The NCIS team is finally all back together again in “Exchange Rate.” The episode deals with a prisoner exchange. A convicted Cuban spy, about to be sent back to Cuba, breaks out of U.S. custody, and NCIS must investigate where he went and why he’s trying to get away. In the process they run into Anna Kolcheck again; Anna is the one who helped the spy escape – and Hetty hired her. It turns out the man was a Russian spy, not Cuban. Ultimately the team arrests the man and rescues Anna, who was taken hostage.
This episode had a classic “NCIS: Los Angeles” feel to it. It was wonderful to see the team reunited again with their usual banter and fun moments. All of the partners had great scenes together. The focus was squarely on the characters and how they interact with one another, which is one of the best parts of the show. The episode utilized all the main characters well. Plus we had some fun Arkady moments. After all the international cases we’ve seen lately, it was great to get back to the core of the show in Los Angeles. I enjoyed this episode a lot.
Sam and Callen (and Arkady and Anna)
Sam and Callen were back to their usual teasing selves in this episode. I love how Sam harassed Callen about the safe house being more comfortable than Callen’s home. It was a great image, thinking of Sam watching basketball on a beanbag chair, getting annoyed that his back was hurting.
I always love these two with Arkady, so it was fun to see them visit him at the tennis courts, where Arkady was hustling his opponent. “If you mess this up for me, I’ll kill you,” he tells Sam and Callen. The two may have rescued him from a Russian prison, but Arkady isn’t any more grateful or forthcoming than he was before his incarceration. And it was amusing. Arkady always sweet talks them while simultaneously dodging their questions or lying. When Sam and Callen question him about his daughter’s whereabouts, Arkady eventually admits he has seen her a couple times but didn’t know she was in Los Angeles. (I loved his line about how Anna doesn’t write in a diary and bring it to him.) But he tells them if he sees her, Sam and Callen will be the first ones to know, because “I love you guys – you are my heroes, my shining white knight in shining armor.” Of course they just rolled their eyes as they walked away. When they later realized Arkady gave his car to Anna, they both wanted to kill him. Arkady is perpetually frustrating – but so funny!
Soon the team finds Anna and she immediately questions if Callen missed her. And it seems he did. We learn that Callen called Anna after returning from Russia, and she never returned his call. How interesting! I love that Callen is initially pretty stoic with Anna, though. And it was great how Sam claimed Callen had rightfully bet Anna was a bigger pain in the ass than Arkady. Anna deserved that. She kept them in the dark once again, prompting a new conversation with Callen about trust. But still, she didn’t have a very hard time convincing Callen to come with her to meet the spy. That’s because, overall, Callen trusts her. And he also likes her. After Sam apprehended the spy, Callen quickly helped the aeronautics victim and then ran to Anna’s side. As he asked if she was okay, you could see the concern in his eyes clearly stemmed from a personal concern, not just a professional connection.
Once again we also saw the parallels drawn between Callen and Anna. This time it was Granger who brought them up, pointing out (indirectly) that Anna’s tendencies to work alone, not trust the team or want any help sounded a lot like Callen. It was funny how Callen got annoyed with the comparison, despite the fact it was true.
Anna, as a topic, also provided the best scene between Sam and Callen – the final scene, where Sam teased Callen for having called Anna. I love how Sam called Callen a “glutton for punishment” and joked it was a character flaw. Interestingly, Callen first thought Sam was referring to Callen’s father, alerting us to the fact Sam knew what happened with Callen’s dad in Russia. I loved this little mention. I suspect Sam figured it out on his own while watching Callen and Garrison together. But however he found out, it was cute that the show dropped this tidbit for fans, with Sam adding that meeting Callen’s father was a heartfelt moment he would never take away from Callen or diminish by making fun of it.
