Category Archives: Review

Endgame (4×01) Review by Phillydi

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Endgame (4×01)
Written by Shane Brennan
Directed by Terrance O’Hara

Hello! Welcome back to a new season of NCIS Los Angeles and the premier episode of Season Four! It’s been a long, hot summer in which we’ve had more than enough time to speculate on what happen at the end of Season Three’s cliffhanger, San Voir. Our elite NCIS team has been left in tatters. Callen has been suspended with charges of treason and murder hanging over him and what will be the ramifications of Hetty’s retirement from the department, particularly after the deaths of Renko and Hunter? The CIA is trying to shut the agency down which leaves the rest of the team abandoned, alone and having to cooperate with their favorite Assistant Director, Granger at the helm. Not a pretty ending. But then again, that’s what cliffhangers are all about, right?

Keeping with tradition, Shane Brennan has penned the first episode of the season and as usual he has the audience on the edge of their seats waiting for a resolution as to what actually happen to the Chameleon. At the London NCIS Los Angeles meet up, most of the attendees were skeptical and the group wasn’t sure if Janvier was really dead. Could something else be going on? Were both parties really playing blindfolded? Or were Hetty and Callen (and perhaps the rest of the team) playing a cat and mouse game? After a casting sheet was accidently leaked on episode one, Christopher Lambert’s name was listed half way down the sheet. Could they be filming flashbacks sequences or had his character actually returned  from the dead?  Or… was it a ruse to throw us all off?

In San Voir, Janvier taunts Callen: “If you kill me, I win.” Despite his extreme emotional state and wanting to see the man dead…Callen is too much of a professional to kill the man for personal reasons. All people have their breaking point, but not our hero. Right? Was it actually Hetty who gave him permission to kill Janvier and was her apology and resignation all part of a sting?

“Was it Worth it G?!”

As the episode begins Callen is out of jail, and playing it cool. Sam is questioning his motives, but Callen is not playing. He high tails it out and leaves Sam to once again cover his back. So what’s going on between the usually unflappable partners?   According to Vaziri, Callen has a price….?  Looks like it’s Hetty Lange, because Callen will commit treason to keep his mentor safe. The cat and mouse game is still going on but now it’s between Callen and the Iranians.

The chase for the Cherokee’s file pursues and it’s a race for who’s going to get to it first.   Granger is trying to keep the CIA from shutting down the agency but Hetty is not helping and Granger is on his own.  Hetty seems tired and angry.  Kind of like how the tables turned!   He has to rely onAnd when he has to get the arrest warrant on Callen, he’s not the most popular guy on the block….even when allowing Eric to hack into the NSA!  But this episode shows a new and gentler Granger with a sense of humor to boot.

“Welcome to the Game Mr. Callen.”

Meanwhile Callen is giving up the information to Vaziri but Iran is not buying it.  They are going to use Hetty as bait to get Callen to tell the truth…whatever that may be.  Callen changes his story a couple of times before he finally gets Vaziri to buy it. 

Ah we knew it!  Janvier’s death was a set up and part of a bigger sting!  It was so much fun to see them trade Janvier for Callen. And letting Callen have the last move on the board was brilliant.  Checkmate!

Even though it was a dark episode, Hetty and Granger were able to enjoy the end of a successful mission while trading a few barbs together.  It was good to see Sam and G and the rest of the Mission back to normal at the end… nice to know all’s well with our NCISLA world.

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Show Highlights

  • No one takes out the bad guys like Sam!
  • Hetty looks soooo good as the captain of her yacht, doesn’t she?
  • Enjoyed seeing the talented actor Erick Avari as Kadeem.
  • Always great watching a good Densi sprint through a parking garage!  (See our interview with Michael Papajohn for a behind the scenes look at the filming of this scene.)
  • Don’t you love how Hetty always knows when her team is hiding on the sidelines??

Best Lines from the Show

  • Hetty:  “Get the hell off my yacht!
  • Hetty:  I never did trust that bastard!
  • Hetty:  If you’re lucky someone else dies and you get to walk away.
  • Sam:  And if I need to find you?  Hetty:  Nearest bar!
  • Callen:  How’s retirement?  Hetty:  I could die of boredom if someone doesn’t shoot me first!
  • Sam:  You got everything?  Deeks:  Yes mom.
  • Hetty:  I hope you haven’t moved my things, Owen.  Granger:  I’m not that crazy.
  • Granger:  You know you don’t have to keep changing the dates, you can just keep printing up a new one everytime.

Bromance Watch

  • Just one:  A brief smile between Sam and G at the very end.  We knew these two partners would never be on the outs!

