NCIS: Los Angeles - Blame it on Rio - Review: "A True Laugh-Fest"

What a fun episode! “Blame it on Rio” was a hoot. The dialogue was definitely a standout; the episode had so many funny lines. And the characters were quite entertaining. The “NCIS” crossover episode featured Tony DiNozzo making his way from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles to pick up a prisoner he was supposed to be escorting. But the prisoner got away from the air marshal on the plane and never made it into DiNozzo’s custody. So he visited the Los Angeles NCIS office to get some help.

There Tony meets the “NCIS: LA” team, where some of them like him and some do not. Sam and Deeks particularly don’t have a fondness for Tony. He rubs Sam the wrong way, and Deeks is jealous of his interactions with Kensi. Tony also doesn’t know quite how to deal with Hetty. Along the way, the team locates the missing prisoner, a man from Singapore named Rio, who was a fantastic character. He was a total crack-up.

Overall I thought a few scenes could have held more punch. They didn’t utilize Tony’s appearance as well as they could have, especially in the beginning. But that became a short blip in an otherwise fantastic episode. By the end of the hour I was laughing so much, I thought this was the funniest episode in a long time – maybe ever. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Eric, Kensi, Sam and Deeks

After the initial plot set-up, the episode begins with a hilarious scene in the gym. Kensi is waiting for Deeks, who has been in the locker room for a half-hour. She claims he takes “longer than the average Kardashian to get ready.” In the meantime, Eric wants to be Kensi’s workout partner. (Although the intensity with which he begged to get in on the action was a little weird. His line, “Daddy wants to be a part of this,” was funny but sounded a little too sexual.) But little does Eric know what he’s in for. Instead of being a joint partner with Kensi, he is basically her punching bag. And then Sam comes in and wants to play “Whack-a-Beal,” too. (That made me laugh.) Eric decides to leave before he’s really pummeled by Sam.

As Sam talks to Kensi, he mentions that Callen is meeting with Joelle. He makes it clear he thinks they’re going to break up because she can’t handle Callen’s job. To me this felt like a set-up for a break-up. It felt like the writers were preparing us for things not working out. And this wasn’t really surprising. Joelle already was nervous about what Callen did last season and didn’t know how to deal with his undercover work. So the likely foreshadowing wasn’t a big shock. But what kind of scared me was how Sam insisted to Kensi that relationships never tend to work with their job. Clearly Sam is unique because he is still married to Michelle, a former (and sometimes current) CIA agent. They obviously made their relationship work. But his discussion about Callen almost seemed to be a hidden reference to Kensi and Deeks. (Something I was unsure about until Tony brought up their relationship later in a similar vein.) This felt like a small hint thrown out to make us wonder about their future. Personally I think two people who work in similar agent-type positions (like Sam and Michelle, or Kensi and Deeks) have a better chance of seeing eye-to-eye about their tough jobs than Callen and Joelle. But it was still an interesting conversation.

After this, Deeks finally appears in a ridiculous-looking yellow jumpsuit. But he wears it confidently, claiming it is an homage to Bruce Lee. And then he prepares to spar with Sam. (I would have liked to see that!) I thought this entire gym sequence was funny and clever. There were so many great touches – ending in the way Sam stepped back in his “Karate Kid” stance to fight Deeks.

Kensi and Deeks

After witnessing tender moments between the couple last week, Deeks became a jealous boy this week. Tony rubs him wrong when, like Sam, he assumes Deeks’ yellow jumpsuit is a “Kill Bill” reference. But his real problem is Tony and Kensi’s flirtation. Tony is a perpetual flirt, and Kensi takes a liking to Tony and uses him (and his good fashion sense) to make fun of Deeks. After Kensi told Tony she wished more men would dress like adults instead of wearing black T-shirts and flip-flops, it was clear the two were ganging up on Deeks. When they talk about designer Tom Ford, Tony tells Kensi, “He knows how to dress a woman.” But Deeks interjects from behind, “Yeah, but does he know how to undress a woman?” He went for the childish (yet completely hilarious) remark. This was definitely a testosterone showdown, but I’m not really sure if Deeks won, unless you were measuring immaturity levels. But it was such a Deeks comment that you couldn’t help but love it. As Kensi cringed, I also loved how Deeks walked right through them and called shotgun for the car.

