NCIS: New Orleans - Monster - Review: “Percy’s Old Friend”
4.11 - “Monster”
Directed by Rob J. Greenlea
Written by Christopher Silber
Reviewed by Kelly Anne Blount
The episode opens with a major incident underway. Police officers are preparing to bring in the driver of a high-speed chase.
As the man driving the truck puts his hands up, another guy pops up out of the back and opens fire on the police. The bad guys manage to get away, continuously shooting at the police, who have taken cover behind their squad cars. Unfortunately, one of the officers didn’t make it in time. She’s been hit and it doesn’t look good. Her Captain, Captain Estes is distraught and begins CPR.
Meanwhile, Loretta visits Pride at his bar. He’s doing inventory. She’s brought him turnovers from Brocato's. Yum! Pride wants to know why Loretta is visiting. She tells him that she’s just checking on him.
Dwayne admits that work has been slow, but his bar is doing great. He says that he’s happy with how things are going. He essentially has a fresh start.
Before they can enjoy the yummy treats, Christopher calls with bad news. Multiple police have been injured in the shootout.
Pride shows up to the scene. Captain Estes is still covered in one of his officer’s blood. Estes talks fast as he goes over the information he knows. The men were involved in an armored robbery, stealing from an electronics warehouse. Estes tells Pride that the suspects had a machine gun. It was terrible.
Per Captain Estes, one of the suspects used to be in the Navy, Marcus Tyrell, Navy Logistics Officer. They found his fingerprints at the scene. Tyrell was dishonorably discharged for stealing Navy property.
LaSalle and Sebastian inform Pride and Estes that the machine gun used to shoot at the police officers was stolen from the Navy.
They need to find the bad guys and quickly, before anyone else gets hurt!
Oh my, Gregorio has bangs! Turns out that the machine gun as well as other guns were stolen from a military base. They are heavily armed and extremely dangers.
Percy changed her hair too! Both ladies look fantastic! Anyways, Percy thinks Tyrell is working with a man named Willard Kurtz. He’s a gun runner that she knows from her ATF days. He’s stolen military weapons from bases on multiple occasions. He’s number one on the ATF’s most wanted list.
Patton and Sebastian have a lead. The truck the bad guys were driving had a scanner to allow them in and out of the Port of New Orleans.
Pride, Percy, Gregorio, and LaSalle head down to the port, where they learn that the truck is connected to a company called Whitehall Freight. Percy thinks that name is familiar. They have a container ready to ship out the next day. Tyrell must be close.
The team fans out and looks for Tyrell amongst the massive shipping containers. Pride spots Tyrell. Pride and the team approach with their guns drawn. Tyrell comes out with a gun pointed at them. WHAT? Someone other than the NCIS officers shoot and kill Tyrell. Um, this is confusing! Willard Kurtz comes out with his hands up. He shot Tyrell. As he’s lowering his weapon to the ground, he says, “It’s alright gentlemen. I’m on your side.”
Pride interrogates Willard Kurtz back at NCIS HQ. He claims that he’s working for the government and that being number one on the ATF’s most wanted list is all, “smoke and mirrors.” He tells Pride that everything is, “… classified and way above your clearance level.”
Percy and Pride walk into HQ’s courtyard. She tells him that she used to use a similar MO as Willard Kurtz (i.e., Whitehall) when she was working undercover for the ATF. There is a chance he is telling the truth or at least parts of the truth. Percy tells Pride that she’s put a call into an old buddy who still works for the ATF. He’s undercover and based in New Orleans.
Pride tells Percy to follow up and report back. She asks him what he’s going to do, to which he replies that he’s heading back into the interrogation room. EXCUSE ME? Percy more or less tells Pride that he shouldn’t go back in alone, as the shooting was personal, and when things get personal, he struggles to handle them professionally. It’s one thing to be concerned, it’s another to look at him with pure judgement and disgust plastered across one’s face. I’ll address this more in my thoughts below, but I’m not a fan of this side of Percy. She’s already screwed with the team with her issues with LaSalle.
Gregorio and Percy head out to meet up with Percy’s ATF contact. On the way, Percy appears to transform back to her usual self and tells Gregorio that she just wishes that Pride would ask for help from time to time. That, I agree with!
They meet her contact in a bar. Percy runs and leaps into his arms. She introduces him to Gregorio as Jake Roman. He and Percy were partners for three years. Wow! They have some serious chemistry!
