks saved Kensi’s life by jumping on the man right as he pointed a gun at Kensi. They were both funny as Deeks emerged from his tackle, with Kensi commenting that he was living out his pro wrestling fantasy and Deeks talking about how awesome it felt.

In fact, Deeks came to Kensi’s rescue several times this episode. After a car backed into them, Deeks yelled for her to duck while he shot at the driver. I was glad to see Kensi okay. The crash looked pretty bad. And it was followed by a comical exchange about her hearing. I loved how they both smiled after their lines, showing how they amuse each other. Then Deeks saved Kensi on the ship by yelling “Down” so she would duck and he could shoot the man behind her. These two really do work well together as a team. They trust each other and react quickly to the other’s actions.

Other Thoughts

- I thought it was uncharacteristically foolish of Callen not to let Sam check for a bomb before they broke into Arkady’s house, especially considering Arkady had rigged his own car to blow up recently. It also seemed a little odd that they would break into his house and his safe and look through all his things. Granted, they were worried about him and they were also looking for information about the ship. But it still felt weird. They even memorized the passcode to his safe. Arkady is lucky they are trustworthy.

- It was nice seeing Sam so supportive about Callen’s father, telling him it was cool his dad was a hero. Callen may have inherited that quality from his father.

- I loved the glimpse at the minimal furnishings in Callen’s house. We already knew that his bed was a mattress on the floor, and now we see him sitting on the floor looking through his box of mementos. Perfect.

- Did you notice the two other guys with the NCIS team on the ship? When we saw them I thought they were definitely going to die. Instead, after they head up the stairs you never see them again. That made me wonder why they were there in the first place.

- When you find out Arkady’s daughter has been kidnapped, you feel awful for the man. But considering the team’s mixed feelings about Arkady, I thought going to help his daughter didn’t raise the stakes as much as it should for a finale episode. Still, Russia holds a big opportunity for Callen to delve into his father’s history. So I’m excited! And you never know – maybe Anna will end up connected to Callen.

What did you think of "Kolcheck, A.?" How much are you looking forward to the finale? Do you have any predictions about what Callen will find out about his father? Join our discussion in the comments below.

About the Author - Tonya Papanikolas

Tonya Papanikolas is an online, print and broadcast 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.