NCIS 21×07 Advanced Review: “A Thousand Yards”

NCIS 21×07 “A Thousand Yards” is a fitting tribute to a thousand episodes, and it’s also just another episode of NCIS, another hour for this franchise. It had to be just that if it was going to be a proper tribute. You can’t get too stuck in the past that you forget the now, after all. Sure, the stakes are a little higher, and the case feels a little bigger – prompting some fun cameos, including the already announced ones by Vanessa Lachey and Daniela Ruah, but all in all, this is very much an NCIS hour.

What does that mean? It means the hour has some nods to its history, but that it also remembers the bonds between the characters that are around now. And yet, the hour still has time for some interesting promises for the future of a franchise that feels more alive than it has ever been.

Keeping all of that in mind, here are some teases about the 100^th episode of the NCISverse, NCIS 21×07 “A Thousand Yards”:

• Talk about an episode that managed to make me feel a combination of old, emotional, and excited about the future of a franchise that’s been around for over twenty years.
• I might be biased, but there’s a little NCIS: Los Angeles tidbit I cannot stop thinking about. And it wasn’t even said on-screen, it was just something eagle-eyed fans will surely notice.
• Look, some questions raised by what was said, what was implied, and what wasn’t said in this episode need to be answered this season, either on NCIS or probably on NCIS: Hawai’i. Not should. Need to.
• As much credit Gary Cole gets for stepping into the almost impossible shoes of team leader post Gibbs and not trying to be Gibbs, but still creating a memorable character we actually like, it’s not enough.
• It seems almost obvious considering this is an episode about the NCISverse in general, but the emotional center of this hour is very much Leon Vance.
• Katrina Law and Wilmer Valderrama have such good siblings-like chemistry.
• Most emotional moment in the hour? Might be a tiny moment between McGee and Vance.
• This show is so good at doing stand-alone type episodes that still pay homage to the past. You don’t need to have watched 21 seasons to appreciate this hour. You don’t need to have watched all 1,000 episodes. But if you have, there are some tiny nods and specific interactions that are meant for you.
• McGee and Jimmy get to play a little bit of “remember when,” and it’s fun to actually get to see them do that.
• Everyone needs a Kassie Hines.
• The opening scene and the end scene come straight for the heart.
• Let’s be honest, the NCISverse has three or four more spinoffs that could be greenlit today. 👀

Are you excited for NCIS 21×07 “A Thousand Yards”? Share with us in the comments below!

NCIS airs Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.