NCIS: Los Angeles - Ghost Gun - Review: "That Final Scene!"

The fifth episode of the season, “Ghost Gun,” sees the NCIS team working to find out why a Navy officer who’d been working on a classified drone project was shot to death on the roof of a high-rise building. Turns out the victim was trying to pay off a debt by taking on extra work at an auto company. But he was silenced after realizing the company was smuggling guns and drugs.

Anna Kolcheck returns to work with Callen, while Sam visits the old NCIS mole in prison to find out who he’d been working for. Hetty is convinced the man was part of a larger operation, and it turns out she’s right. In the end he admits to Sam he was working for a woman named Natalie Grant. Meanwhile, Deeks’ mom is in town visiting Kensi in the hospital. She is constantly harassing Deeks and those around her. And finally, in the best scene of the episode, Kensi wakes up to find Deeks by her side. The only bad thing is, she can’t control one of her hands.

This episode featured a lot of great elements. The case of the week almost felt irrelevant, and that was okay because the other components held the most interest. The fleshing out of the old mole storyline is a welcome addition. (Especially since it felt anti-climactic and underwhelming at the time it aired.) It’s nice to know the old chubby employee who stuck Eric with a needle wasn’t the lone mole. Also Momma Deeks was over-the-top but funny. And the continued agent character shuffle continues to work well. This week Anna was the extra addition. Though I still find her character forced, I did enjoy seeing her with Callen. And of course Kensi waking up was the highlight of the episode.

Kensi and Deeks (and Mama Deeks)

Deeks’ mom always drives him crazy – and in this episode you can clearly see why. It’s sweet that she’s there when her son is going through a hard time, and there visiting Kensi in the hospital. But she’s also a little nuts. (It was cute, by the way, to hear that Sam and Callen had visited Kensi in the hospital and talked with Deeks’ mother.) Aside from watching repeated episodes of “Magnum P.I.,” Mama Deeks has no regard for cell phone etiquette in a hospital – and tries to tell a male nurse that she’s on the phone with LAPD and maybe he should go empty a bedpan. She also tells a bunch of strangers outside how her son and his fiancée are “secret agents” who could get shot at any time. Deeks is embarrassed for her but knows she has good intentions. I find Deeks’ mom to be an exaggerated caricature. But she is also funny and I enjoy seeing her get under Deeks’ skin. Under it all, though, his mother believes the best about Kensi’s recovery and encourages Deeks to do the same.

But Deeks is worried about Kensi and their future. He is afraid to be too positive about her recovery. He claims he is a realist who understands Kensi may not wake up – and if she does, she could need a lot of help. Talking to Hetty, Deeks reveals this fear: What if he doesn’t know how to help her? He wants to be the type of guy who will be there for her, but what if he can’t do it? This scene highlighted Deeks’ deepest fears. It’s not that he doesn’t think he would stay by Kensi’s side if she needs extra help. It’s the hypothetical fear of that situation. Is he going to be enough for her? Will she need more than he can give her? Fortunately Hetty reassures him that Deeks will be able to give her everything she needs to get better. Her encouraging words spur Deeks, and he goes to the hospital.

There he learns Kensi has been improving. The doctor reveals she has been opening her eyes and saying a word or two. Though she is disoriented, these are all good signs. Deeks retains his humor when dealing with the doctor and his mom, knowing that laughter is the best medicine. He and his mom banter back and forth before she finally leaves the room. And then he turns all his attention to his fiancée. He asks the doctor what he can do to help Kensi, and she tells him being there and talking to her and touching her is key. So Deeks obliges. Grabbing Kensi’s hand, he tells her, “Now’s the time, baby. You gotta come back to me.”

Finally Deeks gets his wish. It was gratifying to see Kensi wake up with Deeks by her side. As he sits next to Kensi’s bed, telling her what they can do with the garage he cleaned, Kensi suddenly starts opening her eyes. She is disoriented and groggy. But when she makes a sound, Deeks hears her. He is thrilled and begins speaking quickly to comfort her and put her at ease. He strokes her cheek and welcomes her back. He explains where she is and why she is in the hospital. Kensi tries to talk but has trouble. Then Deeks instructs her to squeeze his hands – and she has no problem with her first hand. But when she tries to squeeze with her other hand, she can’t.

