NCIS Season 22 Episode 4 ‘Sticks & Stones’ is the best episode of the young season so far, and the kind of episode NCIS has excelled at for over two decades: a high stakes, team-centric hour. It’s also a great episode for Jessica Knight and Jimmy Palmer’s relationship, even if we don’t get the resolution we would have wanted for their relationship.
Above all, the hour establishes what a great choice Gary Cole’s Aiden Parker was to lead this team after the departure of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Another show would have gone for a Gibbs copycat, but Gibbs could not be replaced, so the show had to go another way. That the way they chose – the character they picked to fill those shoes – is not just as good a character as he is, but works as well within this team as Gibbs ever did, is a testament not just to Cole, but to show that has reinvented itself quite a few times after big cast departures and has never, ever missed.
So, let us go into the ship stuff, the team stuff, and Parker as we discuss NCIS Season 22, Episode 4 ‘Sticks & Stones’:
MORE: What did we think of NCIS Season 22, Episode 1? What about NCIS Season 22, Episode 2? And NCIS Season 22, Episode 3?
WOULDN’T IT BE NICE IF THAT WERE ENOUGH
We knew NCIS Season 22, Episode 4 ‘Sticks & Stones’ was going to be a big episode for Knight In Shining Palmer, and it was …but things did not go the way we wanted them to. Instead, they went the way they probably would go in real life. The way that makes sense. And…that’s a very hard pill to swallow right now.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand the two of them not jumping back into a relationship, because the underlying issues haven’t been solved – or at least, they’re not ready to admit that things have changed enough that the relationship would be worth another go. I have a feeling that’s, in a way, what the show is setting up. Jessica understanding that family might be more important than a possible job that won’t ever make her as happy as being with Jimmy did and Jimmy understanding that he is allowed to want things and to hold onto them. To ask for things from the person he’s in a relationship with.
But despite mutual assurances of the love they still feel for each other, Jessica and Jimmy aren’t there yet. And honestly, they might never get there if they don’t do the work they need to do internally. Ignoring the issues brought them nothing but pain. And there’s something to be said about working on these things for yourself, not just to try to fix a relationship. But they still have to be actively working on them. This cannot be a thing they said no to because they both have things to work out and then have them not work on the things.
So, basically, what I’m saying is …I can live with this storyline if the show is really going somewhere with it and not just shelving Jessica and Jimmy without giving them a chance to become the people they need to be to get back together. Considering this is a procedural and Jessica and Jimmy are the main ship of NCIS, I believe there’s a plan. I would just like to see some movement here sooner rather than later.
MORE: Is NCIS: Origins worth the watch? Here’s our spoiler-free NCIS: Origins review!
WE TAKE OUR AGENCY BACK
NCIS Season 22, Episode 4 ‘Sticks & Stones’ was somehow both a team episode, an episode about Jessica and Jimmy’s relationship, and a Parker episode. But it was especially a Parker episode because the hour showcased how good he is not just at his job, but at being the leader of this particular team of people – and how much they all trust him.
Parker wasn’t the obvious successor to Gibbs. In fact, when Gary Cole came in after Gibbs left, there was a little bit of disconnect. He wasn’t at all like Gibbs and we were very used to the Gibbs way. In a way, it’s like Gibbs brought us up and then Parker came in to be the stepdad and no one was really sure how that would work out. However, three seasons later, it feels like this is very much Parker’s team. No one questions it, not even McGee, who was there for most of Gibbs’ run.
It works because Parker is firm in a different way from Gibbs, he’s gentle in a different way from Gibbs, and because the dynamics have never been the same. We’re never comparing the two in our heads. One era of NCIS ended, and the next one began and that’s fine. Both can be good. We can like Parker’s relationship with McGee, his banter with Torres, and the way he relates to Jessica without meaning that we didn’t enjoy Gibbs and Tony, or Gibbs and Ziva.
This episode was take-charge Parker and leader Parker. The season promises to give us more backstory on the emotional part of Parker. Considering how much we already like him, that can only make the character better.
MORE: If you need a reminder of Gibbs’ rules, here they are!
THERE’S NO ‘I’ IN TEAM
But perhaps the most important thing about NCIS Season 22, Episode 4 ‘Sticks & Stones’ was how well the team got things done, even when they weren’t together. Every part of this ensemble works well within the context of what the show needs them to do. Not just that, you can also separate them into almost any configuration of two or three people, and the dynamics will work.
That’s a rare thing on TV in general, and even in procedurals and it’s part of the backbone of this franchise. It allows them to do so many different things because they don’t have to go out of their way to make sure Jessica has scenes with Torres or the episode doesn’t work, or that Parker and McGee are paired up. Instead, the show can pick and choose whatever each storyline needs and use the characters best suited for each moment.
We’re only four episodes into this season, and the good news is that there’s a lot of narrative left. We’re not almost halfway, as it happened last year. This year, every story will have room to develop. And hopefully, that’ll result in the characters and relationships getting much richer, because we get to explore them in new ways. Personally, I can’t wait.
MORE: There’s another NCIS you should be watching! Get caught up with all our NCIS: Sydney coverage here!
Things I think I think:
- Hilarious how we don’t know what’s happening at the beginning, but Parker’s face says it all.
- “Do not pass go, do not collect 200.”
- Casual, it’s just WWIII!
- “I was at an all-night D&D session.” Likely place for Kasie to be.
- Well, fun to see how much politicians care about the people on the ground doing the work.
- “Can you please play 3D chess for once?” HE IS.
- “You weren’t snoring so I got worried” is so couple-coded.
- This dude who thinks Naples is in Florida is giving one particular politician whose name I won’t mention.
- CURTIS WROTE THE CODE?
- I’m not gonna lie, I love Curtis.
- “Am I pro-nuke?”
- Parker’s firm “no” was extremely attractive.
- And McGee being like yeah, I’m not gonna do that? SAME.
- “I’m not required to follow an order I feel is illegal.”
- Man, I love Parker.
- Jessica and Jimmy are so awkward together these days, it hurts me.
- Parker and McGee in that elevator was A+.
- I ALSO love Curtis.
- “We take our agency back.”
- “Someone loyal to the mutiny,” followed by “Don’t insult me.” And Kasie. I just love this team, okay?
- How did I get a love confession from both and it still feels like Jessica and Jimmy are farther apart than they’ve ever been?
- Vance coming in just for the gotcha moment, gotta love Vance.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS Season 22, Episode 4 ‘Sticks & Stones’? Share with us in the comments below!
NCIS airs Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.
LOVE the team dynamic with Parker! Anxious to learn who Lily is to Parker. Do you have any guesses on who was in bed with Parker in the opening scene? There definitely looks to be someone next to him. 🙂