Densi Watch

  • Love seeing the duo dressed up and undercover.  Kensi plays a great LA Housewife.  Phew!  That was a terrific rant!
  • Deeks loves himself in a suit!  “They probably haven’t taken their eyes off me since I got out of the car.”
  • Although he loves Kensi in a skirt more!  LOL!

It’s great to have a new show back in prime time again.  Join us next week here at NCIS:LA Magazine when we review the next episode Recruit!(4X02)

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Sans Voir I + II (3×23 + 3×24) review by @phillydi

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I have to admit I haven’t been too excited about reviewing the final episode of NCISLA, Sans Voir. With all this talk of death and dying, I wondered who was going to pay attention to the actual storyline and which main characters would be killed off first. Fans on all the social media sites have been speculating which series regular might meet their demise ever since Shane Brennan leaked out the possibility of an explosive season finale. Even Eric Christian Olsen on E! Online said: “That character is gunning for Callen and revenge. It’s become like Usual Suspects, it’s a game of cat and mouse, and he’s playing with all sorts of characters. And deaths! People die. There are catastrophic consequences to some of the actions that the characters choose.” So now that the big night is here will we actually lose a series regular or will it be a grand ruse or at the very lease an innovative plot twist? And we’ve all gotten use to waiting until next season for an answer to these types of questions, haven’t we?

Traditionally Brennan has written the first and final show of the season and tonight two hour season finale is no different. Gil Grant has written part one. The directing duties were shared by John Peter Sousakis and Terrance O’Hara. There is no surprise that The Chameleon is back; manipulating and pulling the strings in this story of revenge and deadly mind games. We knew after his introduction early this season that this criminal mastermind would be back to finish what he started in The Crimeleon. Christopher Lambert reprises his role as Janvier and we get to see what new twists and turns he puts the NCISLA team through this time. Brennan calls the Chameleon ‘brazen’ which is a term you may use on a naughty little kid but I agree with Granger that the man is pure evil.

The team is called in to help Mike Renko whose cover may be blown. Great to see Brian Avers back on screen again as Renko even if it was for a short time. Unfortunately, I had a feeling that Renko was going to to die. Hetty is blaming the team and Granger as well, but I think she is really blaming herself. It’s the first time (I believe) we have ever seen Hetty cry….there is sadness in NCISLA land tonight.

So who’s killing all the Mayfields? Callen finally connects the dots after they realize that the dead have been shot in the head. Yes, it’s the Chameleon and Callen’s worse fears have returned. But as the first hour closes in we are stunned as the second member of the NCISLA family is blown away by Janvier! Ok, Hunter wasn’t our most favorite character but I wouldn’t wish that ending on anyone! It seems Hetty has a habit of picking up strays like Hunter and Callen and raising them to grow up to become federal agents. Interesting hobby, don’t you think?

Really enjoyed the game of chest and all the strategic moves that went back and forth between Callen and Janvier. Of course, what is a NCISLA show without an explosion? Tonight is no exception and it’s a BIG ONE!

I really didn’t expect this amazing ending either. Looking back over the episode, there were clues scattered all over like a trail of bread crumbs. Has Callen finally lost it? After coming through the other side of the Romanian incident, I guess the manipulation of the Chameleon was just too much for him. Not even Sam or Hetty couldn’t stop him. Hard to see them both so impotent as he makes the decision to kill Janvier. Will Hetty lose Callen now, too?

Brennan mentioned that the finale is really about Callen and Hetty and how they react to what is happening all around them. The show certainly does come down to the future of these two characters as we begin season four. I guess we’ll just have to wait through a long summer before we find out the answers to all these questions.

Show Highlights:

• Deeks does Reike! Why does that not surprise me? Now we just got to get the rest of the team on board.

• Enjoyed Deeks trying to teach Kensi how to shoot. I think he may have deserved that shot in the chest!

• Deeks wanting to stay with Kensi in the hospital was wonderful…always protecting her.

• What can you say about the acting chop of Linda Hunt? She was inspirational and exceptional and commanded the screen every time she had a scene. Amazing lady!

• I have to say Christopher Lambert was also extraordinary tonight as well. He’s so good at being creepy. Great acting all around!

• The explosion at the warehouse was the biggest Boom yet! Deeks and Kensi flying out in front of the explosion was amazing. All the Densi fanfic writers out there were loving every moment! LOL! So good to see Sam rounding the corner of that building too. Whoo!

• Beautiful conversation between Callen and Hetty about Hunter. So much shared. I thought we were going to see Callen cry for the first time too. Had to laugh: ECO on Twitter called Hetty a liar because she doesn’t have a favorite agent. We all know Deeks is and will always be her favorite! No question about it!

