NCIS - Life would have been worse for everyone!

Well that is it.  NCIS has officially broken the 200 episode barrier.  We've seen everything it seems over the years.  Team members have experienced betrayal, love, anger, rescue, regret, and even at times death.  It's been a roller coster for those of us who have followed every episode from the start Yankee White then the real start of Kill Ari and made it to this point: Life Before His Eyes.  This episode took everything in and made something of it.

Let's face it.  The main character of this show is Very Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.  He is the spine of the team.  Without him they are jellyfish.  I think we've all felt that connection to Gibbs as we've seen him lose loved ones, kill enemies, and grow into the father he is to this team.  While we (especially me) lose track of him, getting involved in other characters stories it is important to bring him back to the front.  This episode took all the pieces of Gibbs and put them into an order that really meant something.  I want to go through those chronologically and talk about why they were meaningful in the episode.


When Gibbs was a marine he was a completely different person.  He was closed off, secretive, and little rebelious.  He fought with his dad, blaming him for his mom leaving.  He fell in love with a woman marine who died shortly after.  He had a lot to be angry over.  This came to a head when Gibbs got to talk to his mom.  This is the first time we had ever gotten to see his mom.  She explained things to him that gave him peace about her leaving.
Next we got to see Pedro Hernandez.  This is probably where a lot of the episode was directed.  One major event in Gibbs life was the revenge of his wife and daughters murders.  We've gone back and forth over the season of what this meant.  Was it a good thing to get that revenge or did it do more harm than good.  We saw a lot of things in this episode.  Reilly came to Gibbs telling him how Abby may have not had to carry around that secret.  Gibbs may not have that murder on his shoulders.  In the end though we actually see what he was like.  If Gibbs hadn't done what he did the pain would have eaten him alive.  We see a bearded drunk Gibbs in his basement.  He doesn't care about anyone not even Abby.

What if Kate hadn't died?  What if Gibbs had gotten to her in time?  How would life have been different.  Well obviously this was the worst part.  Kate married Tony.  What the heck??!  Ok ok but really it was cool.  They reshot the rooftop scene with Ari using a stunt double for Sasha Alexander as she was out of the country at the time when they were filming.  They carefully made edits and suddenly Kate never died.  She has a baby with Tony.  The worst part of this is Ziva.  Ziva is worse off.  She is just a case of the week and doesn't have that father figure in her life.

Lastly and definitely the ultimate question is what if Shannon and Kelly had never been murdered?  They talk about how Gibbs wouldn't have become an NCIS agent.  He would have stayed a marine.  So what?  He still would have had his wife and daughter!  Well Shannon put it best: "The loss would have been ours."  Gibbs would have died a marine leaving a wife and daughter.

Gibbs has helped a lot of people and changed a lot of lives.  He has taken down the bad and helped the good.  We can't change the choices we make.  We just have to accept them and go on with our life with courage.  Some choices are good and some aren't but we are ultimately who we are because of those choices.

Thanks NCIS for an amazing 200 episodes!

Next week:
Tony's ex-fiance Wendy is back!  Ziva jealous?  Oh yea!
Promo here