NCIS : New Orleans – Suspicious Minds – Review: “Elvis Has Left the Building”
3.2 – “Suspicious Minds”
Directed by Michael Zinberg
Written by Gary Glasberg and Christopher Silber
Reviewed by Kelly Anne Blount
Uh oh! We open up to card game turned murder scene on a boat! Four people start playing poker, at least three end up shot and killed.
Pride goes to meet with the Raymond Isler, the Execute Assistant Director (EAD) from the D.C. office a.k.a. the Big Bad Wolf… He says the review isn’t personal, the DOJ just wants to be sure everything is okay with the team in NOLA. What. A. Jerk.
He then records his conversation with Pride and asks about John Russo and the cartel. The Big Bad Wolf asks why Pride’s team chose to break protocol. This does not look good.
Percy and LaSalle continue to have awkward moments. I think they love each other. You heard it here first. But, they are both professionals and something is bound to keep them apart, at least in the beginning. Maybe they will have a Bones and Booth type of romance? Seasons will pass with missed opportunity after missed opportunity, other love interests will come and go, all before the epic smooch finally takes stage, front and center.
We cut back to Pride and Isler the Big Bad Wolf. He throws Brody under the bus and blames her. Pride says if it wasn’t for Brody, that the attack would have happened. COME BACK, MERRI!
Pride, Percy, and LaSalle head over to the crime scene, which is on a boat. The victims were shot point blank.
Percy thinks it was a robbery and an execution.
Pride finds a hat and knows who it belongs to. Pride knows everyone. He knows that Elvis Bertrand, who is being played by Tom Arnold, the owner of the hat, is missing and has a habit for gambling and trouble. Elvis also happens to be a former Navy Intelligence Analyst.
Back at the morgue, Loretta is doing her thing. Pride can’t find Elvis. He’s too smart to leave any type of trace. Folks, Elvis has left the building. Ha ha! Sorry, I had to do it!
Pride tells Loretta about his morning with the Isler Bad Bad Wolf and that he was throwing Merri under the bus. Pride is distracted. This could prove problematic.
Sebastian joins them and is fanboying out over Elvis, who he says is, “The Hacker of the People.” He is fanboying over Elvis, hard. I’m glad Sebastian’s spirits have picked up a bit. He was so upset about Brody last week.
Elvis was banned from using the internet from past hacking crimes. If I was banned from the internet… Let’s not even go there!
One of the victim’s phones starts to ring. Pride answers it and is relieved to hear that it is Elvis. Sebastian wants Pride to tell Elvis that he’s a big fan. LOVE IT!
Sebastian and Pride make a plan to meet. Elvis stresses that they need to meet alone.
Oooh! I love this song and remake! “You don’t own me!” Grace a.k.a. Grace Sewell’s voice is incredible! The music on this program really sets it apart from other shows. Do you agree?
Pride and Elvis meet at Pride’s bar. Elvis wants his hat back. Pride says that it’s in evidence. Elvis has a gun, which he says it’s for protection. Pride wants him to come back to NCIS headquarters and talk it out over gumbo. I recently had some vegetarian gumbo. It was a taste sensation!
Elvis doesn’t want to give his gun up. I don’t blame him! His friends were just executed and seeing as he got away, I’m thinking he’s still a target.
NO! Gregorio strikes again! Elvis was just about to surrender to Pride and SHE shows up! Ugh!
Elvis thought Pride was meeting him alone. Well, Gregorio just blew it. She is here to take Elvis in, dead or alive. Good lucky, Gregorio…
What do you know? The super smart hacker blows the power and gets away. Gregorio totally blew it.
Pride is pissed. I would be too.
Hey! She just used my joke! “I guess Elvis has left the building.” I guess it isn’t really my joke, but I called it first.
Gregorio is being a hard ass. Pride is telling her to calm down and he wants to know why she’s involved in this case. Turns out the FBI is involved in this case. Surprise surprise.
Gregorio shows Pride a dead body in Elvis’ trunk. Things are not looking good for the King of Hackers.
Pride sticks to his guns. He tells Gregorio that Elvis is not a murderer.
Turns out both NCIS and the FBI are invested in this case. NCIS because the victim was a former Navy Intelligence Analyst and NCIS because the victim worked with the government on top secret project monitoring underwater fiber optic cables that the cartel is hacking, allegedly for big bucks. Looks like Gregorio is going to be a regular at this point. Let’s see if she can play nice this episode.
Gregorio wants Pride to step down. Pride says he has a dead Navy Officer and he is not stepping down. Dun, dun, dun!
We cut over to Loretta’s morgue and guess what? The FBI stole her bodies and the results. Uh oh!
Ha ha! Sebastian has info and he’s trying to be inconspicuous. He is doing the worst job ever. He finds the commander’s key card. The inscription level is super intense. If they can figure out where the keycard comes from, they might be able to find the killer.