Daniela Ruah was fantastic in this scene. Without words, Kensi’s frustration becomes palpable. She doesn’t know what is going on and can’t understand why her hand won’t work. Deeks tries to reassure her, sweetly telling her she needs to be patient. He’s just thankful she is awake and conscious. But she begins to cry. “You're back, that's all that matters. No tears,” Deeks tells her. “This is beautiful, this is good, this is a big deal... I love you, I love you. Welcome back.” He doesn’t want to see her anxious but she is. She is sad and frustrated and overwhelmed. Kensi is not used to having physical weakness. Normally she is a strong woman who can control everything in her life. But now she finds herself in a heartbreaking situation where she is weak and has no control. This is clearly going to be a difficult road to recovery. But Deeks’ ability to care for her and comfort her was exactly what Hetty predicted. He will be there for her and try to give her everything she needs. It seems her recovery is going to be more difficult than she’d like. But through it all, Deeks wants the best for her and will be by her side.

Sam and Callen and Anna

I enjoyed the opening work scene where Callen points out Sam has a life philosophy for everything – even spearfishing (which he doesn’t want to combine with scuba diving). “I like to think about things I do and the reason I do them,” Sam explains, to which Callen jokes that Sam even has a philosophy about how to create philosophies. Sam likes things very organized in his mind – he approaches things from a military mindset. And it was funny to see Callen tease him about it.

Later at work, someone has parked a new silver Mustang in Sam’s spot and he is clearly perturbed. When he realizes it’s Anna’s, he holds his tongue (though you see how difficult it is for him). Sam doesn’t like people infringing on his order. But he will let this one go.

Anna is there to talk to Hetty. It turns out Hetty recommended her for an ATF job. But while her application is pending, Hetty’s team needs some help. So Anna partners with Callen to investigate the murder. These two have clearly been hanging out outside work. Callen knows about the job at ATF and asks if she has found a place to live yet. He tries to advise her to live by work because of the crazy traffic, but Anna wants to live by the beach. Anna respects Callen but has her own opinions. The two characters seem comfortable together, with a natural rapport. But there’s a bit of hesitation, too. When Anna asks if it’s weird she’s there, Callen genuinely says no. But when she tries to get more out of him, Callen looks at her like he's trying to figure out what she's after. He says he is happy she moved to LA. But he seems kind of curious as to what she really wants to know. Where do these two really stand with each other?

As always, I found Anna to be too obvious. She is flirtatious and sexy in a way that feels she is trying too hard. But I also like her rapport with Callen. Though she plays that undercover ditzy character well, she is tough. In the end Anna holds her own as she fights the woman at the auto body shop and handcuffs her. Callen watches her, impressed. When they finish their arrests, Callen offers to buy her and Nell food at a popular place, saying he has much to teach Anna about L.A. Things are moving forward between them, but at a nonchalant, casual pace.

Sam, meanwhile, is tapped by Hetty to visit Carl Brown, their old colleague who admitted to being a mole. Hetty is convinced he was working for someone else and knows this is a good place to find information about their current mole problem.

Sam is definitely the right person for the job. He is physically intimidating as he moves the prison table and sits right up close to Carl. At one point Carl tells Sam people targeted by the mole deserved it – but that infuriates Sam, who points out his 17-year-old son deserved nothing. Carl insists he was the lone mole but Sam knows better – he suspects a beautiful woman got to Carl, making him think they were in it together. And he was right. Eventually Sam makes Carl realize the woman was out for herself and has now put a hit on Carl’s life. That’s when Carl gets scared and realizes he needs protection. So he gives up the woman’s name. Hetty and Sam now have a lead on the mole situation.

Nell, Granger and Eric

I enjoyed watching the man at the bike shop hit on Nell while Granger tried to shield her. When the employee asks “Special Agent Jones” her first name, Granger answers for her: “Special.” He doesn’t want this man getting too close to Nell. But Nell seemed flattered, not quite knowing how to respond. Granger was also amusing knocking a guy out with a tire. This time Nell was impressed. I always enjoy Nell and Granger together.

As for Eric, it made sense he didn’t feel bad for Carl Brown. After all, the man took Eric hostage and stuck him with a needle in the neck. I laughed when Eric said he hoped Sam stuck Carl with a needle this time.


What did you think of "Ghost Gun?" Are you worried about Kensi's recovery? Are you enjoying the mole storyline? What did you think of Anna? 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.