I actually think Deeks may have felt a little threatened by Tony’s humor, since it was kind of similar to his own. Deeks is used to being the funny, wacky guy in the room and may not have liked Tony stepping into that role. He definitely didn’t like Tony wanting to come with them everywhere and working with Kensi. The funny thing was, Kensi’s flirtation with Tony was harmless. She wasn’t flirting with him in a threatening way. And Tony is just a flirtatious guy in general. But the dynamic between Tony and Deeks was fun to watch and gave us some hilarious dialogue. As they searched for the missing prisoner, Tony told Deeks not to get his “wig in a mess” while Deeks asked Tony , “Gonna get a murse to match your pantsuit?” But my favorite was Deeks putting his arm on Tony and asking him, “You know that you can OD on tooth whiteners?” Kensi had the perfect response as she broke up their banter from the car: “Girls, you are both pretty,” she tells them. Indeed, they were acting like little girls fighting over who was the prettiest.

But Deeks and Tony did find some commonality when they both got talking about “Knight Rider.” The funny thing is, I think these two would actually be really good friends if they got over their competitiveness with one another. They actually have quite a bit in common.

The one thing I didn’t like was Tony’s warning to Deeks that his relationship with Kensi wouldn’t work. This was the second mention of relationships like theirs not working, and it confirmed my nervous suspicion that the first mention by Sam had also likely been intended to get us thinking about Deeks and Kensi. Tony never gave a reason why it wouldn’t work but I sincerely hope it’s not a foreshadowing.

I was happy to see that Tony and Deeks seemed to be on okay terms when Tony said goodbye. They weren’t great friends, but Deeks appreciated Tony’s teasing enough to give him credit for it. And they both were smiling. I think Deeks was just happy to see him leave!

Overall Deeks’ jealousy didn’t really bother me. I actually found it kind of cute. It continues to show how much he cares about Kensi. But Kensi didn't seem to like it too much. She was annoyed, which made her seem more secure in the relationship than Deeks. But she had the upper hand, making fun of him just because it was amusing. That didn’t bother me, either. I found it kind of playful and harmless (if it isn’t a regular occurrence). And although his immediate competitiveness with Tony was a little odd at first, I grew to really like their teasing rivalry. It made for a fun dynamic.

Sam and Callen

I felt like Callen was overlooked a little in this episode. He didn’t have a very big role. Sam was more prevalent. But I thought it was odd that Sam didn’t like Tony right from the get-go. He didn’t like Tony assuming that he would be the “bad cop” in the interrogation and didn’t like him assuming he was the type that would always play that role. But that didn’t seem like such a big deal. And they did work well together in the interrogation room.

Sam and Callen had a couple fun scenes together, too. I enjoyed watching them reminisce about old operations and retaliate back and forth with their stories. Sam was clearly arrested in Singapore on some past mission. Callen claims it was a girl who knocked him down. Sam then brings up twins from another time who may have been guys. (Wow. That made me want more details on Callen’s involvement.) And then Callen mentions Sam fighting a bar full of midgets. These two have quite a history together and they clearly have a lot of dirt on each other.

The partners were also funny as they visited the surgeon who was scheduled to operate on Rio. As they discussed aging and cosmetic work, Sam acted like he wouldn’t need any. Not only did he have great black skin and superior genetics, but he also lived “clean,” unlike Callen whose body was “like a garbage truck.” Callen just seemed amused while wondering what would happen if Sam’s “race car body” lived forever but his brain died. These two crack me up.

Eric and Nell (and Hetty)

I was excited to see more Eric and Nell again in this episode, as they prepared to attend a Renaissance fair together. It was cute seeing Nell catering to Eric’s whimsical fancies. And it was fun watching Hetty dressing Nell as a wench. She was clearly enjoying that. (Of course Hetty name-dropped how she had worked with Peter O’Toole and a young Anthony Hopkins back in the day. Does Hetty have an acting background?)

