NCIS: Origins has a way of making us love every character and then proving just how devoted the team also is to that same person. This was true for Mary Jo, who we not only learned was dating someone in the office but was about to be swapped to work for the sleazy NIS Regional Director Ronald Barrett. How did the team handle this sudden change in the midst of working on the case of two dead Marines?
While the team was determining who killed two Marines named Pierson and Shaw, they learned from Wheeler that NIS Regional Director Ronald Barrett was coming to the office. Not only did they have notes on new rules for the office, they also had to put in writing who had interoffice relations due to past incidents of harrassment at other places.
NCIS: Origins focuses on the team's efforts to keep Mary Jo in the office
It became obvious to the audience this affected Mary Jo and Dalton Basement, who had apparently had a crush on her, and they eventually began dating. Dalton was about ready to admit they were together, but Mary Jo didn’t want to ruin his chance of one day becoming SAC.
In the meantime, when Barrett arrived, he continued his sleazy behavior toward Mary Jo and told Wheeler he wanted to try to up his number of solved cases by swapping secretaries. As soon as the office found out, everyone was unhappy. Franks immediately began working with Lala, Gibbs, and Randy to figure out how to keep her with them.
Luckily, they remembered Mary Jo had once worked at a casino, and their two victims had been gambling in Atlantic City. They decided to use this connection to make sure Mary Jo stayed with them for long enough for Wheeler to figure out a fix.
Wheeler was plotting on how to keep Mary Jo the whole time, and his interviews with the secretaries helped. He noticed the behaviors Barrett exhibited toward them, including one woman who said he had offered to take her shopping for more form-fitting outfits.
He later explained this to Mary Jo, telling her an anonymous tip about sexual harassment had allowed for grounds of an investigation into Barrett. Mary Jo was overcome with gratitude, as no one wanted her to leave, and he had fought to keep her. Even Franks admitted that he was trying not to bring it up or he would get emotional. Seeing someone tough like Franks show hints of how he feels about the people he works with is enough for any of us to be emotional.
Mary Jo’s attempts at helping the case also led to an arrest. The team had learned the guys actually had more money than they were using to gamble, and most of it had gone missing. A connection she had to her former job also revealed that he had been paid to lie about Pierson and Shaw’s activities. And they discovered that the guys had met with a prostitute, who talked about a phone call they had with someone they called “Cap.”
They realized this was Captain Harvey Declan, and he had taken the money that Pierson and Shaw had with them. Apparently, the three of them had worked together in Kuwait to steal money that was meant for the civilians, and then Declan got greedy and killed his accomplices.
While the case ended with the usual case of money making people greedy, we did get to see the aftermath of how the team came together for their friend and colleague. Plus, Mary Jo and Dalton even came to game night, revealing their relationship while not disclosing it at work.
We don’t know whether this relationship will continue, but we are looking forward to learning more about each member of the team and everyone who works at the office.
NCIS: Origins airs Tuesdays on CBS at 9/8c. New episodes are available on Paramount+.