NCIS: Tony & Ziva has so far been very much about Tony and Ziva and about their relationship—what it was, what it can be. But NCIS: Tony & Ziva Episode 6 “We’ve Got Company” brings the final piece of the puzzle into the forefront: Tali. Because the thing about Tony and Ziva is that they’re no longer just Tony and Ziva. There’s no way to fix their relationship, their family, that doesn’t involve Tali.
That doesn’t involve dealing with their parenting baggage as much as their relationship baggage.
But this episode is also about Tali as a perfect representation of the best parts of Tony and Ziva. Sophie is amazing in this hour, a total badass, and Claudette literally saves the day by getting there when her girlfriend needed help (yay!), but Tali is the reason Tony, Ziva, and Claudette even have a chance to save anyone.
MORE: Check out our previous reviews! Here’s Episodes 1-3, here’s Episode 4, and here’s Episode 5.
MY DAUGHTER (OUR DAUGHTER)
Isla Gie’s Tali is not just Tony’s daughter, though she is—irreverent, funny, and a bit of a know-it-all. She’s also Ziva’s daughter, resourceful, kind-hearted, and infinitely strong. And though this life, the life Tony and Ziva have led, is not the life they want for their daughter, this episode makes one thing clear: they can’t decide what Tali will do with her life. That’s gotta be Tali’s decision. And maybe she won’t be in her mother and father’s line of work, but we can’t deny that she’d probably be good at it.
This hour sees her, in many ways, flourish before our eyes. And sure, she’s a kid who doesn’t always take things as seriously as she should, but that part is also kind of refreshing. We don’t want a little robot spy, and Tony and Ziva have certainly not raised her to be that. She’s not Ziva at that age, and she’s not Tony at that age either. She’s her own person, and she carries parts of both of her parents in her.
In a flashback, we see Tony and Ziva argue about just this, with Tony wanting to be better than his father, than Ziva’s father. “Why would we want her to be anything like me?” Ziva asks in that very same argument, and it’s not what Tony meant, but it is. He doesn’t want her to have to be Ziva, because he would never wish the life Ziva had on someone else he loves. But of course, he doesn’t explain that very well, and Ziva doesn’t interpret it the best way because that is who they are. People who don’t communicate very well.
But despite them and because of them (both can be true), Tali is still the kind of kid who can help get herself out of trouble, and the type of kid who is still a kid, nice, trusting, and unwilling to leave anyone behind.
MORE: Are NCIS and NCIS: Tony & Ziva crossing over?
OHANA MEANS FAMILY
I kinda remember this being a quote from Lilo & Stitch, but we’ll forgive Tony for trying to give his daughter something he never had—reassurance, and a good image of her grandfather while he’s at it. But Tali takes it to heart. In many ways, this episode is about how Tali is Ziva’s daughter, but in this, she’s Tony’s. And that means she understands that family isn’t just blood. Family is what you build, and Sophie is family. So, Tali isn’t leaving her behind. Even if that means putting herself at risk.
“You can get yourself out of anything if you put your mind to it,” Ziva told her daughter, and like any good offspring of Tony and Ziva, that’s what Tali does. She doesn’t save the day because she’s a kid, and in this, the show actually sticks close to reality. But she gives Sophie a chance to do her part (and what a badass she proves to be, which should actually not surprise anyone), and Claudette a chance to arrive at the perfect time.
Also, how hilarious is it that Tali saw through that relationship? Imagine what she’s going to have to say about her parents. I cannot wait.
But the family aspect of this episode cannot be underscored, particularly for two people like Tony and Ziva who have had a family they’ve built before, but who’ve had very bad luck with the blood family of it all. Now, they’re trying to build something different with Tali. They’re trying to prove the two can come together to make up one word: family. And that feels like a very big step for both of them.
MORE: The NCIS: Tony & Ziva spinoff was shot in Budapest
NO ONE’S SAFE WITH US
In the middle of fearing for Tali and the shock and pain of Henry’s death, there’s a lot of growth for both Tony and Ziva in this episode. For Ziva, because she admits her jealousy of Henry always played a role in the way she saw him. Because it was easier for him, because he was there when she couldn’t be, and because things between him and Tony were just so effortless. Ziva wanted that. She’s always wanted those easy relationships.
But when you carry the baggage Ziva does, things are just… harder. “You have this ability to trust,” she tells Tony. And she doesn’t. For her, it takes time and effort. That doesn’t mean they can’t be a couple. That doesn’t mean she can’t get there. Ziva has put in the work, but she still has to believe she can have the life she wants in order to start putting up the foundation for just that.
And as for Tony, well… the fact that in this hour he shows his true self, no shield, to both Tali and Ziva, is a huge step forward. Because he’s not okay. He doesn’t have to be. Tali sees it right away, immediately deflecting her feelings to worry about her dad (so Tony, too!). But perhaps the most important moment of the hour is that hug between Tony and Ziva, that moment of connection and truth where Tony finally lets go and cries.
Because for the first time in a while, that’s Tony being Tony, not the mask he puts up. And allowing Ziva to see that in the same episode where she gave him the gift of her honesty about something she’d been hiding for years means that, perhaps, these two are finally ready to move forward not just as a family, but as a couple. We (and they) have only been waiting for almost two decades.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think about NCIS: Tony & Ziva Episode 6 “We’ve Got Company”? Share with us in the comments below!
New episodes of NCIS: Tony & Ziva stream on Thursdays on Paramount+.