Unfortunately, their scene about furry conventions and cosplay was a little weird. It was total geek-speak. I’d never even heard of a furry convention before. But it showed that these two speak their own language. I’m glad they’re on the same wavelength with each other, even when I don’t understand it. I did find it cute how Eric told Nell she’d looked great in her costume.

Tony

I really enjoyed Michael Weatherly’s guest star appearance. It was fun to see him head to the West Coast and interact with the team. In the beginning I felt like some of the scenes they put him in could have been better. I really didn’t understand the one with Hetty and all their weird awkward silences. It needed some more dialogue. Hetty was clearly supposed to be intimidating him. But it was hard to figure out what was going on. And I didn’t love his interactions with Sam in the boatshed. But after that things picked up significantly. I loved how he was so excited to see their operations center (“the secret lair of the West Coast Avengers”) and the boat shed (“very ‘Lost Boys’”). I felt like his excited outlook gave the viewers a new appreciation for the places and things we’re used to seeing.

Weatherly did a great job of infusing his fun “NCIS” character into a new show, creating an exciting energy for the episode. I thought it ended fittingly as Hetty gave Tony a message from Gibbs: a slap on the back of the head. The LA team was ready for Tony to leave. But I was glad he came to visit.

Rio

At first I found the character of Rio cheesy when he hit on Kensi and faked a heart attack. But later I thought he was the funniest thing ever! His character was awesome. He seriously cracked me up. It’s not often that a guest starring character becomes such a fun focal point of the show but that’s exactly what happened. The whole last section of the episode was phenomenal because he made it so fun.

It was a wild ride from the point when Sam and Callen find Rio showering at the hotel to when he’s arrested. I loved how he kept trying new ways to evade arrest: offering Sam and Callen money, faking a heart attack, pretending to be North Korean and claiming to be with the CIA. He was such a character. I loved how he called Sam “Godzilla” and would never shut up, asking Sam if he worked out and claiming he might join a gym because his mom said he was shaped like a scallop. And that crazy hair! His character was written so well and the actor (Bobby Lee) did a phenomenal job portraying him. He was a highlight of the episode.

Sam was right that Rio was like a little jackrabbit; the way he ran was intensely comical. Fortunately for us he ended up with Deeks and Tony. I think my favorite line of the whole episode may have been when Deeks saved him and Rio screamed, “Help! I’m being attacked by a homeless man.” Then when Tony joined them, I was dying at their hair discussion. After Tony tells Deeks to get a haircut so he’s not messing with his hair during a shootout, Rio cracked me up claiming, “He’s right. You should go to Supercuts. You need to get some layers.” I also loved how he told the team they were like his own personal “A-Team.” Sam certainly did not want to be Mr. T but Rio couldn’t resist saying, “I pity the fool” in his best Mr. T impression. (It was a good one, too.) Rio was great comic relief. I hope we get to see him again soon because he had me in stitches.

Other Thoughts

- The IA investigation was mentioned a couple times in this episode. First Granger asks Eric to find any new info he can on the investigation and then Tony guesses Deeks was part of an IA investigation. Tony was wrong in assessing that the IA investigation landed him with NCIS, but the mentions were purposeful. Once again we are left wondering what is going on.

- I found it odd that the team knew exactly how Rio would have escaped on the plane. They offered the whole set-up as if they knew without a doubt how it happened.

- It was rude of Deeks to tell Eric he made an “epic fail” when he couldn’t remotely turn off Rio’s rental car. Come on, Deeks!

- I like how Nell had Eric’s back when he stumbled over his words and called the boss man “Granger, Director Assistant.” She didn’t miss a beat when she told Granger that Eric had been talking backwards all morning – and she was pretty sure it was a “software issue.”

- Did you notice how Deeks purposely got Tony in trouble by sitting him at Sam’s desk with his origami animal? He knew Sam would hate that. You better watch out for that sneaky Deeks!

- I couldn’t believe Kensi answered Tony’s phone when Gibbs called. I’m not sure if she’d do that if she really knew Gibbs.


What did you think of "Blame it on Rio?" Did you enjoy Tony and Deeks' rivalry? What did you think of Rio? Do you think the episode foreshadowed trouble for Deeks and Kensi? Let us know 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.