NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 8 ‘Sick as Our Secrets‘ is indeed a Randy episode, and also another very good hour of this show that does a great deal to advance the storyline the show wants to tell in the past while still managing to inform the man Gibbs will one day become. The balance is, indeed, tricky, but NCIS: Origins has so far not just met the challenge, but exceeded expectations.
Perhaps the character who needed more fleshing out—Randy—gets a chance to shine in this hour, and boy does he. We don’t just mean that because he gets to wrestle a guy while just wearing a tank top, but because we get to see behind the curtain and discover Randy’s pain and in doing so, get to understand him even better.
Every one of these characters has a personal connection to what happened to Gibbs’ family, even if they—of course—were not as affected as Gibbs was. But they all worked the case, they all know it, and in some way, they all understand not just what happened but how hard it is to be in his position. That’s why there’s no better place for Gibbs right now than right here, at NIS. If he was ever going to try to rebuild his life, this is what he needed. Not a fresh start, but people he didn’t need to explain himself to, and people who didn’t see just the broken parts, but who allowed him to show he was more than what happened to him.
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THERE’S ALWAYS FORGIVENESS
NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 8 ‘Sick as Our Secrets’ is about guilt, and about how more often than not, guilt makes absolutely no sense. Randy felt guilty for not “doing his job,” even though there was absolutely no indication Mitchell did anything wrong. So, what would have changed if Randy had been in his place? Randy would be dead; Mitchell would be alive and that’s about it. Gibbs’ family would still be dead. Hernandez would still be in the wind. The end result would still be the same, it would just be another little boy who would be missing his father.
As the priest points out, what Randy has is survivor’s guilt, and it’s all gotta be exacerbated by Gibbs’ presence, by the walking reminder of that case. Not that I think Randy has any issues with Gibbs, if anything, Gibbs being around and finding ways to live is in many ways good for the team, but it’s also inevitably a reminder of the one case they failed to solve, of the one witness they failed to protect. That stays with you, especially if you really care.
NCIS: Origins as a show is, of course, only interested in showing you the good guys. These types of shows always are—even if we know law enforcement has a lot of not-so-good guys. We see Vera being recognized for trying to make a change in this very same episode. But this hour is very good at not just showing Randy as a stereotypical “good guy,” but showing him as a human with flaws. That helps the narrative—and it helps the show.
MORE: Do you want a complete list of Gibbs’ rules? We got on for you!
LALA DOMINGUEZ
Lala is one of the hardest characters to figure out in NCIS: Origins because there’s a part of her that wants to be good at her job because she wants more—we all want that promotion, more money, respect, and then there’s a part of her that seems somewhat pleased with Franks’ respect, with his belief that she belongs in the field with him. That’s the same side of Lala that seems to gravitate towards Gibbs, the most broken member of the unit by far. And it’s not that she’s trying to fix him per se, but it is very much like she’s looking at his broken parts and going “So what”?
How that ends up playing out going forward is anybody’s guess, but it is a different dynamic, and different dynamics are always interesting. And considering that the show already teased her importance not just to the story, but to Gibbs’ life, we imagine she will become more than just the person he casually entrusts important information to. Again, that doesn’t necessarily have to turn romantic, and if it does, it’s unlikely it will do so yet. But it can be hugely important nonetheless and it can help give us a very important context for who Leroy Jethro Gibbs will one day become. And—hopefully, who these other characters are outside of him.
Things I think I think:
- “Some people are born knowing how to hide things away.”
- Randy?
- RULE NUMBER FOUR?! Gibbs rules coming back?!
- Verbatim, too.
- “The best way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself. The second best is to tell one other person — if you must. There is no third best.”
- Okay, the part about the guy next to you doing the exact same thing hurt me, because it’s so true.
- So nice to see Lala’s sister.
- “Kicking ass without mom, and in spite of dad.”
- THE CASUAL SPANISH.
- Truly love the Gibbs and Randy pairing.
- I feel like we haven’t talked enough about the agent that died with Gibbs’ family.
- Okay Franks, I’m gonna need a why to the Lala thing.
- “We have a baby. Sleeping is not really his thing.”
- I am a Catholic, I get confession. But this person has already killed two people!
- Okay, we’re gonna take 20 seconds to think about how hot Randy looked in that scene with the tank top and then we’re not going to objectify.
- “We’re all entitled to our own opinions.” LOL
- Aww, he wrote a letter to Mitchell’s family. Gibbs, baby.
- Also, him telling Lala and no one else? Okay, I see you.
- Okay, okay. I get it now, Randy. I get it. It’s not even as much about Gibbs, it’s about Mitchell.
- “I think I didn’t do my job.”
- SOMEONE HUG RANDY. And then Gibbs.
- The moment when Randy laughed at the priest’s confession? Priceless.
- “There’s always forgiveness and no one to blame.” I always like this image of God more than, you know, Old Testament God.
- I guess what they’re getting at is that, in his own way, Franks thinks Lala is too good to be a suit.
- “If I could go back, I’d spend less time hiding.”
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 8 ‘Sick as Our Secrets’? Share with us in the comments below!
NCIS: Origins airs on Mondays at 10/9c on CBS.
Here are our NCIS: Origins reviews:
