NCIS: Sydney 1×08 Review: “Blonde Ambition”

NCIS: Sydney 1×08 “Blonde Ambition” is the perfect season finale for an outstanding first season of NCIS: Sydney. The newest entry in the NCIS franchise was always a complicated bet – it is, after all, set in Australia with a mostly Australian cast and no real connections to the two current shows in the franchise, NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i. But NCIS: Sydney, which filmed during the strike and ended up helping CBS fill the time until the rest of its procedural lineup came back did more than just be a convenient fill-in.

In fact, the show’s way-too-short first season, which consisted of eight episodes, managed to introduce a team fans of the NCIS franchise quickly warmed to, and that they would really love to see more of. Not just that, the show also provided more than a few dynamics fans are eager to see grow and the kind of characters that would mesh really well with, let’s say, Jane Tennant or Jessica Knight. Just throwing that out there.

NCIS: Sydney 1×08 “Blonde Ambition” is the perfect example of that. The episode, which focuses on J.D. – his son is the one kidnapped, after all – still manages to showcase the team, and of course, J.D.’s relationship with Mackey in an outstanding way, all while providing the team with an interesting antagonist that we will surely see again if this show is renewed, and leaving us with quite a cliffhanger for a possible Season 2.

And I say possible because I understand that we weren’t likely to get a decision on that till the season finished airing on CBS, but please, let’s go ahead and renew this show already. Thank you.

J.D. THE FATHER

Seeing J.D.’s kid, and even his ex-wife, is a big step towards understanding who this character is and the journey he is on. Because from what we’ve seen of him within the context of his job, J.D. comes off as a pretty well-adjusted guy. Scratching beneath the surface of this episode allows us to see that he might have more issues than we had suspected before.

The first is clearly an inability to prioritize and balance. I don’t think J.D. is a bad father, or at least I don’t think he’s the kind of father who doesn’t really care about his kid. What he is, however, is guilty of thinking his kid isn’t as important as his job. Which happens when you do a job that is literally life and death – nothing outside of it feels nearly as crucial.

In real life, this is a really bad trait. In a procedural TV show, it’s a very interesting one, because there’s so much growth that could come from exploring this side of J.D. How will he react now that his son is safe? Will he overcompensate? Will he attempt a real balance? Does he even understand what that is and how to get it?

Then there’s the team, which has quickly become like a family for J.D. Does he know how to have a work family and still have a good relationship not just with his kid, but with his ex-wife? We don’t know, and he might not figure out the answers right away, but there’s a lot for the show to explore there if (when) it comes back for Season 2.

J.D. THE PARTNER

In this episode the person who gets to calm J.D. down, the one holding his hand and telling him things will be okay, is Mackey. And it’s obvious why she is – she’s the boss. That’s what she does for everyone. And yet, there’s never been a part of Mackey that has treated J.D. as just someone on her team. In fact, from the beginning, Mackey has treated J.D. as a real partner. This means that when his son is kidnapped, Mackey cannot stay detached.

Neither can the team, of course, we’ve established the familial bond they’ve quickly formed. It’s why they let J.D. take the hostage (though of course, the decision comes down to Mackey) and why Evie and DeShawn get on a car to try to tail him. It’s why Blue and Rosie are there with Mackey, staring at the image of J.D. and his son and hoping it all goes well.

But the thing with Mackey and J.D. is different and special. We haven’t learned enough from them to say this for sure, but it certainly feels like neither of them have really had a partner. They’ve had teams, and coworkers and people they care about – J.D. was married, of course, but neither of them has had the “I will be with you in good and bad and questionable” kind of partner.

And having that is an adjustment. First because it’s hard to believe you really have it, and then because once you get it, even without meaning to, you get used to it. You start to rely on it. And very quickly, it becomes the kind of thing you cannot live without. They’re not there yet, but NCIS: Sydney has laid the foundation. With more time, J.D. and Mackey could end up giving us one of the most memorable partnerships in NCIS. Now they just need that second season.

Things I think I think:

• I still believe the show is setting up J.D. and Mackey romantically and not just as co-leads and partners, but it’s doing so very, very well by setting up the co-leads and partners part first.
• They have chemistry to take it romantic, though. A lot of it. It would just have to be a slooooow burn.
• No one has ever complained about a sloooow burn done well, though.
• Clowns are evil. Everyone should know this.
• “You’re an ex-husband, not an ex-father” is A LINE. And the show has a lot to play with in this regard. Need that Season 2, please.
• Look, I got emotional when Mackey tells J.D. “whatever it takes, whatever I have to do, I’m going to get him back.”
• Evie and DeShawn were also a MOOD this hour. And boy, were they in sync.
• This is probably my favorite new show of 2023.
• Am I shocked at the ending with Rankin? Hell nah.

Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS: Sydney 1×08 “Blonde Ambition”? Share with us in the comments below!

NCIS: Sydney aired Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.