However, Sam had no problem harassing Callen for liking Anna. And the way he did it was hilarious. I loved how he said Anna’s name in a lovey-dovey voice, taunting his partner, not about to let the issue drop. He couldn’t believe Callen fell for Arkady’s daughter. And Callen couldn’t deny he did. “I’m not saying it’s ideal,” Callen responds. But Sam digs in further. After supportively saying the heart wants what it wants, he follows up by asking Callen with a cheeky smile, “Does the heart know it will need a quadruple bypass if Arkady becomes your father-in-law?” Callen doesn’t want Sam to make this “a thing.” But Sam can’t stop himself. He points out if Callen and Anna end up together, Callen could be spending Christmas and Sunday barbecues at Arkady’s house. And he’s right – that would be pretty crazy! Those would be some interesting family get-togethers! This scene brought together a myriad of great elements – fantastic ribbing between two friends, Callen being caught after trying to fly under the radar with his feelings about Anna, Sam calling him out, and Sam making fun of Callen’s complicated relationship with Arkady. It was a great ending.
Kensi and Deeks
This episode also had some fantastic Kensi and Deeks scenes, beginning with that glorious shower scene. I loved everything about this scene. From the way Deeks held the shower curtain to cover himself, to the funny way he didn’t want to offend Kensi but had to tell the truth, to the way Kensi reacted, the scene was perfection. From the moment Kensi shows up at the boatshed and hears Deeks whistling in the shower, she is mad. And Deeks is caught. Stammering and stuttering, he tries to explain himself, using sweet names like “Kensilicious, my love.” But Kensi isn’t deterred. She wants to know why he’s showering at work. At first Deeks lies to appease her but Kensi knows better, so Deeks has to fess up. The truth is Kensi’s mess in their bathroom really bothers him: She has 11 different shampoos and 14 different conditioners in the shower. It’s chaos in there! But the truth hurts. And it makes Kensi confused and defensive. First she says the mess never bothered him before. But that’s not true. Then she protests that his complaining is just part of their “repartee,” their jokes between one another. But Deeks can’t agree. He says his complaints are a “cry for help.” That ticks off Kensi even more! She isn’t ready to admit she needs to change, so she makes sure to get the last word by stealing his towel. I thought the scene mirrored the way real couples interact, with issues simmering below the surface that may be joked about but are still sensitive. It felt realistic. Kensi didn’t actually want to be told she needed to do something different. So she chose to pout before eventually accepting the problem and making a change.
Along the way she also dug the screws in a little. She tells the rest of the team Deeks is having car trouble – because of a “screw loose,” an obvious play on words directed at his mental state. Then when they meet with the DOJ lawyer, Kensi calls her partner “OCD,” making fun of him for being so clean and needing everything neat. But in the end she obviously responded to Deeks’ needs because Sam mentions the two of them went to buy cleaning supplies. It may have taken her awhile to make the effort, but she is willing to make a few changes to improve Deeks’ happiness.
Aside from this theme, we also had a couple other funny Densi moments. In the dentist’s office, I liked their banter about how Kensi hated dentists and Deeks loved them. Of course, he revealed he enjoyed it as a kid because his dentist had the hottest hygienist in town! And then their robot talk made me laugh. Deeks apparently wanted Kensi speaking in a robot voice – in the bedroom, it sounded like. That’s kind of creepy weird! But also funny. Of course Sam was weirded out by the thought and didn’t want to listen to their bedroom escapades. But I loved how they each had such different reactions to Sam’s complaints. Kensi apologized sincerely while Deeks just made it more uncomfortable by telling Sam they’d had a major breakthrough in the bedroom. Deeks loves to make everyone uncomfortable! It’s a skill.
Eric and Nell
Eric and Nell had some adorable scenes in this episode, too. I was happy to see them finally playing a larger role. They were both funny as Eric mentioned he smelled trouble in paradise with Kensi and Deeks. I love that he used their joint couple name, “Densi,” a nod to all their fans and shippers out there. And to make it funnier, Nell responded that she always thought it was “Keeks.” And it just kept getting better as Eric told Nell that “Neric” was fine – they weren’t in a rough patch. It was fun to hear the characters use the names fans have created for them!
