NCIS: Los Angeles - Where There's Smoke - Review: "Pulling Out the Stops"

Sam and Callen go undercover as firefighters in “Where There’s Smoke…” After a deadly fire is purposely set so someone can steal classified terrorist information from a Department of Defense container, NCIS must smoke out the suspect. They soon realize the arson investigator is the thief, recruiting a rejected fire cadet to help him obtain a list of suspected terrorist names. The investigator says he’ll kill the people on the list if the U.S. government doesn’t do something about them. But many of the people on the list are innocent. Fortunately Sam and Callen find and arrest the man before he kills innocent people. In the meantime, Hetty is worried about the NCIS mole. And Deeks frets that things are too perfect in his life.

“Where There’s Smoke…” was a fun penultimate episode. As we head into the season finale, the show is catering to its strengths and assets. This episode saw some great character banter, it utilized all the characters well and it gave us some great action sequences. It was fun to see Sam and Callen posing as firefighters. I loved the special effects as they ran through the burning building. It seemed like producers were pulling out all the visual stops for fans. Great character moments mixed with exciting action equals classic, enjoyable “NCIS: Los Angeles.”

Sam and Callen

I enjoyed how Sam made a big deal out of Callen using his full name on his NCIS badge. It’s endearing that Callen changed his badge to reflect his true roots. He’s adjusting to his new name and integrating it into his life. Callen could have easily foregone changing the badge. But he did it because it’s important to him. He wants his real name to be registered and official (even if his friends never use it). But he also didn’t want Sam making a big deal of it. And Sam wasn’t about to let that happen. It was amusing how Sam had to steal the badge away from Callen to see it, and how he read the name with a Russian accent. I loved that! It was also amusing that Sam didn’t like Callen’s old photo on the badge, saying he looked angry, perhaps because he didn’t know his first name when he took the picture. This banter was fantastic. And it showed that Sam cared about the significance of what this meant for Callen.

The two partners were fun to watch as undercover firefighters. I love that Sam immediately offered to cook for everyone, bringing steaks for the men. It was a nice way to get on the guys’ good side. But it was funny that he didn’t cook one for Callen. I loved how much these two relished their undercover job. I especially enjoyed Callen wanting to go down the fire pole. They were both extremely brave. I can’t imagine going into a burning building when you haven’t had the proper fire training. They had some background, but they are not trained firefighters. So going undercover took guts, especially when they had to respond to a real fire. You knew it was a dangerous job when Callen’s partner admonished him for not turning on his bottle. Sam and Callen didn’t know all the protocols. And they had a lot to think about once they got inside the building. Their real goal was to find the arsonist/killer/thief amidst all the flames and smoke.

Fortunately they did their job well. Sam immediately noticed the light bulbs on the table and knew the thief was there. But the man stabbed another firefighter before Sam could get to him. Thankfully Sam is tough because this arsonist was carrying an axe. And Callen had other things to attend to – mainly, the female lieutenant who’d been kidnapped and tied to a chair. I like that Callen hesitated for a second, deciding if he should help Sam or the woman. But in the end he had to save the woman. It was the right choice, despite Sam’s indignation later. I love that Callen joked maybe he would have helped Sam if his partner had cooked him a steak.

It was cute that these two felt so good about the work they did afterward. They were on a high from saving people out of burning buildings. That’s ironic because Sam and Callen save people all the time. But the heroic, self-sacrificing job of a firefighter gave them extra satisfaction. As they leave work, they don’t want anyone killing that high, including Granger. Sam cracked me up, giving Granger a hard time for destroying their vibe, and all with a big smile. And then Sam goes back to teasing his partner. After telling Granger that Callen needs a new photo for his ID, Sam orders Callen to admit he’s a changed man. I enjoyed Callen’s response: He was the same man with a new name. His personality clearly hasn’t changed as he gets the last word, telling Sam he wants a home-cooked steak. His buddy owes him that.

Kensi and Deeks

I liked the idea of normally confident Deeks worrying that everything was too good in his life, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was funny to watch him paranoid that his lymph nodes were swollen or wondering what could be wrong with his mother, who hasn’t called him back in 10 minutes. He was anticipating something bad without any proof it was coming. But Kensi was cute with him as she emphasized the positive and encouraged him not to worry about the future. I loved how well she knew him as she first asked him if Mercury was in retrograde, trying to find out why he was acting so weird. Then she tenderly grabbed his face and told him to enjoy the good and take advantage of everything nice in his life.

Of course she went back to teasing him later – and so did everyone else. After Deeks made a comment that he could never kill a co-worker like Sam, the entire team made sure to point out he could never physically overtake Sam and win. And when Deeks volunteered to be the undercover firefighter (joking that he’d learned to put out his fair share of grease fires since Kensi moved in), Kensi gets him back by telling everyone he just wants to be a firefighter because he thinks he’d look good in a calendar. And he can’t deny he’d be a good “Mr. November.”