EEK! I’m typing this out on a plane and there is turbulence. Aghhh!
Back to the episode, Isler the Big Bad Wolf wants Percy and LaSalle to stop by the FBI office. Not good! I bet they are going to want to talk about Merri and the Mole. That sounds like a children’s book, does it not?
LaSalle and Percy give each other a look. I love that Southern Boy!
Pride goes to investigate a cyber security office, where one of the victims worked. One of the victim’s coworkers, Anne Foreman, is incredible nervous… She seems suspicious to me! Plus, she knows Elvis. The plot thickens…
All signs point back to Elvis, but if Pride has faith, so do I. Pride knows all. Fact.
Patton has got a lead on Elvis. Good job, Patton!
He sends Pride to City Park. I hope Elvis is there and Pride can bring him in safely!
Percy and LaSalle are at the FBI office. They have been interrogated. Both of them told the FBI that they trust Brody. GOOD! BRING BRODY BACK!
Ha ha ha! LaSalle jokes that he now knows what a colonic feels like after his interrogation! I like his hair a little bit longer.
Uh oh, the FBI wants to know if Pride makes a habit of breaking protocol.
Get it, Percy! She has been eavesdropping on Gregorio and other FBI agents. She and LaSalle are going to follow Gregorio. I don’t have a good feeling about that choice…
Patton is in a van while Pride goes to City Park. Elvis hacks Pride’s line to Patton. Pride wants to know what the heck is up. Why was there a dead body in his trunk? Elvis says that it wasn’t him. That they (the bad guys) tried to kill him too. He wants to find the murderer; the victims were his friends.
Pride finds Elvis on the carrousel. Maybe they can just has things out while riding fake horsies and eating ice cream?
Pride jumps on and tries to find him. Guess what? Elvis evades Pride again. This time he leaves his replacement hat.
LaSalle and Percy are following Gregoiro. Pride tells them to keep on her. They need to find Elvis before the FBI does, otherwise Pride thinks they might not take him alive.
Patton is proving to be a hacking God. Did we ever have any doubt?
Ooh! Naughty naughty! Loretta has “forgotten” to turn in photos of the victim from Elvis’ trunk. The FBI took the body and everything else, but Loretta’s game is on point. She wants her team to get this murder solved and the investigation to end like yesterday.
They find the brother of the guy killed and stuffed in Elvis’ trunk, who so happens to have knowledge of underwater fiber optic cables. It’s all coming together.
LaSalle and Percy are tailing Gregorio. They are totally going to get made. They pull over one car behind Gregorio. Seriously? One car in between them? Who wouldn’t see them? LaSalle reaches for his water and his hand brushes against Percy’s. Before we can swoon, Percy jumps back like LaSalle is made of fire. LaSalle confronts Percy about how she has been weird to him after they hugged last season. Duh, it’s because she loves you. Percy tries to brush it off and does not want to talk about it. LaSalle says that he’s worried they don’t trust each other anymore and they need trust in order to be partners.
LaSalle and Percy agree that they have each other’s backs. As you know, I think they have more than that… but we’ll see how it all plays out!
Uh oh! A swarm of FBI vehicles pull up and Gregorio gets out of her car, making eye contact with LaSalle. LaSalle and Percy are totally busted. Percy calls Pride and tells the FBI to hold on until she gets off the phone. Ha ha! Who gives the FBI the “one minute,” finger?
Pride is tailing the brother of the guy in the trunk. Pride also gets made. Looks like the team needs to brush up on their undercover and surveillance skills.
The brother goes flying off on a motorcycle in the same direction as Percy and LaSalle. Seeing as they followed Gregorio to a possible location for Elvis, I’m thinking the guy on the motorcycle is going to try to kill Elvis.
Elvis meets his old work buddy who acted super strange from the interview with Pride. She’s still acting weird. Is it because she thinks Elvis could be the murderer or is she involved?
Elvis wants access to a secure server in order to find the hacker and the person who murdered his friends. His computer friend says she couldn’t possibly do that and that she didn’t have a choice. A choice in what? Oh, a choice in only agreeing to the meeting in order to trick Elvis and lure him into Gregorio’s trap.
Gregorio points her gun at Elvis and says there are FBI agents everywhere. Will Elvis escape again?
Uh oh! Before she can get the cuffs on, the man on the motorcycle speeds toward Elvis with a gun drawn. Before he can plow down Elvis and Gregorio, Pride pulls up and blocks the shots with his vehicle.
Instead of being grateful, Gregorio is pissed. Surprise, surprise. She wants to know if Pride was following her too. Guess what, Gregorio, it’s not all about you!
Pride puts her in her place after her reminds her that he just saved her life. He is super exasperated and says, “You’re welcome!”
