Purity (4×20) Review by Phillydi

Purity 3

Purity (4 X 20)
WRITTEN BY: Joe Sachs
DIRECTED BY: Eric Laneuville

After all the controversy surrounding the Red episodes, it’s good to see our LA team back at work and together again  and free from all the Red Team diversion.  Tonight Callen and company are investigating a military death which may have profound homeland security implications.  Joe Sachs (Drive) has written his second episode this year and Eric Laneuville’s returns behind the camera for the first time this season.

In this episode, a communal water jug has been found to contain a lethal dose of cyanide and has already killed a Navy officer and incapacitated another. The team needs to find out if this is an isolated incident or the work of terrorists.  Jihadist groups are taking credit for the death but Sam has his doubts after reading the internet chatter. The source of the poisoning is coming from a water cooler which was probably tampered with before the bottle was opened and Deeks just found the murder weapon…and empty syringe.   Callen and Sam are trying to get more information from the other victim but other than a discharged sailor that caused some problems in Lt. Gordon’s past…they still don’t have much to go on.  But one dead sailor is the least of the problems for the team.  A two hundred pound drum of cyanide is missing from a factory and could kill close to a million people.  Things just went from bad to worse!

Callen and Sam track down Gordon’s protagonist who is now out of the military.  The only thing he can share is that Gordon seemed to be a man with a lot of secrets.  Does this have anything to do with the cyanide poisoning?  Deeks and Kensi run down the janitor who installed the jug from the water cooler.   Other than a new lead regarding a strange man hanging around the club looking for work, the killer is still out there and if things were bad before….Sam and Deeks just found out there are more drums missing with the potential now to kill four millions people.  The stakes just got higher!  People are having heart attacks and if it’s not in the water delivery service jugs, then it’s in the city’s drinking water.  It looks like a local attack….maybe homegrown?

Kensi and Deeks finds the source of where the cyanide may be getting into the drinking water and Eric and Nell track down a possible radical group called Designing a New America (love their acronym-DNA) who may be using guerrilla tactics to  make their point.  Seems like the team may have found their homegrown terrorists.  Callen infiltrates the group after bring Sam down during a protest. (I’m surprised Sam didn’t have a few words for Callen after their head-to-head.   Callen finds it all goes back to the beginning of the story with their first suspect who is the leader of the radical group.  Oh no, Callen is forced to drink the cool-aide!!  Luckily, he has the antidote close by and gets to live another day.  (The man has more lives than a cat!) The team goes on to take down the radical group and secure the cyanide despite the tears of a misguided child.  Callen does a great job talking the kid off the ledge.  The ball tossing scene at the end was a nice touch but I’m not too sure any child after all that brain washing would act so normal a few days later.  But it was nice to see Callen showing his parental side.

I have to say it wasn’t one of your more exciting episodes but it had a few shining moments for individual members of the team.

Show Highlights:

I loved seeing Ron Howard’s father Rance Howard as the old man who let’s Kensi into his house to check the water system.  Dwarfs?  That can’t be good!

Always enjoy seeing Sam in uniform.  Also fun to see Callen getting in Sam’s face too.

Hetty has such a great sense of humor, doesn’t she?  I loved her April Fool’s joke on Deeks.   Did you see the look on his face when he thought he was going to be fined over $100,000!  I think he would rather be drinking that cyanide instead!  Ha!

Best Lines from the Show:

Deeks:  If you built a time machine and didn’t tell me about it, I’m going to be pissed!

Eric:  Close…it also starts with a C and ends with an E.  Anyone, anyone?  Ding…times up…we were looking for cyanide.

Bromance Moments:

Sam:  God, I love algebra.  It’s logical.  It’s clean.

Callen:  That’s right.  You use to be a mathalete.

Sam: No I wasn’t a mathalete.  I was a junior math Olympian.  There’s a big difference.

Callen: You guys count on your fingers, or something?

 

Densi Moments:

Sam:  Kensi seems to have lost something.

Deeks:  Shocking!

 

Kensi:  We’ll take the bikini bar?

Deeks:  What?  We will?

Kensi:  I don’t like to see him beg and plus he would mope all the way to Point Mugo if we didn’t.

Deeks:  This is fantastic news but I don’t beg.

Kensi:  Oh, you beg.

Deeks:  I definitely don’t mope, because you’re the moper…you’re like MopyDick.

 

Kensi:  Feel free to take the pole for a spin.

Deeks:  Touche.

The cast tweeting live during the show.

The cast tweeting live during the show.

 

Check out our interview with ER alum, Lily Maryie, who played Ashley Hong on tonight’s episode.  She has some interesting insights on working in the entertainment industry and why she had a blast working with the NCISLA team on Purity.  We want to thank her for taking the time out to speak with NCISLA Magazine!

