NCIS: Hawai’i 2×13 “Misplaced Targets” escalates the storyline of Kai’s old friend-turned-criminal, while Lucy finally gets something to do — sadly, away from the team. It’s a pretty straightforward episode, one that does a great job of examining who Kai and Lucy are as people, with the cases helping showcase Kai’s past and Lucy’s way of dealing with people.
For Kai, it all comes down to — he left. And he feels guilty. For his father, for A.J., for basically every single thing that happened while he was gone. But it’s just as Tennant tells him, Kai is not responsible for everything, and he certainly isn’t responsible for A.J. In fact, he isn’t even responsible for what his father did, because his dad is an adult. And so is A.J. An adult who made his own choices, and whose choices led him here.
It’s as simple as that. Whatever Kai feels he needs to examine, whatever demons from his past he needs to come to terms with, A.J. is not really one of them. Maybe Kai failed him, and maybe he should have kept in touch, but none of that makes him responsible for what A.J. did. But the past is just that, the past. All Kai can do, and really, all A.J. can do is try to do better, to be better.
For Lucy, the whole case is about …who she is. She’s a good investigator, and part of the reason she is that empathy that characterizes her. It’s not just about facts for Lucy, it’s about people. And typically, it´s people who will tell you what you need, or if they don’t tell you, who will give you an idea of where to look. Yes, you have to pay attention to the facts, and Lucy follows them to the obvious conclusion, but she also clocks the behaviors that don’t make sense in people.
That’s how she solves it. That’s what makes her good at her job. And that’s also one of the reasons we kinda hope this experiment of her being off by herself doesn’t last too long. If the Kai part of this episode proved something it’s that this team is better when they are together. And Lucy is part of the team, of the family. We need her back. They need her back.
Things I think I think:
- It’s not an NCIS episode without something getting almost blown up, I guess.
- A KACY CONVO. At last! And a cute one, too. Not that they’re ever not cute.
- If all criminals were like this guy, this would be a very boring show.
- “I was the target for that bomb” was said with HIGH DRAMA.
- WE KNOW WHO A.J. IS, NO NEED FOR THE EXPOSITION.
- When Tennant tells you to calm down, you calm down. Or else.
- Lucy being nice is just …very Lucy. And yes, it helps her solve the case, but it´s also just who she is.
- IN PUBLIC, KAI?
- You should listen to the women in your life, Kai.
- “Ernie, we’re family.” I kinda love that.
- But honestly, what Ernie “found out”? Basic. No one really thought to look at his family. Come on, guys.
- THERE’S ALWAYS A BIGGER BAD GUY.
- Ship humor isn’t all that funny.
- Two calls in one episode?!
- Jesse and Ernie’s moment was good.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS: Hawai’i 2×13 “Misplaced Targets”? Share with us in the comments below!
NCIS: Hawai’i airs Mondays on CBS.
