After a brutal 500th episode where we learned Director Leon Vance had been killed, NCIS returned with an episode that saw the team trying to process their grief while also handling Fleet Week. At first, things seemed simple enough, dealing with drunk sailors and things like that, but then a murder stopped them in their tracks.
When two sailors stole a police car, they kept an eye out for it, and at first, they figured it would just be a simple case. But then they found the body of Petty Officer Kyle Rivas, who had a knife in his chest and had been put in the trunk of the car.
Kyle had a perfect record as a sailor, and he had a close friend in the Navy, Seaman Daniel Harvey. His prints were found on the knife, so it appeared he killed his friend. However, when they brought Daniel in, he was stunned and didn’t remember killing Kyle.
Just as they were interrogating him, the team was informed that a group of sailors in the building was sick with some unknown toxin, and they saw that Daniel was also experiencing symptoms. Jimmy was able to help them once Kasie determined the toxin was some sort of amphetamine, and they were treated.
The only thing the sailors had in common was that they all got tattoos, but no one had any memory of where they got them, and their paths never intersected. Daniel was able to remember some aspects of his tattoo experience, and the team deduced that the tattoos came from a mobile tattoo parlor called the Dragon Wagon.
The tattoo artist was Gideon Mays, who was eventually found dead and had been paid a hefty sum, likely by whoever was targeting sailors and making them sick. At first, it seemed like a Russian group was responsible, but they had to figure out who it was.
They were able to determine that the tattoo ink was composed of nanorobotics, meaning someone was tracking the sailors through the tattoo ink. The chemistry for the nanorobotics matched a paper that had been posted online by a sorority girl named Annie Carson. She had met Daniel and Kyle earlier in the night but claimed she just ran into them at the bar she went to.
It turned out Annie’s paper had been rejected, but she still posted it since she felt her work was good. However, when she found out what her technology had been used for, she claimed she signed an NDA and refused to talk.
While Annie just wanted to prove that her technology worked, her fellow sorority sister, Samantha, turned out to be the person behind the killings. She wanted to sell the nanotech on the black market and killed the tattoo artist to try to get it. Samantha followed the nearest tracking signal and found Kyle.
She had attempted to cut off his tattoo when Daniel released a herd of goats to stop her in her tracks. Eventually, the team managed to fool her into finding a sailor, who was actually Torres, and both he and Knight made the arrest.
In the meantime, during the case, the team also learned Vance’s office needed to be cleaned out to prepare for the incoming interim director. However, none of them were ready, especially Parker. Despite having just dealt with the grief of losing his father, he had no idea how to move forward in the wake of losing his friend.
Eventually, after helping Daniel say one last goodbye to his best friend, Parker prepared a special toast to Vance. He invited the team up for a drink in his office, with water for Torres, using a special bottle that Vance never got to open.
Even though the episode was lighthearted in a way, following the loss of Leon Vance, it still showed the audience how hard it is to move forward and grieve while also trying to act like things are normal. We still do not know who will eventually take over the Director’s job, although we do have at least one potential candidate in mind.
Until then, we’ll follow the team as they continue to solve cases while also tackling this new reality without their longtime friend and Director.
NCIS airs Tuesdays on CBS at 8/7c. New episodes are available the next day on Paramount+.