NCIS Season 22, Episode 16 ‘Ladies’ Night’ is a relatively tame and entertaining hour, one that provides a decent amount of character development without doing too much for the overarching plot of the show. It works, overall, because on a long season, episodes like this are needed and particularly because we get way too little focus on Kasie in general, much less of Kasie and Jessica, in this case with Robin.
But it is a little baffling that the episode seems to either put an end, or at least, throw a substantial wrench at the very new relationship between Robin and Nick Torres, considering how hard it has been to find a romantic connection with Torres that feels like it has any potential to last. If NCIS has had issues with anything ever since Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David walked out of our screens, it has been sustaining a romantic relationship that fans have been able to invest in as much as they invested in those two.
where’s the romance?
For a while, there was a Jimmy and Jessica, and that worked pretty well, but NCIS has not just backed away from it; it has shown very little interest in fully investing in it again. Sure, there are hints, and if I had to guess, I’d say this is still the show’s endgame idea for these two, but they’ve really gone most of a season without taking any concrete steps into putting them back together.
Torres hasn’t had a real love interest since Bishop left, and now, after giving him one that finally seemed like it could work, they’re pulling the plug so soon? Kasie—the only queer character on this show, hasn’t had a real love interest in ages. Parker’s love life is basically nonexistent. McGee has been married to the same woman for ages, and we barely get to see her. And sure, this isn’t a romance show, but procedurals feed off romance, and NCIS knows this. They are, after all, making an entire new spinoff based on Tiva because of their popularity.
Of all these couples, the most important one is, of course, the one featuring two main characters—aka Jessica and Jimmy, and the show knows that. So, it would be good if they started putting the pieces of the puzzle back together there.
balance
The other big talking point during NCIS Season 22, Episode 16 ‘Ladies’ Night’ was about work/life balance, and it ironically ties into the earlier point about how in many ways, it feels like all the relationships involving people outside of the little bubble these characters exist in are often doomed to fail. Who else is going to understand the wild situations and often wild hours involved in what these people do?
And yet, even the Robin of it all was a little forced. It’s not like Jessica joined NCIS yesterday. It’s not like she didn’t have her dad’s experience beforehand. She shouldn’t have needed to start dating Nick and then get involved in this case to get the ‘full picture’ and yet somehow we’re supposed to believe she did, and that she and Nick somehow never discussed something as important as his job until now? It’s just truly not adding up. And just, from a storytelling perspective, why even make Robin and Nick a thing if it’s not going to work out? Make it make sense for me, please.
Things I think I think
- McGee and Torres not liking the same kind of action movies fully tracks.
- Look, normally I’d say rebound with the hot firefighter and all, but also who just asks someone out in the middle of a scene like that?
- Kasie, girl, you looked GOOD.
- It is a secret, Jimmy. Read the room.
- Oh, so you did give the hot firefighter your number. And the hot firefighter is in the firefighter calendar.
- Kasie, you are too hot to be this single. Too hot and too smart.
- Torres, you’re too easy to read. All McGee had to do was challenge you.
- ‘I just signed up to date Nick, not NCIS.’
- But did you?
- It is kind of a package deal, Robin.
- Kinda hilarious how Nick was more concerned about their footwear than anything else they did or could have done.
- Jimmy’s face at finding everyone still around.
- Ofc it was the fireman. Too hot.
- What do you mean it would be a crime to get in his way?
- What do you mean you would get in his way?
- Just don’t.
- So Vance is a secret gamer?
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS Season 22, Episode 16 ‘Ladies’ Night’? Please share with us in the comments below! And if you have any thoughts about the show, leave a review/rating of your own in our NCIS hub!
NCIS airs Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.
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Unpopular opinion, but romance on shows like this tends to lead to fandoms getting divided and leads to too much drama. Which is why I don’t stay with shows like only for the chance of ships.
And I get that there were definitely cryptic Ellick references, but come on. If she was coming back, we would’ve heard about it by now! (and unpopular opinion number 2: It’s better off that she stays gone, keeps all that drama from returning.).
And personally, I was more focussed on the new NCIS LA news coming up on Origins then this filler episode. (whicb I already wasn’t inttterested in because there’s far more interesting things coming up then to focus on filler!)