NCIS: New Orleans - Diplomatic Immunity - Review: "Sebastian & the Spy"
5.3 - "Diplomatic Immunity"
Directed by Gordon Lonsdale
Written by Greta Heinemann & Co-Written by Rob Kerkovich
Reviewed by Kelly Anne Blount
“Diplomatic Immunity” opens at a carnival. As the rides are whirring by, a man is desperately running away from a hooded figure. He looks terrified. The spinning lights and screaming kids set for a chaotic scene. A moment later, the man falls on to the platform of one of the rides. Looks like the carnival is closing early tonight!
The next day at the scene, Gregorio is giving Sebastian a hard time for wearing a suit. He tells her that he just purchased an investment property. She is shocked he didn’t run the idea past her. He says he didn’t because of how she’s reacting. Hope this doesn’t come back to bite him in the bottom!
Special Agent Hannah Khoury shows up to the scene with coffee for Loretta a.k.a. Dr. Wade and a water bottle for LaSalle.
They get right to work. LaSalle identifies the victim as Lt. Commander Spencer Morrison. He was identified via his finger prints. He didn’t have a wallet on him. It appears that he was strangled, but the marks are unusual.
Ah, Khoury brought iced coffees for Sebastian and Gregorio. She is really trying to get in good with the team, which is fine, but why is the team acting like a new boss is the next best thing since sliced bread? I mean, no one has mentioned that they miss Pride yet… Granted it has only been like three minutes, but this transition doesn’t feel realistic to me.
Back to the victim, LaSalle reports that he was a member of a diplomatic corps, foreign affairs officer who specializes in the Middle East. Khoury hypothesizes that he was attending the Middle East Trade Conference. She’s correct. Turns out he left a conference event and came running for his life through the carnival.
Dr. Wade and LaSalle have a quick chat about how Pride would approve of Khoury. Again, it’s way too soon for them to be A-Okay with this move, right? I mean, wouldn’t they mourn the loss of their favorite boss? I would think the team would understand why he moved to a new position, but they’d still be devastated. What do you think?
Speaking of which, Pride shows up to his first day on the new job in his beautiful classic blue convertible (memories of Rosewood's GTO come to mind). He even has a primo parking spot. Wow, Pride is in a suit! He looks great, but, I prefer him in his regular “work” clothes.
He is met by ASAC Steven Thompson (played by Reggie Lee, who has starred in many roles over the years, including Sgt. Wu in Grimm), who shows him to his office. On the way, he mentions that his predecessor liked to arrive to the office at 5:30AM. I’m not saying Pride isn’t a morning person, but I’m having a hard time picturing him showing up to the office, in a suit at that time.
Pride is then met by his assistant, Judy Young. She gives him a list of open case files for a meeting he’s about to enter with JAG. Yikes! Pride looks like he feels unprepared and out of his comfort zone.
Khoury, Gregorio, and Sebastian head to the Middle East Trade Conference. They want to talk to some of the diplomats that might have had contact with their victim.
Back at “The Castle” as Pride refers to as his new place of employment, he is thrown directly into a meeting with JAG. Pride appears to ruffle some feathers right off the bat. He doesn’t like the way the cases are being handled. Thompson cuts him off. Not sure if he’s actually trying to help or if he’s going to be a gigantic pain in the rear for Pride? No time for Pride to dwell on it, they are already discussing the next case, which outlines that Petty Officer Carmine has been UA for three weeks. The person reading the case file suggestions that he took an unapproved vacation. Pride isn’t okay with this assumption either, especially because he didn’t pack a bag. Thompson tells Pride that he has 37 cases to work though, essentially cutting him off.
Pride gets a call from Loretta. He gets up from his meeting and tells them to “carry on” without him. Pride tells Loretta that he’s struggling. She misses him too, but tells him to slow down.
He asks Loretta for details about the case. She tells him what they know about the victim, he thinks it could be a professional. Before he can say anything else, Thompson comes out after him. Pride and Thompson are not clicking from the start and unless something changes, this new position is going to be a struggle for Dwayne Pride.
