NCIS recap: 5 best moments from Episode 19, The Numerical Limit

NCIS Season 15, Episode 19 focused more on Gibbs, as he took in a young orphan refugee wanted by a gang. Her story had a happy surprise ending.

NCIS has never been one to delve much into Gibbs’ life. Every now and then we’d learn a bit more about his past, including the fact that his wife and daughter were killed due to his wife planning on testifying against a drug dealer. Yet, despite the fact that he misses his family (and his daughter the most), he has always been extremely good with children.

This episode wasn’t any different. Gibbs took custody of a presumed orphan refugee, who was the target of a gang. In the end, the girl got a happy ending, but there were plenty of questions left open.

1. Torres getting owned

One of the best moments was Torres and his belief that he was the best to talk to the young girl. After all, he speaks Spanish and at the time the girl, Elena, didn’t seem to speak any English (we later find out her mom taught her English extremely well).

As he starts talking to her, Elena looks at Bishop to ask why his shirt is so tight. Yes, we’ve all wondered the same. It also turns out Bishop and Gibbs speak Spanish well enough, too.

Oh, and the girl spoke English; so Torres wasn’t needed!

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2. McGee setting up a motion sensor trip

With Elena (who loves burgers) saying with Gibbs, McGee decided to set up a motion sensor detector on the front door. That wouldn’t have been too bad, except that he never asked Gibbs for approval for this.

Photo credit: NCIS/CBS by Sonja Flemming; Acquired via CBS Press Express /

While the motion sensor technology sends out an alert that someone is in Gibbs’ houses, Gibbs is clearly not happy. That conversation doesn’t happen on screen, but Gibbs has the perfect “Peeping Tim” line to tell us what he thinks.

It does pay off, as it turns out that Elena’s bedroom window (she was staying in Gibbs daughter’s room) is open.

3. Abby trying to figure out the short circuit

Throughout the episode, Abby spent her time trying to figure out what had happened to her equipment. If you’ll remember from the last episode, Bishop and Palmer broke all the equipment when trying to get out of Abby’s lab. They’ve blamed it on the bombers, but Abby has pin-pointed it to her door fob.

It won’t be long before Abby figures it out, although it would be good to see as her last NCIS case. Maybe she knows the truth already and is waiting for someone to own up.

4. Ducky interrupting Palmer

While doing the autopsy, Palmer learns that Ducky is listening in via a Skype call. We get to see Ducky, even though he isn’t there. It’s awesome for the viewers, but not for Palmer. Ducky doesn’t let Palmer get a word in edgewise.

Photo credit: NCIS/CBS by Sonja Flemming; Acquired via CBS Press Express /

In the end, Palmer decides to disconnect the connection, so Ducky can’t Skype. However, Ducky does help get take the steps to get to the bottom of the situation.

5. The happy ending

In the end, it turns out that the man who has been after Elena throughout the episode is actually her dad. His wife had left him and all he wanted was to keep Elena safe in El Salvador. He worked with the gang to get onto the military base she’d been taken to as a refugee. He stole the guns the gang wanted and got them out of the base in dry ice in an ice cream truck.

However, he had taken the guns apart and broke them so they couldn’t be used. That’s when the gang went after the daughter. With all the information at hand, Gibbs and co. have enough to arrest the head of the gang and reunite father and daughter.

As everyone comments on it being a happy ending, Gibbs has a worry that it isn’t. Both father and daughter aren’t in the country legally (the father isn’t even a refugee), so what happens now?

Next: NCIS Season 15, Season 18 recap

It was a sweet and sad episode of NCIS with plenty of twists. What did you think of the episode? Had you guessed the ending? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

NCIS Season 15 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

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