• Deeks… shut up! The LOL line of the night goes the second time to Sam!

• Just love a man who can shoot and then kick a door down. Ah, Deeks! We love ya!

As we wonder what will await us in season four, we look back at some of the highlights of a very satisfying and illuminating year. We found out more about Callen’s family and Hetty’s involvement with his parents. We were introduced to Sam’s family and Deeks found out it wasn’t always easy being Sam’s partner. Kensi’s back story was revealed and we met her mother and found out the reason behind her father’s murder. Deeks became comfortable with being the new kid on the block and earned the respect of the rest of team and the admiration of his partner. We introduced a new character with Owen Granger and said goodbye to two old ones. And who could forget Nell and Eric? So much bubbling beneath the surface between those two…it will be interesting to see if love eventually blossoms. And despite the anxiety and concern over our favorite characters and how they will fare after this cliff hanger, I can’t wait to see where season four will take us. It all comes down to chemistry according to Brennan: “”This group of people gels like no other I’ve worked with. The chemistry you see onscreen is the chemistry they have offscreen,” he says. No matter what’s in store… you know it will always be fun. See you back here again in September for NCISLA Rewind!

What did you think of the final episode? How are they going to get Callen out of this mess? Any ideas? Why not share them below!

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Neighborhood Watch (3×22) review by @mokibobolink

In tonight’s episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, called “Neighborhood Watch,” Deeks and Kensi go deep undercovers….oops I mean undercover. Sorry, bad joke. Couldn’t resist.

Anyway…Deeks and Kensi are living as a married couple in order to find out which of the very interesting neighbors is a Russian sleeper agent. Surprisingly enough, they find said agent pretty fast. Only trouble is, the agent wants out of the spy game and her handler makes quick work of killing her before she can do it.

The new goal then becomes to catch the handler, leaving Deeks and Kensi stuck playing house for a bit longer, which is extremely entertaining to watch. We’ve all seen the flirtations and there’s no denying that they each find the other attractive (I especially enjoyed Kensi’s leering in this one), but how do they react to being stuck in a house all day together and forced to play husband and wife? It doesn’t seem to be too great a hardship on them, after the obligatory complaints about bed hogging, housekeeping, etc.

Read the rest of the review with @mokibobolink favourite bits of the episode on tvequals.com.

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Neighborhood Watch (3×22) review by @phillydi DENSI-style

Move over Kensi and Deeks! Meet the new suburban IT couple on the block… Justin and Melissa! The buzz over this episode since the trailer came out has been incredible. I thought Twitter was going to explode today with all the excitement! Everyone is waiting for the long awaited shipper moment between these two characters and the question is: will it thrill or disappoint Densi fans out there? With a heavy handed finale coming up, the producers wanted to have a fun and enjoyable episode before facing the dramatic ending of Season 3. What better way to accomplish that but to send Kensi and Deeks undercover as a married couple?! Most of the time the two agents come off sounding like a married couple anyway, so why not use this incredible pent-up sexual energy for comic relief? Even Shane Brennan admits it’s probably the funniest episode they have delivered in the entire history of the procedural show.

We definitely get some new insights into the partners as they go undercover to oust a Russian sleeper cell deep in suburbia. In an interview with E! Online, Eric Christian Olsen admits this episode will find Densi discovering a lot about each other. “I think the best version of a relationship as it matures is two characters that are kind of discovering each other and themselves through that relationship, and this is a good example of that. Every episode has elements of that, and obviously some are more light-hearted, but even in those we put our defenses down and you see who these characters are at the end of the day.”

Read the rest of @phillydi’s review including her very special “Densi Watch”

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Touch of Death (3×21) review by @phillydi

May sweeps are here and CBS throws its hat in the ring this week presenting a two-night crossover event with NCISLA and Hawaii Five-0. I have to admit I rarely watch H50 but was excited to see how the two shows would combine resources to showcase their talent and exotic locations. As Shane Brennan said, “You don’t have to watch both to love what’s going to happen.”

This time Callen and Sam are called over to the Islands to team up with the gang at H50. Together they hunt down an old nemesis who threatens to release a deadly virus into the populations. It was great to see Craig Robert Young back in action again as Dracul Comescu. The last time we saw Dracul he was in Romania, bloody and beaten and presumably one of the last surviving member of the Comescu family. You could see the hatred return to Callen’s face when Danno talks about Comescu. Next thing you know, our guys are drawn back into the drama of the blood feud.

Read the rest of @phillydi’s review including her very special “Densi Watch”.

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