NCIS: New Orleans - Pandora’s Box, Part II - Review: “She’s Back!”
3.14 - “Pandora’s Box, Part II”
Directed by LeVar Burton
Written by Christopher Silber
Reviewed by Kelly Anne Blount
“Pandora’s Box, Part II” opens with a huge party in downtown New Orleans. Hey! It’s Torres! Side note, I love crossover episodes! McGee calls Torres, they are trying to find someone. He sounds dangerous!
Uh oh! A Man literally falls on Torres and he’s bleeding, possibly even dead. He looks down the ally and sees a cloaked individual with a gold mask. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of people wearing the same outfit. Torres can’t find the possible murderer and he is told to drop/lower his weapon by a police officer. I guess you could chalk that up to the dangers of wearing everyday clothes while trying to catch murderers.
Pride heads over to the scene. He’s filled in by a police officer. He gives Torres, who is in cuffs, a hard time. Torres and McGee were sent to New Orleans to find a terrorist playbook that was stolen from Homeland Security. Pride is annoyed that they didn’t give him a “heads up.”
Loretta heads over to the scene to check out the body. The man was stabbed and bled out. They found the victim’s phone, Sebastian is going to try to pull the data, which could be tricky, as it’s water damaged.
McGee walks into NCIS HQ. He’s wearing beads and has a large drink in hand. I’m assuming he didn’t drink anything… He says that someone handed it to him.
Pride says that Mardi Gras is the best time to steal the playbook. Loads of visitors in town, most of them wearing masks.
Gibbs calls Pride. They are adorable.
Sebastian pulls data off the victim’s cell phone. He was supposed to meet someone with the playbook.
Aw, Sebastian freaks out when he meets McGee. That’s adorable too!
McGee has a special tracking algorithm that can help them locate the possible playbook buyers. Percy and LaSalle head over to find one of the potential buyers. Just like the victim from the previous night, she is stabbed and dies right in front of them.
Back at HQ, the new victim has ties to a Syrian terrorist group. The team thinks they are in town to bid for the playbook.
Pride thinks the killer could be another buyer. The fewer number of buyers the easier it will be to buy the playbook.
Gregorio wants to go undercover as the latest victim. Torres says that she smells like a cop. Ha ha!
Loretta thinks that they might be dealing with a highly skilled assign. They are worried that more police, FBI agents, etc. will get involved and muddy the waters.
McGee has a plan to bring the buyers to them. Go, McGee, go!
Torres is giving Gregorio shit. She’s giving it right back, and hard! Torres talks about being undercover for years. Gregorio isn’t buying his tough guy talk. Ha ha!
I’m weak! Sebastian calls McGee a, “bad ass nerd.” I love that they are bonding! McGee tells Sebastian that he struggled transitioning from techie to agent in the beginning too. I’m glad this conversation is happening, how about you?
One of the buyers shows up. Sebastian tries to take him down, but fails. McGee tackles the man and knocks him out with a special trick Ziva taught him. Aw, Ziva!
Gregorio shows up at the bar with Pride watching out for her. Eek! The Russian spy/sleeper agent, Eva, shows up and points her knife at Gregorio’s stomach. We’ve met her in an episode before. It appears she has escaped or managed to get out of prison/custody. Watch out, Gregorio! She’s dangerous!
Gregorio says that she is Monica Grange, the woman who was stabbed earlier. Gregorio pulls some Arabic out of her pocket from when she dated an Egyptian. The woman with the playbook puts her knife away and Gregorio puts her gun away.
The Russian spy tells Gregorio she has to come up to her room if she wants to see the playbook. Gregorio heads up to the penthouse with the seller. She shows Gregorio the playbook.
Sebastian calls Pride. Eva killed the first buyer and most likely the second. Pride tells Gregorio to get out, but it’s too late. Eva knows she isn’t Monica, because she killed Monica earlier in the day. Gregorio and Eva fight. Gregorio dominates the fight and has her weapon pointed at Eva when the lights go out. Two gunmen burst into the room shooting. They steal the playbook and head out the balcony. Pride shows up a moment later, but it’s too late, they’re gone.
Uh oh! Pride tries to contact Torres, but he’s been kidnapped and he’s unconscious. The person who has Torres, who goes by Victor, answers his phone when Pride calls. Pride better follow the bad guy’s instructions or Torres dies.
The team is trying to figure out who Victor is and how they can get Torres back. Pride enters the interrogation room with Monica, the Russian spy. She tells Pride that Victor was her mentor and that he’s also a Russian assign.
Monica says that she was using the playbook to draw Victor out. She says that Victor, “took her as a child” and made her, “do terrible things.” She wants revenge. She tells Pride to trade her for Torres and they’ll, “take Victor down together.”
McGee and Sebastian have, “footage of Victor’s SUV,” leaving the scene from last night. They need help from the NSA. Woo hoo! Bishop calls in some favors and the NSA agrees to help.
Pride calls Torres’ phone. Victor answers. He wants Pride to trade Eva for Torres. Victor brings the phone to Torres, who confirms that he’s alive.
Victor says that he’ll let them know where Torres is as soon as Pride and his team brings him Eva.
The team brings Eva to meet Victor. She stabs and he falls to the ground. Uh oh! How are they going to find Torres now? Not good!
Eva calls the bad guys from Victor’s phone. She tells them to move Torres right away. This allows McGee and Sebastian to locate Torres, who is on the 17th floor of an abandoned building. LaSalle and Percy get there just as the bad guys are about to kill Torres. Phew! That was close!
Gregorio and Torres meet in the kitchen at HQ. Their banter is awesome. Great job to the writers for totally nailing it!
Eva is getting ready to head back to jail. She’s bummed that she and Gregorio didn’t get to hang out more, but she quickly adds, “Never say never.” She kisses Gregorio before Torres hauls her off.
McGee and Sebastian say their goodbyes. Sebastian asks if he can call McGee and ask for advice in the future. Aw! McGee tells him that’s A-Okay! I love this mentor and mentee relationship.
Gibbs calls Pride. He is proud of him and the team for closing the case. Gibbs says that the next time there’s a party, he might just join them in New Orleans. Pride quickly reminds Gibbs that, “there’s always a party,” in New Orleans. They both smile and the episode ends.
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My Thoughts:
Hey, Everyone! Sorry on the delayed reviews! I had visitors back to back and a trip to NYC for my birthday. I’m getting caught up on everything this weekend/early next week.
I LOVE crossover episodes and this one certainly didn’t disappoint! I loved Sebastian and McGee working together. I also really enjoyed the banter between Gregorio and Torres. What did you think?
The storyline was great too! I totally didn’t see Eva stabbing Victor at the trade off, did you?
Oh, one more important thing to mention! LeVar Burton directed this episode! “Reading Rainbow,” was my jam! He did an excellent job! I’d love to see additional crossover and LeVar Burton directed episodes!
What did you think of the episode? Leave me a comment below!
Also, have you missed an episode or two? Need to catch up or just want to refresh your NCIS - New Orleans memory? You can access all of my SpoilerTV reviews and interviews by clicking on the following link: http://www.spoilertv.com/search/label/KA