Still, though, Deeks can’t stop worrying that something bad is going to happen. So when logic doesn’t work, Kensi tries a new approach. She forces the other shoe to drop by telling him he won’t be getting sex. Deeks doesn’t fall for it, though, teasing her that she can’t make it three days because he’s so irresistible. Eventually Deeks does hear back from his mother. When he does, he needs Kensi again. He’s convinced the other shoe is now dropping – because his mom has a boyfriend who wants to cook them dinner. But fortunately Kensi is there to reassure him this isn’t a terrible thing. With Deeks’ experience, he’s worried about his mother’s taste in men. But Kensi assures him this could be a good thing. And if it isn’t, she will help Deeks take the guy down. She knew exactly what Deeks needed to hear to talk him off the ledge. It takes the right kind of person to do that gently. Kensi was the perfect person to get through to him. She showed she understood his fears but also let him know they were unwarranted. Best of all, she let him know she would be by his side no matter what happened.

Eric and Nell

I was happy to see some cute scenes with Eric and Nell in this episode. Even the small moments were cute. I love how Eric dropped his shoe on Kensi and Deeks in the middle of their intimate conversation and then got upset when they threw it in the garbage, with his important custom orthotic insole inside. And I loved how Granger asked if Eric got mugged when he showed up with only one shoe. Eric was then adorably cheesy as he waved to Nell on the video screen with a huge smile on his face (again prompting a strange look from Granger).

It was a fun touch to have Nell enamored by firefighters. I loved how she sighed loudly when she looked at their pictures. Eric immediately picked up on the fact that she had a thing for them. Surprisingly Nell didn’t deny it, saying most people have a thing for firefighters. That morphed into an exchange about what they wanted to be when they were young. Eric, who wanted to be a firefighter, couldn’t believe Nell wanted to be Supergirl. It was adorable how he emphasized it was impossible but then also made sure to encourage her, telling her she had become a “super girl.” His cheesy encouragement was priceless. And I love how Granger always enters at those awkward moments.

It was also funny how upset Eric was at Granger’s answer to what he wanted to be when he was five. Granger made me laugh when he claimed he wanted to be six. But Eric can’t let it go. When Nell asserts it was a joke, Eric doesn’t buy it, claiming Granger’s humor “is drought-level, Mars.” But Nell, who has been in the field with Granger and seems to understand him, tells her partner that Granger is a realist, not a dreamer. This time Nell knows exactly what Eric needs to hear and tells him the world needs both Grangers and Beals. Eric totally understands that, adding that Granger is from Mars and he and Nell are from Krypton. I liked that he put him and Nell in the same category. He sees them as two of the same. This scene showed how well the two understand each other and deal with each other’s idiosyncrasies.

Hetty and Granger

I couldn’t help but think to myself “Uh oh” when Hetty started talking about the mole while she was at the shooting range. When Granger tells her the lieutenant who has gone missing is trusted by her commander, Hetty’s response is interesting. She claims that’s appropriate because she’s a good commander and assembled a good team. The parallel to Hetty was clear. Hetty is a good commander who assembled a good team and she knows it. But she is still worried about the mole and if she played a part in putting him/her on her team. Granger emphasizes that Hetty is not to blame for the mole. But she blames herself and continues worrying, which makes us as viewers worried. Hetty is usually calm and collected. So the fact that she is anticipating some serious damage and potential repercussions from the mole is interesting.

It was also noteworthy that Hetty’s bad feelings mimicked Deeks’. While we were led to believe that Deeks’ gut worries were unsubstantiated fears, Hetty had the same feeling of disquiet – that something was coming, something nobody anticipated. They sounded like words of foreshadowing. And together with Deeks’ fear, it made me wonder what was coming with the mole. I was happy that the writers brought it up again and wondered if we would find out any more in next week’s season finale. Hetty’s worries made the situation seem pretty serious. Could it really be one of the core team members? I doubt it. But the questioning does make you wonder what’s in store. I’m curious to see who the mole is and what’s going to happen next.

Other Thoughts

- I loved Deeks’ random tangent as he mentioned he was never in the Navy – except Old Navy, where he buys his boxers… not loose ones, but tight ones. He has no shame saying personal things in front of anyone at work.

- I can’t figure out why the arson investigator told Sam the light bulbs must have been used to start the fire, considering he was in on the plot. He must have been trying to act normal and deflect attention, but you would think he’d be hesitant to give them information that could hurt him.

- I thought it was an interesting idea to have the suspect ridding the U.S. of terrorists. I could realistically see this happening if somebody got a hold of a list like that. In essence, his reasons were noble but he was completely misinformed. That made the idea interesting.

- It felt pretty convenient that the firefighter’s brother happened to be right there on the terrorist list. So it made sense when Hetty revealed Granger had faked the name. But I didn’t quite understand what he meant when he said it was fake then, but not now. Did NCIS really find his brother’s name on the list later – or was the brother added to the list because of what the firefighter had done? That was unclear.


How did you like "Where There's Smoke...?" What was your favorite scene? Are you worried about the mole? Leave 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.