NCIS Season 22, Episode 12 ‘Fun and Games’ is a Kasie Hines episode, and an hour about the family you create, the lessons you learn, and how we all have to take control of our own narrative. For Kasie, that meant making the hard choice to do the right thing, not because that’s what this woman she looked up to taught her, but because that’s who Kasie Hines chooses to be every day.
It’s hard when our idols fall from the pedestal, we’ve put them on. It’s gut-wrenching to see them try to take advantage of who you are, who they taught you to be. But that doesn’t mean you should compromise your integrity. Instead, the lesson of this episode, and perhaps the lesson of Kasie Hines, is that when you lose your heroes, you have to become the hero for others. That’s the only way to balance the scales.
THE RULES APPLY TO EVERYONE
In a very fun episode that plays the usual nerds vs ‘cool kids’ games this show likes to play with Torres—even if Torres is really the one missing out here— NCIS Season 22, Episode 12 ‘Fun and Games’ gives Diona Reasonover more to do than this show has given her in a while. And sure, this still isn’t the romantic storyline I was begging to see for Kasie, but it’s at least an episode spent almost outside the lab and a glimpse of who she is outside of work.
And who she is, well… it’s someone who is not only very good at her job but someone with a very defined sense of morality. Someone who might be a little bit of a nerd, yes, but who has a lot of fun being a nerd. Torres might not understand, and there might be a little bit of mockery in the way he relates to Kasie and her friends, but in the end, none of that gets to Kasie because she isn’t asking for Nick’s permission to be who she is. She doesn’t need it.
That’s a very good message for a character like Kasie—and also for a show that has, perhaps, taken this particular joke too far. The hero of this hour isn’t the agent with a gun, it’s the nerd who pays attention to the smallest detail and the one who will not be swayed from doing the right thing, even for someone she looked up to. And that combination is what makes Kasie such a great character—and precisely why episodes like this one need to happen much more often.
SO IS KASIE HINES
The end of NCIS Season 22, Episode 12 ‘Fun and Games’ also reinforces the idea NCIS is built on, that of the team as a family. In one of the few scenes, we’ve gotten of the whole team being literally that, a team, in a while—absolutely everyone shows up at Kasie’s with good at the end of the hour, and if that means they have to help clean, so be it.
Ironically, they all end up there at Nick’s urging. Nick, the one who seems to understand Kasie the least. Nick, the one who spent the entire episode borderline making fun of her. But also Nick, the one who would jump in front of a bullet for Kasie or anyone on this team. Both can be true and honestly, at this point, Parker knows it, McGee knows it, Jimmy knows it, Jessica sure as hell knows it and even Kasie knows it. So, if Torres wanted to stop pretending, that’d be great.
This isn’t the most conventional family, but it is just that, a family. One that comes together in good times, and especially in bad times. One you can take comfort in. And one who will have your back when you need it, whether that is putting away your mentor or cleaning up your house after the literal house party from hell plus the multiple experiments to find out what happened.
And sure, Kasie still ends the hour in a pretty sad place. She lost two friends. You don’t replace friends with other friends, that’s not how it works. But it’s still good to have a safe place, and a group of people who you know you can count on.
Things I think I think:
- Robin, telling Nick things about Jessica’s childhood is a low blow.
- OF COURSE McGee’s book got leaked. Of course. It’s a nice way to show continuity, and also kinda hilarious because he called it.
- I also love how he’s mad because he’s a perfectionist.
- Living for Jessica knowing about hemlock from a book Jimmy got her. She pretends she doesn’t, but she truly matches his freak 100%.
- The Pentagon?!
- Okay Kasie, but have you considered maybe you are a slob?
- And yes, why do you have 3 microwaves? Inquiring minds want to know.
- The interrogations are super funny in this episode, not gonna lie.
- And Jimmy being mad he wasn’t invited to the murder party. He so would have died.
- “You’re so cute sometimes.” There’s Torres and McGee fic, right?
- I love how everyone read McGee’s book. Except Nick, who sometimes is the worst friend. Someone call him out on it!
- “When you introduced me to Ducky you said I was one of the good ones.” I’M NOT CRYING, YOU ARE.
- Jessica and Jimmy had cleaning parties, right? They both seem too happy about cleaning. And Parker just doesn’t have a life.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS Season 22, Episode 12 ‘Fun and Games’? Please share with us in the comments below!
NCIS airs Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.
Here are our last 5 NCIS reviews:
