NCIS 21×09 “Prime Cut” is a fun hour of television that doesn’t really try too hard to be anything other than that. Jessica and Nick go to Texas and throw out some puns, she gets to use her super-power, which is empathy, he gets to run around in a horse Zorro style, and in the end, the bad guy isn’t the stereotypical bad guy, even though that bad is also kind of a bad guy. That part isn’t much of a surprise.
While all of that’s happening, back in the DC office, Delilah is back for her obligatory once-in-a-while check-in and it’s as enjoyable as it always is to see her and to joke about how she is our “favorite McGee.” Also, full kitchen remodels are evil, but you can change some things, that is allowed. Don’t let Parker’s dramatics talk you out of at least fixing some things!
The episode before the season finale of a show can typically be one of two things: a light hour that has absolutely nothing to do with whatever is coming in the finale, kind of a reminder that dramatic, high stakes aren’t the only thing the show can do, or the show doubling down on just that, big. NCIS chose the first of those options, focusing on character moments in a pretty subdued episode that still works pretty well and doesn’t feel like a miss.
NCIS 21×09 “Prime Cut” is especially good when it focuses on the dynamic between Torres and Knight, who have built a siblings-like relationship that is both fun to watch and believable. It’s about 90% banter, of course, and both actors play that side of it really well, but there’s an undercurrent of care to it that feels real. Like “I can mess with this person, but I will also fight to the death for him.”
The show has always been good at that, the interpersonal dynamics and this shortened season have given it a chance to explore both the characters — it had a really good Kasie episode and a really good Parker episode, and the relationships, we’re now a tiny bit worried about Knight in Shining Palmer, thank you. That’s why it’s a relief to know we’ll get a chance to see more of that in Season 22. If what happened to NCIS: Hawai’i has taught us anything is that you cannot take anything for granted, not even a show like this one.
So, with one episode until the end of a shortened Season 21, I want to say that we deserve good procedurals that give characters time to grow. That doesn’t take one year, or two …it often takes five or seven, or more. We used to have those shows, and those are the ones we remember, the ones we turn back to for comfort. The ones we rewatch, over and over. The classics only became classics because they had space and time to be that. And the new crop of procedurals cannot look like those classics looks, because the world …well, the world never really looked like the people in those procedurals looked. It was never as straight or as well. And we’re pretty tired of not being represented on TV.
Thankfully, NCIS is coming back. These stories get to continue evolving. Others, however, don’t. And that is a damn shame.
Things I think I think:
- Any glimpse of the personal lives of these agents is welcome, and McGee especially, who has been around for so long? Seeing Delilah feels like a rite of passage.
- “Yeah, it’s a problem.” DO ELABORATE, JESS.
- Parker, divorce stories are never helpful. Please keep them to yourself.
- Any episode where Knight and Torres get to go off on an adventure together is a win in my book. Another, less smart show, would have tried to pair them up. This one? This one recognized they worked better as this, more or less antagonistic siblings. It’s perfection.
- Another thing I love? Any time Wilmer gets to speak Spanish.
- Why are they debriefing out in the open?
- What I don’t love? That CBS cancels NCIS: Hawai’i and then throws crumbs at us like this LGBTQ+ relationship between the victim and the son of the not-so-evil but still evil guy in this episode and calls that representation.
- When this dude called Jessica “little girl” I wanted to punch him.
- Drugs are a powerful thing, this man almost took out Parker AND McGee.
- That was quite a Zorro moment for Torres. I bet he was thinking just that, too.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS 21×09 “Prime Cut”? Share with us in the comments below!
NCIS airs Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.
I have watched and rewatched all episodes of NCIS. I think this is the most disappointing episode ever. Poor writing and stereotypes. I hope this isn’t a sign.