Gregorio gets right to the point. She asks him if Willard Kurtz works for the ATF. Percy points out that Jake arrested Willard in the past and she brings up Whitehall. Jake brushes them off. He tells them that he doesn’t know anything. Gregorio thinks he’s acting funny. He hasn’t eaten his food and he keeps staring at a woman across the restaurant. Jake says he needs to get back to work, but he’ll catch up with them later.
Gregorio points out that Jake couldn’t keep his hands off of Percy. Percy says, “Girl, we are just friends!” to which Gregorio retorts by pointing to Percy and then herself and says, “No, WE are JUST friends!” This has GOT to be the best line of the night! Well down, writing room!
Wait, the woman with blonde hair from the restaurant Percy and Gregorio met Jake at, just walked through the doors at HQ. She introduces herself as Sutter and said that she’s taking custody of Willard Kurtz. I’m sure that’s going to go over really well with Pride. She says that she’s CIA.
Pride tells her he’s not releasing Kurtz. Sutter brushes Pride off. She says there wasn’t a real robbery, that it was all a set up. The operation has the code name, “Colossus.” She says that the ATF uses Kurtz as a front to sell weapons. Sutter says that the CIA is involved because they wanted Kurtz to reel in bigger fish via his weapons trade, as in terrorists.
Sutter tells Pride that she’s researched him. She says that she knows he goes off books and that “Colossus” is the type of operation that has his name written all over it.
She says that she’s going to give Pride the second suspect, but she’s still taking Kurtz. Uh oh. Pride gets a call. Sutter says it’s her bosses and they are going to tell him to give her control of Kurtz and the stolen guns.
Sebastian and LaSalle are down at the port logging evidence. The bullets stolen by Kurtz and used by the two men in the truck during the shootout definitely came from the Whitehall container. When they open up the company’s second container they are in for a real shock! Stashed away is a predator drone with hellfire missiles attached. That is scary!
Oh no! Special Agent Roman just showed up with his ATF crew. He tells LaSalle and Sebastian that they need to leave. ATF claims that they are taking over the site.
Pride is livid once he finds out that Kurtz is setting up the sale of the predator drone with a member of ISIS. He says it’s a big mistake. Sutter claims that it’s no big deal since the navigation has been deactivated. Yeah right! I bet that’s going to come back to bite her in the rear!
She tells Pride that the name of the second suspect in the shootout is a man named James “Jim” Smith. Allegedly, Kurtz doesn’t have any information on Smith.
Captain Estes walks in as Kurtz is leaving HQ with Sutter. He is irate and wants to bring in Kurtz. Pride tells him that they are off the case. Estes says that’s unacceptable. It turns out that the bullets Kurtz sold to Tyrell and Smith injured four police officers and took the life of the officer Estes was giving CPR to after being shot.
Pride and Estes summon Gregorio, Sebastian, and LaSalle. Percy joins them and tells everyone that her old ATF partner has Kurtz’s departure on hold until they find Smith. Percy tells the group that HQ said, “We’re no longer on this case.”
Everyone BUT Percy decides to investigate Kurtz’s partners. Percy isn’t happy about it. She talks to Pride separately and says, “You’re setting us up again to go off book.” What is her problem? Percy says that she’s worried about her friend. Pride tells Percy to go home. She says, “K,” and walks out.
Interesting, she heads home and guess who comes to her door? Jake her old ATF partner. He tells Percy that he was just taken off the case.
Jake nails it, he points out that Percy’s “self-life” is three years. She tries to fight it, but stops when Jake asks her, “What do you want?” Turns out she wants him.
Pride and LaSalle visit Loretta at the morgue. He tells her that they are, “following procedure.” Loretta doesn’t see things quite the same way. She says that she found sugar cane residue on the body. LaSalle fills her in that “someone” a.k.a. Percy isn’t being a team member is right now.
Jake’s phone lights up. It says, “Colossus is a go.” He tells her he has to take off. He kisses her before leaving. As he’s walking out the door, Percy rolls her eyes.
Sebastian found out that the sugar cane found on the body was rotten. It’s from an old field that isn’t currently in production.
Patton has an update. The CIA had Kurtz send fifty-thousand to Smith. Pride says that Sutter is doing a bad job at “keeping track of the money.”
Percy gets her act together and heads down to HQ. She tells them that the weapons are at the port and ready to go. She says, “Sutter lied to us.”
Sutter ignores Pride’s call. She’s and Kurtz are at the port. She wants to know what the two men he hired are up to. He stabs her and walks away.
Pride and LaSalle get to the port. Kurtz and the cargo ship. Sutter is dead.
The next day, HQ gives Pride and his team permission to pursue Kurtz. Since he killed his CIA handler and they want the team to take him down.
