NCIS - What Lies Above - Review: “Dancing with the Devil”
14.17 - “What Lies Above”
Directed by Leslie Libman
Written by Don McGill & Scott A. Williams
Reviewed by Kelly Anne Blount
We start the episode with McGee tripping as he gets into his apartment. As he falls on the floor, he realizes that he isn’t alone. There are two robbers in the house. McGee grazes one with a bullet and kills the other. He slips and hits his head on the coffee table before he can check out the deceased and call Gibbs.
Vance is having dinner with the Congresswoman. She is down his throat about becoming a politician. He isn’t very interested. She says if he gets a seat as a Congressman, Gibbs can become the director. Luckily, dinner is interrupted by Gibbs, who tells Vance about the break in at McGee’s place.
Torres breaks the news to Quinn that there has been a dead body in the apartment before… in fact, three dead bodies. Tony got the apartment for a real deal because a triple homicide took place there. Quinn hints at secrets in her family and she is totally creeped out by the triple homicide.
Rosebud, Deliah’s flash drive with all of her pictures from childhood, documents, etc. has been stolen. McGee doesn’t want to tell her about the break in. She calls, but it appears that he chickens out.
Bishop and Quinn are back at HQ and have details about the triple homicide that went down at McGee’s apartment over a decade ago. Turns out shots were fired and when the police arrived, they found Paul Triff, who said he was protecting himself from a home invasion. Three dead bodies, all felons, had been dismembered with an electric craving knife. GROSS! Triff was sentenced to three life sentences. McGee joins them and shares that Triff was a furrier (or was it a courier?). He was a smuggler and the three men he killed worked for him.
The team meet to discuss what they know about Lewis Cole, the bugler McGee killed.
Ducky and Jimmy are in the morgue performing an autopsy on Lewis Cole. Jimmy asks, “Is the secret the same as a lie?” What do you think? Jimmy says he would definitely tell Brinna about a triple homicide if they were thinking about moving in together. McGee tells Jimmy that he better not tell Deliah.
Abby joins them, she found the other burglar, Walter Shibberd. McGee and Torres track Walter, who’s bleeding. He tries to make a run for it, but McGee and Torres catch up quickly.
Walter says that he’s a, “hired hand.” He said that Lewis paid him $500 to break him into McGee’s apartment. Lewis apparently wanted to break in after hearing a “hot tip” in prison. So… What does McGee have in his apartment that’s worth so much? Abby is off to figure out how to search McGee’s apartment without tearing down all of the walls and pulling up the floors.
The Congresswoman calls Vance. She wants to switch restaurants for their lunch date tomorrow, she wants to meet him at a popular restaurant, one where they will be seen by powerful people in Washington D.C. Vance isn’t into it, but agrees to switch venues and meet at the new place.
Turns out that Cole Lewis and Triff both worked in the same kitchen in prison. It looks like the triple homicide and last night’s break in at McGee’s apartment are related.
McGee and Quinn head to the prison to talk to Triff. McGee is freaking out about the fact that Triff used to live in his apartment. Quinn makes another comment about families having secrets. Wonder what we’re going to find out about Quinn’s family?
Triff is “surprised” that Lewis is dead. Is he pretending? I think so! McGee tells Tiff that Lewis broke into his apartment. Triff “guesses” that McGee is the current tenant. Sounds like Triff knows a whole lot about McGee and his apartment.
Triff is talking about fur coats and jackets. Quinn says, “Fur is murder.” Go, Quinn! I couldn’t agree more! Triff pretends to be shocked that Lewis tore up the wood floors in McGee’s apartment. What is Lewis hiding in the apartment?
Abby has found a machine that she can use to see behind the walls and through the floors with, it’s like a portable x-ray machine.
Bishop says that she just heard from Lewis’ parole office. His PO says that Lewis was living in a half-way house in Fairfax, VA. Torres says, “That’s the perfect place to find friends.”
Gibbs and Bishop head to the half-way house. Interesting that Gibbs is keeping Bishop so close, what do you think? They run into a woman who runs the half-way house. She brings them to his room. Bishop finds a picture of a girl on Lewis’ dresser. The woman doesn’t know who the girl in the picture is or who Lewis was friends with at the half-way house. She says that she is, “done saving souls.” I think she’s involved somehow… What do you think?
The team is back at McGee’s apartment, minus Gibbs and Bishop. The have one last place to check, under McGee’s bed. They move his bed and mattress. McGee and Deliah are keeping comic books and McGee's father’s ashes in an urn under their bed. The team thinks that is really weird.
Abby finds something under the wooden floorboards. Torres exclaims, “It’s a treasure chest!” Too bad he was wrong, way wrong, it’s a body! Quinn acts like she’s freaking out about Torres moving the floorboards. She’s clutching her sweater and looking like a scared little girl… Not sure this is how an NCIS agent would act? Unless she’s just really excited with a touch of nervousness? She also tells Torres not to waste time filming it, just to move the floorboard. Doesn’t that break protocol?
