NCIS season 20 episode 11 recap: Jimmy moves forward

NCIS season 20 episode 11 gave us some background on Agent Parker and it came in the form of an identity theft. The team’s case for the week involved the murder of an Ensign named Ashley Watts and how Parker’s identity was used in order to book the motel room she was found in. Plus, Jessica grew concerned over her relationship with Jimmy. Let’s go over what happened on “Bridges.”

Ensign Ashley Watts was the victim this week. An accountant for the Naval Sea Systems Command, the team investigated to find out exactly what happened. They got a lead from her parents about a guy she was seeing named Tyler.

They were unable to find information on this person until McGee found surveillance footage from a cafe showing Ashley introduced her parents to him. However, Parker recognized him as someone else. His real name is Ryan Aaronson, and he’s the son of Parker’s first love, Joy Sullivan.

Even though Parker has fond memories of Joy, she wasn’t so thrilled to see him. Apparently, when they were younger, he did something that her parents didn’t like. They moved away so she would no longer keep seeing him.

NCIS season 20, episode 11 finds Parker the victim of identity theft

When Parker explains the identity theft, she goes over to find that the letters she saved from him were missing. Ryan had stolen them and Joy was pretty sure her ex-husband’s criminal partner got him involved in something illegal.

After finding the man, Todd, they learned that he had created a scheme to use government resources in order to receive government funding for his bar. He had used Ryan to “recruit” Ashley, but Ryan ended up falling for her.

Ryan was eventually found and swears he wasn’t involved. He told the agents that Ashley had accepted him after he told the truth, but she clearly had her own secrets. After the agents found a storage unit she visited before her death, they discovered a hidden room where she had passports and weapons.

Apparently, Ashley herself was a spy. The team investigated to see if her handler was involved. Even though Joy was worried when the agents wanted to use her son as bait, Parker convinced her by telling her they could help Ryan turn his life around.

As it turns out, Ashley’s “grieving parents” were actually Russian sleeper agents who had entered the U.S. with Ashley. She infiltrated the Naval command department she was assigned to and when Ryan came to her with his fake offer to join the CIA, she jumped at the chance.

The episode also had some other relationship drama with Jimmy and Jessica. She was confused over him not wanting Victoria at their date night for a movie. It wasn’t until a conversation with Kasie that she realized the movie in question was one Jimmy shared with Breena and their daughter for movie nights.

Jessica felt bad and realized this was another hurdle Jimmy has to face. She apologized for pushing. But he realized he needed to deal with this, especially as he does want to be with her. It was a touching conversation that needed to happen so that not only he could heal, but that their relationship could move forward with an understanding of how the other is feeling.

While we do not know how Joy feels about Parker after all these years, it’s clear he carried a torch for her all his life, despite being married. It’ll be interesting to see if they meet again.

This episode also ended with a tribute card at the end to Terrence O’Hara. He was a director who passed away in December 2022. He had directed 85 episodes of NCIS and was also credited for NCIS: Los Angeles and Angel.

Overall, NCIS season 20, episode 11 was a pretty good episode with a twist we didn’t see coming at first. It’s sometimes easy to see the real perpetrators coming, but to add another layer to the story made it more surprising.

Let us know your thoughts on NCIS season 20, episode 11 in the comments below. Catch up on previous episodes on Paramount+.