Back at the conference, Sebastian is failing to communicate with one of the diplomats. He asks her if she knows Klingon. Oh, Sebastian. This is why you will always be my favorite. Luckily, he is saved by Carmen Delahoy, Diplomatic Translator United Nations Trade Association. Phew! That is a long title!
Sebastian shows her the photo of Morrison, the victim. Carmen asks Sebastian if he was in the CIA. Sebastian is confused. She admits that she loves spy movies. Carmen also tells Sebastian that she saw the victim following one of the diplomats last night. Sebastian is enamored with the British translator. I’ve got a bad feeling about her. What do you think?
Meanwhile, Khoury is speaking to two diplomats. They are from the United Arab Emirates. One of the diplomats excuses himself and leaves Khoury with who appears to be the assistant. Khoury asks about one remaining UAE diplomat, Mikael Basara. The man tells her that he hasn’t seen Basara since the mixer last night. The same mixer Morrison was supposed to be attending… Interesting!
Gregorio finds Khoury. She says no one is admitting to seeing Morrison last night. She’s frustrated.
Khoury tells Gregorio that they need to find Basara. She thinks he may have some of the answers they’re looking for in regards to Morrison’s death.
Sebastian joins them. He tells them about Carmen. He’s meeting her at the bar later for drinks. Ooh la la. Gregorio and Khoury head off to find more info on Basara.
Back at HQ, LaSalle brings everyone up to date on Basara. He checked into the hotel two nights ago. He’s been at every conference event until last night, when he disappeared. The question is, why would he want to kill Morrison?
Khoury tells them that Morrison is more than a diplomat. YES! Pride walks through the door and he’s got answers. His new job comes with, as LaSalle states, “perks.”
Pride tells the crew that Morrison was not a diplomat. He was a “covert Naval intelligence officer on assignment.” He was brought to New Orleans for the Kalifa Brief. Which is a document with the details of a major international money laundering scheme. Terrorists, arms dealers, and some of the worst bad guys in the world have been running their money through a single bank in Dubai. Morrison was sent to the conference to meet with Basara, who was looking to sell the Kalifa Brief. LaSalle hypothesizes that the deal went bad and Basara killed Morrison.
Patton joins the team with more information. He has footages from last night’s crime scene. Oh no! He has footage of the hooded killer. It’s not Basara! It’s Carmen, the woman who Sebastian is meeting for a drink.
Back at the hotel, Sebastian meets Carmen at the bar. He apologizes for not having time to change, to which she responds, “I think you’re dressed to kill.” Three words, Carmen… Leave Sebastian alone!
As Sebastian and Carmen flirt and geek out over rare favorite movies, Gregorio tries to call him, repeatedly. Sebastian brings them back to the case. Carmen says that Morrison wasn’t “mingling” with anyone else. That’s why she thought he was a spy. She admits that she took a video of him. Sebastian agrees that it’s super weird. Oh no… Carmen tells Sebastian that the video is on her cell phone, which is in her hotel room. Not good!
Gregorio calls again. Sebastian finally picks up. Turns out that she’s sitting at the bar. Gregorio warns Sebastian and tells him that Carmen is probably the murderer. He tells Gregorio that their best option is for him to go up to Carmen’s room. This does NOT sound safe. Gregorio says, “If you get yourself killed, leave me the house, okay?” Oh, those two! Their relationship is the best.
LaSalle is worried that Carmen will try to kill Sebastian. Khoury thinks she’s going to use him to and get her hands on the Kalifa Brief. She makes the call that he will stay in play. The team knows that they need to find Basara. Pride gets a call from the FBI, turns out that due to Basara’s diplomatic status, finding him will be a lot more difficult.
Pride and the team come up with a plan. They think Basara is going to try to call home. Pride walks out of HQ and says, “Let’s see how much pull this new job has.” Oh man… Pride just finished his first day and he’s already testing the waters. Or, in this case, cannonballing into the waters.