Ducky and Jimmy are in McGee’s apartment. They’ve pulled out the body and Ducky says that due to its placement, the body has gone under a makeshift mummification. Deliah calls. McGee doesn’t tell her what’s going on again. He tells her to take a few more days abroad, to relax before coming home.
Ducky is excited about the mummy. The victim died due to blunt force trauma or a severed artery. Jimmy found out the victim was Logan Pruett, a lobbyist in Washington D.C. Logan has a key in his stomach, he must have swallowed it right before his death. Logan was a suspect in a huge diamond heist. People thought he took the money and ran, turns out he’s been dead under McGee’s bed for fifteen years.
Abby found out that the key belongs to a safety deposit box. Could the famous diamonds be in that box? Torres declares that he knew there was treasure! Aw, Torres.
Vance is having lunch with Congresswoman Flemming. Surprise, surprise, they run into another politician. Geez, Jenna really wants Vance to become a politician. Wonder if he’ll do it?
Gibbs and McGee visit Triff. He calls Gibbs, “Silver Fox.” And I’m officially done! LOL! Back to the show, Gibbs and McGee ask Triff about Logan. He admits that he killed Logan. He also admits to killing the three men that worked for him. Triff laughs when he realizes that McGee and Gibbs don’t know where the diamonds are, yet. Triff offers to tell them, if they make a deal with him. Gibbs doesn’t make deals.
The Congresswoman visits Vance at work, he’s hanging out with Gibbs. Gibbs is hilarious! He says that he would vote for Vance. Ha ha ha! She is pissed that they haven’t made a deal with Triff in exchange for the location of the diamonds. Gibbs knows they’ll be able to find them. The Congresswoman clearly doesn’t know what the team is capable of, reminds me of Rita in the last NCIS: New Orleans episode. Both Rita and Flemming are seriously underestimating the team! Gibbs blows her off and goes to find Abby, because Abby is a genious and we all know she’ll figure out where the safety deposit box is in the next twelve minutes.
Vance is pissed at the Congresswoman. In response to her, “Why don’t you just make a deal with Jiff,” question/suggestion, he tells Jenna, “We don’t dance with the devil.” He then tells her, “It’s nothing personal.” Jenna’s feelings are hurt. She stomps out. Her behavior seems a bit childish to me, what do you think?
Abby found a clue! Lewis had purple hair dye on him. Guess who has purple hair? Margo, the woman running the half-way house. She tells McGee and Bishop that she and Lewis were going to find the diamonds and run away. They were going to steal the diamonds and move out west. Turns out Margo knows where the diamonds are! She says that they were in a, “tiny bank in Delaware.” She tells them everything she knows without getting a plea deal. She should have had a lawyer. Plus, without anything in writing, any deal can be broken, right?
Quinn and Torres go to the bank and open the safety deposit box. They find a boatload of diamonds! Torres films the whole thing, including Quinn’s shocked face.
McGee visits Triff. He wants to know if there are any more, “surprises” in the apartment that he should know about. Allegedly, there are not, “maybe.”
Back at Vance’s office, Congresswoman Flemming is pouring herself a drink. She says that she is, “done pushing you.” Vance comforts her, he’s “just not sure he’d be very good at it.” She is still pissed about the “dancing with the devil” comment Vance made earlier. She says, “I think the world of you Lee, but…” She ends up saying that she needs to “take a step back,” at least for the time being. She says, “Sorry,” and leaves Vance office. Vance looks sad. Is he crying?
Down in the bullpen (is that what it’s called at NCIS HQ?), Quinn, Torres, Bishop, and McGee are chatting. McGee admits that he told Deliah everything. He does admit that he didn’t tell Deliah that he knew about the triple homicide ahead of time. He wants them to keep that secret. He says that she took the news well, but there would be a lot of “sage and disinfectant,” used over the next couple of months.
McGee heads home, but finds someone in his apartment. Before he can freak out too much, he comes face to face with Gibbs. Aw! Gibbs is to help fix McGee’s floors. Gibbs is the best!
*******
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this episode! Gibbs is really on his “A-Game.” His quips are on point! I also really enjoyed the case. Triff is really a creepy guy! I’m surprised that he didn’t find a way out of jail yet, he seems like just the con to jump in a laundry basket and sneak out in an unmarked truck. What do you think?
I do have a few questions about tonight’s episode… Anyone have any thoughts on the following?
My first question is, who gets the diamonds? Would McGee get to keep them? They were found on his property? Anyone have any legal/police background knowledge that could answer this for me?
Second question, what is up with Quinn’s background and family life? When will we find out what she’s not sharing with her colleagues?
Third question, do you think Vance is out of politics for good or is this just temporary?
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