‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ 12×07 Review: “Overdue”

NCIS: Los Angeles returns after a few weeks away with an episode that feels like an overdue tribute to what this team has become, and what they could still be going forward. That’s right, NCIS: Los Angeles12×07 “Overdue” is more about the people behind NCIS: Los Angeles than it is about the case, and that’s why it works.

The setup for the episode is Deeks’ interview – the first step towards possible joining NCIS, but the message goes deeper than that. Back when this show started the team didn’t work as well as it did now. It took about a season, and some changes, for them to find their footing.

And then they had to grow.

For all that Densi is one of my favorite couples on TV and I will have that fight with anyone, the thing that makes this show work isn’t just Densi, it’s that these people feel like an actual team. Kensi and Deeks work together, yes, but so do Callen and Sam, and Sam and Deeks, and Callen and Kensi, Deeks and Eric, Kensi and Nell. That’s how we got here, that’s why we’re still here.

Now the team has a couple of new members, and we can’t know yet how Roundtree and Fatima are truly going to fit into this team, but this episode reminded us there’s a blueprint. This show has done it before. They’ve made us invest in characters. In relationships.

That’s always hard to do, but it’s especially hard to do well in a procedural, where you run the risk of losing yourself in the cases. Or, at least, that was the conventional thinking. Procedurals these days are better, deeper, than they were in the past, and judging them just by what the genre used to be is doing them, and the viewers, a disservice.

So, yes, our team saves the day in this episode – like almost always. They get some jokes in, this time at the expense of Sam, a welcome sight, as he’s almost always on the other side. And no, there’s still no resolution to the biggest mystery of the season, Hetty’s whereabouts, or even a real conclusion to this Deeks storyline.

But we know the truth, about everything except Hetty, at least. We’ve known it for a while, but NCIS: Los Angeles is the kind of show that likes to remind us of the good. And this team is the good. The relationships between them are what makes it all work.

Changes are coming, yes. Maybe Anna will become a more permanent fixture – as soon as Callen realizes it’s her he should be asking, not Arkady. Fatima and Roundtree still need to find out where they fit, and develop the camaraderie with every member of the team. Eric will hopefully come back, instead of just dropping by every once in a while?

And Hetty, our fearless leader, will hopefully be back to being not just the glue, but the light that guides everyone’s path.

But it’s fine. We’ve been here before, and we quite liked how that went. We can have some faith. This new, more diverse team, is, after all, way overdue.

Things I think I think:

• The ducks are wounded? *looks around* Seriously?
• I’m really enjoying this chance to see more of Sam with his kid. I mean, I know it’s all gonna go to hell soon, but I’m enjoying it for now.
• And wanting to talk to Arkady before asking Anna to marry him is probably the cutest thing Callen has done. Not that cute is ever a word I apply to him. And not that he needs to. But yeah, conventionally cute.
• Deeks in a fitted suit? Yes, please.
• Being worried about what Sam thinks is adorable, Deeks.
• Eric’s look is very artsy for someone who is more on the technology side.
• Nell practicing her Hetty was kind of hilarious – especially because it doesn’t actually work. She can’t be Hetty, no one can. She can only be Nell.
• I suspect the show knows this.
• Libraries are wild.
• I appreciate the nod to how much Sam disliked Deeks at first.
• Of course Eric is bored.
• DID I GET EMOTIONAL AT SAM PRAISING DEEKS? You bet I did. The growth in their relationship is one of my favorite things in this show.
• Atticus?
• Yeah, I didn’t see THAT coming.
• Jumping? Leave that to the kids. Sam’s gonna BREAK DOWN THE DOOR.
• “My only regret is I didn’t speak out sooner, louder and more often.”
• I’m with Nell on the Ma’am.
• Roundtree, he is going to destroy you.
• “You hurt her, I hire someone to kill you.”
• Aw, Callen, you should have said something.

Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS: Los Angeles 12×07 “Overdue”? Share with us in the comments below!

NCIS: Los Angeles airs Sundays on CBS.