Isler the Big Bad Wolf comes stomping over and throws some serious and mostly true accusations at Pride. NCIS officers followed an FBI agent pursuing an active investigation, true. Corner keeping photographs of the body, true. Patton working his computer magic, also true. Okay, so I guess it was all true, but it came from a good place. He also calls LaSalle and Percy “Butch and Sundance.”
Pride stands his ground, again, and says that if it wasn’t for his team, that they wouldn’t have identified the shooter or stopped him from shooting and killing Gregorio.
Isler the Big Bad Wolf says it isn’t the point. Well, well, look who comes to Pride’s rescue, Gregorio. Interesting. Redeeming qualities being shown = Full time position on the team, at least in my opinion.
LaSalle and Percy found the motorcycle, which was dumped along with blood. The shooter is hurt.
Pride and Isler the Big Bad Wolf are having a pissing contest. Guess who brings peace? Gregorio! More redemption.
Gregorio, Pride, and LaSalle find a house the shooter’s house. He has already cleared out, but he forgot his “go bag.” Gregorio quickly turns on his computer and finds evidence that he has money at several banks in the Cayman Islands. I used to live on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. It was amazing! Sorry, Captain Distraction here!
Anyways, back to Percy, who has an interesting theory. What if the murders had nothing to do with the cartel? What if it was simply a massive bank robbery?
Pride and Isler the Big Bad Wolf are interrogating Elvis. When he asks for a bowl of gumbo, Isler almost loses it. Ha ha!
Elvis admits to knowing that data had been downloaded off the server. The reason he knows about it is because his friend, who was shot and killed at the poker game, had asked Elvis to help trace the data. Elvis is after all, “The People’s Hacker.”
Elvis said he and his buddies who were playing poker were tracked. He said he got lucky, but his other friends not so much. Although he doesn’t come out and say it, it appears Elvis also managed to kill the shooter, who was stuffed into Elvis’ trunk.
Ooh, interesting the shooter’s brother also worked at the cyber security firm.
Elvis vows to find the killer and original hacker. He just needs access to the cyber security firm. Isler the Big Bad Wolf is skeptical, but Elvis says he has proof on his laptop.
Patton backs Elvis’ claims up. I bet Sebastian wishes he was there.
Pride and Isler the Big Bad Wolf are fighting again. Pride ends up convincing Isler to calm down and wait before making any rash decisions. He even manages to convince Isler to let Elvis go to the security firm to find the hacker and killer.
Elvis is with Anne Foreman, he’s talking her through everything and even manage to avoid a noisy co-worker.
Shortly after Elvis is in the system, Patton’s feed gets cut.
Isler the Big Bad Wolf automatically assumes Elvis is trying to get away. Try again! Conner is on his way and wants to tie up loose ends.
Conner, the murderer’s brother tries to shoot LaSalle. Percy and Gregorio stop him dead in his tracks. They pull Conner’s cell phone out of his pocket and read a disturbing text. Conner is working with someone who is already in the building and says that they will handle the situation themselves. I think Elvis is in major danger!
Elvis is hacking away when he finds out the identity of the hacker, Anne Foreman, one of the murder victim’s co-workers.
Anne shoots Elvis, but he manages to get the gun. He’s pointing it at Anne and he looks like he might just pull the trigger.
Luckily, Pride talks him down. Shooting Anne isn’t justice, it’s revenge.
Aw, Elvis says that Henry (the Navy Officer murder victim) was his only friend. That’s really sad. Poor, Elvis.
Pride ends up getting the gun. Nice work, Pride!
We cut over to the NCIS New Orleans headquarters. Isler the Big Bad Wolf has good news, the FBI review of NCIS is closed! Woo hoo!
I guess it isn’t all good news, the FBI is staying until they can close down the cartel situation, which is still a big issue.
Ha ha! I wonder if the Butch and Sundance nicknames for Percy and LaSalle will stick?
Percy and LaSalle agree to no more “weird stuff,” but the way he’s looking at her says otherwise.
Ooh, we are back in Pride’s bar. More awesome music by Grace (a.k.a. Grace Sewell) Elvis is at the bar having a drink. Pride returns Elvis’ original hat and kindly rejects a potential job offer from the FBI. He said he’s moving off the grid.
Look who shows up! Gregorio! WHAT? Pride has invited her to join the team until they have flushed out all of the cartel members. He says the quicker they get it handled, the quicker she can get back to D.C. Let’s be honest, I think once she joins the team, Gregorio is here to stay.
Gregorio agrees and has a drink with Pride to seal the deal.
***
Another good episode with great music and guest stars!
I’m glad Gregorio is starting to come around. I wonder if she will come in between Percy and LaSalle at some point?
I wonder what else the cartel has planned?
I also have a sneaking suspicious Isler the Big Bad Wolf is going to get killed by the cartel.
What did you think about the episode? Leave a comment below with your thoughts!