Looks like we’re going to have another break next week but when we return it’s the long awaited Densi-centric episode we have all been promised, written by Dave Kalstein and Gil Grant.  Later that week, our roundtable panel of writers will be back again to talk about the episode and to see if some of our predictions came true regarding the Box! (I predict by then that the damn prop will soon have an agent and publicist!)  Join us again in two weeks for Resurrection (4X21) and check out my review and the subsequent discussion.

Follow me on twitter @phillydi

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9 thoughts on “Purity (4×20) Review by Phillydi

  1. Richtsje

    Loved this episode. It had something good for all fans in it, didn’t it?

    Felt sorry for the young Alex. Just imagine a dad like that. Cutest scene in the end with Callen come by to visit him.

  2. Justine

    It was very good episode! really like all scenes, this action ; funny scenes with Densi; Sam and Callen fight ; and that April Fool joke to Deeks was fantastic!!!!!
    And was shock when Callen has to drink a poison!!!! But for lucky all ends good 😉 I just love them all -NCISLA cast & crew – you all the best – A specially Nickole- fight girl – You will WIN !! Thanks for your work on NCISLA set!!!!!

  3. skippy2105

    Thank you for the review.
    Though you don’t seemed to be too impressed I have to say I really really liked it. It was like in the first season. The team together, no special focus on any particular character, fun, action, emotion…
    Or maybe it was good because after the “Red” episodes everything seems to be great. I don’t know. All I can say is that I enjoyed it.

  4. Tara

    I enjoyed the episode. The practical joke on Deeks was priceless. I was really believing that Deeks was going to be audited by the IRS. Loved the fake confrontation between Callen and Sam. Poor Callen this is the same 2nd time a bad guy figured out he wasn’t really who he claimed to be. Remember episode ‘The Choosen One’? And just where did Callen hid that syringe?
    Really loved the hug between Kensi and Deeks!
    And I felt bad for Alex. He probably will still need therapy. I doubt a few times of throwing the ball with Callen will solve his problem of his dad trying to brainwash into killing millions of innocent for a greater good.

  5. S.C.

    Thanks for the comment …. i love it!
    But what are your thoughts on the DENSI hug?I love the fact that hug happened not from some big thing but some little and casual thing. I think this scene was very sweet and shows us another level of DENSI … more comfortable with each other … what do you think?
    And in 4×21 we have a Densi-centric episode….what can we expect?

    And thanks! 🙂

  6. Phillydi

    Thanks for all your great comments. I agree I wasn’t too thrilled after I watched it the first time (it could have something to do with the fact I was writing the review at midnight…won’t do that again!). Have to admit after watching it a third time, the episode is growing on me. Yes, glad to see the Red hype over.

    To S.C.: Was thrilled by the Densi hug because for a change she wasn’t punching him! But that may be a first when not undercover, no? They were definitely much more comfortable with each other in that she could hug him after catching him cleaning up after her mess. The expression on his face was so sweet.

    As far as 4X21…I expect the box to return and I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some Deeks angst in the horizon. Ohno! Stay tuned!

  7. Shelia

    I really liked this episode because while there were some cute Densi moments, there was also a lot of Callen. The fake fight between Sam and Callen when G got all up in Sam’s face was great as was the fierce look Callen shot Deeks when he questioned Callen’s ability to lead the team. As for Callen taking the time to play ball with Alex, no its not going to wipe out all the bad from his father but it will help the boy out to let him know that someone cares. It was a lovely peak into Callen’s softer side. Another plus-there were none of those awkward Nell/Eric romance moments. Those two make excellent friends but come on there is no romantic chemistry there. Now if they can just get rid of that silly ponytail Nell has been styling lately.

  8. Domingo

    After RED it was nice to get back to the team working together, I liked it a lot, there was some fun and some serious stuff.

    However I did find Deeks a bit OTT this week with the wise cracks.

    Favourite moments:- the Row, Sam and Callen scrapping a sight to behold.

    Callen to Sam “What took you so long?”

    Deeks and Kensie’s concern for Callen when he was shakey in the amoury, Sam just stood back, knowing he would be there.

    Callen’s interaction with Alex, in this we saw a side of Callens Character we do not often get to see.

    Pity we have only four more episodes to go, and I expect they will be good ones leading to the usual “To be continued”…
    folowed by speculation Summer.

    Question will this be the first year Hetty does not resign or disapear!!!!!!

  9. Joy

    I liked tjis ep, particularly that I got surprised with G drinking the cyanide. Hadn’t seen a preview of tjat. O liked tje Red eps too though. Not liking Nell’s ponytail either. That is not the best way to grow out your hair.

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