Back at the hotel, Carmen offers Sebastian a glass of wine. Gregorio is in his ear. She tells him not to drink the wine, it could be poison, so he spits it back into the glass. Oh, Sebastian! He continues to fawn over Carmen as they sit side by side in her hotel room. Finally, she pulls up the video on her phone. Morrison left the hotel with another man. They took separate cabs. Sebastian asks if Carmen heard anything, she says that she didn’t. Suspicious! Carmen excuses herself to “change into something more comfortable.”
Over at “The Castle” a.k.a. Pride’s new job, Thompson is freaking out. He can’t believe Pride is running an international trace on Basara, who has diplomatic immunity. Thompson tells Pride that he needs to run this request through the proper channels. Pride says that he’s prepared to deal with all of the consequences that his actions might cause. Perhaps this will get Pride kicked out of his new job and back into the role as head of the NCIS: New Orleans office? Khoury could join the crew as an agent and no hard feelings will be had by anyone? Think that’s wishful thinking?
There’s a secure trace on Basara. Thompson isn’t happy with Pride. Uh oh. Basara is in the French Quarter. Even worse! He’s still in his hotel room.
Carmen grabs her gun and runs out of the room. She locked Sebastian in the room and trapped Gregorio in an elevator. Sebastian tells Gregorio not to worry, he’s going to scale the balcony. SAY WHAT? Sebastian, please don’t!
Before he can get on to the balcony, Basara is thrown from a room above. His body lands on a car below. Sebastian looks up just in time to see Carmen looking down at him. Do you think she pushed Basara or are things not as they seem?
Back at HQ, Sebastian, LaSalle, and Gregorio go over the latest updates on the case. Carmen is MIA and she most likely has the Kalifa Brief. She cloned Sebastian’s phone to stay a step ahead of the NCIS team. They are worried that King is going to take a “big hit” for the way things went down.
Gregorio and Sebastian have a heart to heart talk. I love them. She asks him what’s wrong? Sebastian says he wants to “live up to his potential.” Pride’s near-death experience really scared him, hence his change in behavior (i.e., real estate purchase, flirting with the assassin, etc.).
Over at “The Castle” Pride is getting reamed out on the phone. Khoury comes to visit him. He’s worried he might get fired over what went down yesterday. He thinks he made a bad judgement call. Khoury refers to the team as Pride’s team. He reminds her that it’s her team. She tells him that if he can get his hands on the Kalifa Brief, everyone will forgive him. Let’s hope so! They just need to find Carmen… Patton to the rescue! But, according to Khoury, it’s not good.
Carmen pays Sebastian a visit at his place. They get into an epic fight. They are both incredible actors and their stunt doubles totally slayed this fight sequence! This scene is everything!
While they are fighting, Carmen gets the upper hand, but not for long. LaSalle and Gregorio burst through the door. Sebastian tells them not to shoot, then he drops a truth bomb, Carmen is British Intelligence.
Khoury has Carmen in an interrogation room. Turns out there are no records of her at MI-6. Carmen tells Khoury that she didn’t kill Morrison or Basara. She also says that she doesn’t have the Kalifa Brief.
Gregorio thinks she’s lying. Sebastian thinks she’s telling the truth. What do you think? Also, why can’t they get her claim verified by someone in British Intelligence?
Carmen wants to work together. She has a key, to what they hope is the diplomatic pouch containing the Kalifa Brief.
Pride is back at HQ. They debate working with Carmen. They decide the best plan is to work together. Sebastian is going to be her “plus one” at an event at the Middle East Trade Conference.
Aw, Sebastian and Carmen look adorable together. Pride and Khoury look great too! I love her dress!