This scene was interesting from many angles. For one thing, Nell and Eric were acting like a couple. Granted, Eric mentioned that a relationship or friendship goes through a rough patch, so it didn’t pin them down to being a romantic couple. But the lines were blurred, which made it fun. So did Eric’s goofy responses about how he believed in taking relationship “prophylactics” or “vaccines” to ward off problems. Statistically, he told Nell they would hit a rough patch and when they did, he didn’t want them to get a software bug that caused unintended results. I love how the writers cater Eric’s dialogue to his quirky personality. In essence, he was being practical – in Eric terms. He didn’t want anything hurting his relationship with Nell. But he was overthinking things and talking about hypothetical problems that didn’t exist. I loved how Nell pointed out they weren’t having “car problems” – and if they did, they’d be just fine with his engineering skills and her brain. Now Nell was the practical one – speaking on terms Eric understood. But her car analogy sounded a little sexual, and the scene ended on a funny note as Eric questioned what she meant by that. Nell’s response: “Don’t overthink it.” Once again we saw blurry Neric lines. I feel like these hazy lines are meant to leave us wondering, deciphering their relationship for ourselves. The way the show toys with the idea of a romantic relationship for them without committing to it is like a puzzle. I want more pieces!
After this, Nell tells Eric they had a good talk. But she doesn’t want to talk about it any longer. She made me laugh when she said she had a limit of one talk per year. That confuses Eric, who can’t figure out what they’ll do if an issue really does come up. Nell’s response that they could talk about it next year was funny and showed her to be an avoider. She clearly does not enjoy these deep probing conversations.
From here, the two actually do hit a real rough patch. When Eric thinks Granger is offending Nell’s integrity, he goes into gentleman mode, defending his lady (or lady friend, depending on how you see it). He claims Nell is a beacon, a “shining beacon of honesty, virtue – and rectitude.” The word was a funny choice. It may mean goodness and decency, but it sounds an awful lot like rectal. (Was I the only one that thought that?) At that point, Nell immediately stepped in to defuse the situation. Nell is an independent woman and doesn’t need Eric standing up for her when she can stand up for herself. But I liked how she dealt with Eric. Even slightly offended, she showed she understood his feelings and where he was coming from. She knew that he was just trying to be gallant and helpful. So instead of chastising him, she thanked him and then tried to move on. I thought that showed a lot of wisdom. Later, as they were leaving work, she once again told Eric she could handle herself, but she also told him his heart was in the right place. She was both firm and kind. And she proved she was actually willing to talk things out when necessary. Despite the fact she called it a “clarification,” she was the one who brought up their little talk before leaving work. I guess Neric can deal with their “rough patches” just fine! I have confidence in these two.
Other Thoughts
- I enjoyed how Sam called out Eric on having never navigated car chases before, telling him “PlayStation doesn’t count!” (And Eric couldn’t protest.)
- At the restaurant when Anna asked Callen, “Are we good?” she seemed upset when his answer was, “We’ll see.” She wants Callen to like her.
- Anna is clearly sticking around. In fact, I think Hetty offered her a job when she told Anna that her luck about having a team could change. What do you think?
- I loved hearing Chris O’Donnell use a Russian accent. Though I felt like his accent got weaker the longer he talked.
- Hetty could have saved them all a lot of trouble if she’d told the team her plans from the beginning. I’m getting kind of tired of her secret plans. She should have apologized to the rest of the team in addition to Anna.
- I loved the scene with Arkady handcuffed in the car. He was so whiny he as he claimed Hetty had left him “tied up like a dog.” And Hetty’s response was equally fantastic: “Oh, Drama Queen!” Hetty and Arkady make me laugh together. When Hetty left him there, I loved how he pleaded with her not to go, telling her she looked good in leather. He is so funny!
What did you think of "Exchange Rate?" Did you have a favorite scene? Favorite moment? Do you think Hetty is planning to add Anna to the team? Let us know your thoughts 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.