Bad news, per Patton, a navigation system that will work for the predator drone was stolen recently. If Kurtz and his crew install it, a lot of people are in danger.
Gregorio, who knows that Jake spent the night, presses Percy. She wants to know if Jake told her what the leverage is that Sutter had over Kurtz. Percy says that Jake has gone dark a.k.a. he’s no longer answering her calls and has gone undercover. Percy bites Gregorio’s head off. Ugh, I do NOT like her right now!
Pride asks Patton to trace Jake’s phone. Percy doesn’t like that plan either. Pride tells her that Jake could be in trouble.
Percy and Gregorio head to the location Patton traced Jake’s phone. He’s in a CIA safe house. Percy tells Jake that she saw the text saying, “Colossus is a go.” They want to know about the leverage Sutter had on Kurtz. Turns out their leverage Kurtz’s wife, Claire. The CIA detained her and has moving her from safe house to safe house for two years. Yikes!
Gregorio and Percy tell Claire that if she helps them find Kurtz, they will make sure she goes free and doesn’t face charges as his accountant, handling his illegal money.
Uh oh! Sebastian and LaSalle boarded Whitehall while it was on the water. Turns out the predator drone is missing and Kurtz isn’t on board either. Pride calls them back immediately. Kurtz is still in town and he has unfinished business.
As Jake, two other CIA agent, Percy, and Gregorio get ready to leave the safe house, they are attacked with the hellfire missiles. When they look up into the sky, they see the predator drone. Yikes! The worst is yet to come! Kurtz drives by with guns blazing. He yells for Claire to get into the car. Jake and the two additional CIA agents are hit and down.
Sebastian and Patton are working hard to track the drone. LaSalle asks if there are any old sugar cane fields nearby. Patton and Sebastian totally nail it and find an old Galmont Processing plant that is in the immediate area of the drone.
The team head to the processing plant. They have to take out the navigation on the drone before it’s used to attack anyone else. Percy heads into the abandoned building to find Claire. Unfortunately, Claire pulls a gun on Percy and demands that they let her and her husband go.
LaSalle and Sebastian find the bad guy and the computers he’s using to navigate the drone. They take down Kurtz’s partner, but they need to think quick. The drone is still on course and it’s only two miles away.
Meanwhile, Kurtz says that his wife has always been the one making the calls. She adds that she’s sick and tired of being told what to do by “people like you.” She says, “I’d rather die then go back.”
Percy manages to get the gun away from Claire and Sebastian shuts down the drone just in time. Phew! Sebastian saved the day, again!
Okay, we have a new winner for line of the night! Sebastian, who just realized that Pride and the rest of the team are safe says, “That was terrifying. That was, that was real scary. I peed, just a little.” YES! Sebastian is killing it on a regular basis! Great job, writers!
We end the episode at Pride’s bar. They are having a memorial for the NOPD’s fallen officer. Pride and Estes come together and realize that they really do have each other’s backs.
Loretta tells Pride, “Well look at that, you saved the day and caught the bad guys, all without breaking protocol.” Pride counters by saying that someone is going to have to pay the price for the police officer and Sutter’s deaths as well as the failed operation.
Ah, the fall guy is Jake. The CIA is blaming him. He tells Percy that he resigned and that he’s getting a lawyer. He gets up and says that he’s got to go. Percy says, “Let’s both leave.” Jake tells her that, “I need to be by myself for a while.” Before he goes, he warns Percy to keep her eyes open when it comes to Pride. Jake tells her that he knows about Pride’s reputation. Plus, “it might be time to move on,” he adds, because it’s been three years. She finally sticks up for Pride and says that, “he’s a good person.” Jake kisses her on top of the head and says, “I’ll see you, Bonnie.” She responds, “I’ll see you alter Clyde.”
The episode ends with Percy casting an unsure glance at Pride.
*******
My Thoughts:
Great episode! Two thumbs up! The military weapons heist was a good opener and it lead to a lot of action. Kurtz was a great bad guy and I totally loved that his wife was the shot caller. The writers did a great job with Sebastian this episode! He’s quickly becoming one of my favorites.
I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on Percy’s behavior. I think she was out of line. Pride is in charge of the unit and she treated him like garbage. I’m not a fan of this new Percy and how she continues to push her teammates away. I wonder if the writers are getting ready to redeem her character and bring us back around (Exhibit A: Gregorio). What did you think of her behavior? Was she justified? Are we just used to Pride breaking the rules?
Leave me a comment below with your thoughts!
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