They have a bit of a dilemma. The Kalifa Brief is allegedly in a special pouch, that is used by diplomats. If the pouch is closed, the only way it can be opened is by another diplomat from the same country. Also, it can’t be opened within the consulate, which is classified as sovereign soil. They will have to trick Basara’s killer into going outside with the pouch. I have a feeling the guy Khoury was talking to in the beginning is going to be the guy who opens the pouch, what do you think?
Khoury creates a distraction, which allows Sebastian and Carmen to get upstairs. They hide their intent by kissing in the hallway. They are both totally into it, but pretend not to be.
Once the coast is clear, they duck into the room where the diplomatic pouches are held. There is a major problem though… There are literally dozens, if not hundreds of pouches. They are spread out over tables and shoved into cubby holes. This could take awhile.
Patton has an update. He believes their suspect is Aram Nader, former UAE special services. Khoury states that, “If he’s named in the Kalifa Brief, he will go from diplomat to death row.” He has some serious motivation to get his hands on that intel.
Khoury and Pride are approached by UAE Ambassador Hariri. He is not happy to see Pride in the consulate. He blames him for Basara’s death.
Carmen finally finds the right pouch. She finds a thumb drive with the Kalifa Brief. Unfortunately, they aren’t fast enough. Aram Nader and two security guards enter the room. Carmen doesn’t waste any time beating them up and stealing their guns.
Sebastian and Nader are left weaponless and standing face-to-face in the diplomat pouch room. I have a feeling something epic is going to happen! Get him, Sebastian!
After a commercial break, a fight ensues. LaSalle and Gregorio are helpless. They are outside and can’t enter the consulate as NCIS officers. LaSalle tell Sebastian that he needs to bring Nader to them. Sebastian has a plan! He tells them, “I’m coming in hot,” and tackles Nader through a window. They flew through the air and land outside, right in front of Gregorio, LaSalle, and Pride.
Nader smugly states that he has diplomatic immunity. Pride reminds him that he is now on US soil and the only thing they need to be able to arrest him, is Ambassador Hariri’s approval. Khoury says, “Considering that you’ve murdered two men, including your own associates, I think he’ll cooperate.
Ambassador Hariri revokes Nader’s immunity and the team arrest him (Nader).
Sebastian searches for Carmen, but she’s long gone. He holds up the thumb drive and proclaims, “At least we have the Kalifa Brief.”
Back at HQ, Patton has bad news for them. There are no bank account records on the thumb drive, instead, there are hundreds of pictures of a dog. Carmen’s dog! Oh my…
Sebastian saw the pictures and took off.
Sebastian makes a phone call from the Toronto Airport. Carmen answers. She admits that she has the Kalifa Brief. Ah, she’s at the airport as well. He’s tracked her down using his tracking keychain. Smart move, Sebastian!
Pride and Thompson are back at “The Castle,” where analysts are going over the Kalifa Brief files. Sebastian managed to get it back, but he let Carmen slip away. Pride’s superiors are pleased with the outcome of the case. He still has his job, for now.
*******
My Thoughts:
I recapped this episode a bit differently. I included some of my commentary and the questions that popped into my mind as I watched and simultaneously recapped the episode. Do you prefer it this way or strict commentary and my thoughts at the end? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Overall, I loved this episode! Sebastian is my favorite character on the show. He has a great sense of humor and I love his relationship with Gregorio! Super huge props to Rob Kerkovich co-writing this episode with Greta Heinemann. I hope we see more from them in the future!
Pride seems very uncomfortable in his new job, which I hope leads to him coming back to his old job and Khoury joining the team as an NCIS officer. He does look good in a suit, but desk life isn’t for him. He is in quite the predicament!
My only complaint, which I voiced above in the recap and in last week’s post, is that everyone is still totally cool with Pride being gone. Sure, Sebastian had a bit of a quarter life crisis, but that seemed to be more about Pride almost dying, not Pride starting a new position. I’m missing that massive, “COME BACK PRIDE!” feeling that I think everyone should be experiencing. What do you think?
What did you think about this episode of NCIS – New Orleans? I can’t wait to hear your thoughts! Be sure to leave 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
