NCIS: Origins Season 3, Episode 7 ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ is a very emotional episode about Cliff Wheeler, and about the things we do because we want to, and the things we do because we believe they are expected of us. For Wheeler, his entire life has been about trying to live up to those expectations, and as a result, he’s never actually been himself. He’s never been free.
That was the case with many gay men in the 90s. Wheeler isn’t the exception, as we see in this episode. In fact, he’s pretty much the rule. Even today, coming out is hard. But over 35 years ago? It was unthinkable, particularly for someone in a position of power in the military. But even within a framework that doesn’t—won’t change—for many years, Wheeler finds something in this episode he probably didn’t expect: acceptance, and support.
Is that enough? Of course it’s not. But it is the first step for someone who never thought he’d get even that. Someone who wasn’t even content to live in the closet, but was tormented by the idea that he wanted someone he definitely should not want. And though considering what he does at the end, it’s hard to say Wheeler has made his peace with who he is, it at least feels like he’s made peace with someone else knowing.
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IT MATTERED
Franks gives pretty good advice in this episode, advice Wheeler probably takes the other way as he tries to sabotage his relationship with Oakley by recommending him for a position in Washington. We don’t find out in this episode if Oakley took the bait. He has never seemed as ashamed of what he feels for Wheeler as Cliff himself is. But, perhaps, he expected that after the divorce, he would see more of Wheeler, and to have him give up now might just be the thing that pushes him away.
But Wheeler’s tears at the end of this episode are not just about Oakley, or about that relationship. They’re not about his wife and the end of his marriage, or the loss of his fallback excuse. No, instead they’re about something bigger. They’re about being seen and accepted for who he is, for the first time.
Mary Jo gives Wheeler the kind of gift he never expected to get. Not because she promises to keep his secrets, but because she proves this hour that she doesn’t judge him for being gay. She doesn’t even see him differently. And, as much as that feels like the norm in 2025, it really wasn’t so in the early 90s.
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DIANE & LALA
‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ makes it clear that whatever we think about Diane, there’s real affection between her and Gibbs. In a way, we knew that had to be the case, considering what we knew about the character from NCIS. And yet, in many ways, Diane still feels like a detour. Either from something that won’t happen, or from something that won’t last. This is, after all, not a story about her. She isn’t the one Gibbs is thinking about as an old man.
That’s Lala. But why? Perhaps, if she’d actually died at the end of Season 1, that would feel like the answer. Love and loss and all of that. But Gibbs has experienced that before, with his wife and daughter. It makes more sense that Lala is important for something she will still do. Something we have yet to see. And what does that mean for Diane? Well, it means that as much as Gibbs might actually like her, she isn’t actually all that crucial to the story this show is telling.
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Things I think I think:
- “He spent a lot of time alone.”
- “He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who liked being alone.”
- Look, I can’t blame the wife for leaving.
- I know the show has made it obvious, but I think we have to assume Gibbs does actually, really, truly like Diane.
- Vera’s hair! I kinda dig it.
- If I were Lala, I’d be upset.
- Randy gossiping with Gibbs is my favorite thing.
- Mike stepping in to do physical work for Lala is kinda nice, even if she doesn’t need it. Man ain’t good at showing he cares.
- And him seeing through her about the Vera thing, too.
- Junie made a dress for Diane?!
- “Women stuff, probie. There ain’t no right answer.”
- Wheeler does need a minute.
- Look, they might not be in the room, but this is basically Gibbs interrogating someone.
- “People will ask questions. What do I say?”
- She’s right, it’s not her problem anymore.
- Vera, pay attention to Mary Jo!
- Lala saying: “we don’t say lady marine”
- “Even though it was over, it mattered.”
- Mike, that’s actually comforting!
- You’re gonna report him!?
- “I know about you, Cliff, and I’m not gonna let you do this.”
- Unsolicited advice, wow. That hurt.
- Aw, he changed his mind.
- Lala and Vera, my heart.
- Well, Gibbs showed Diane the boat.
- “Things are simpler when you’re alone.”
- Well, the pushing people away thing runs in the team.
- “Nothing about you is insignificant.”
- I will cry.
- The way he broke down with Mary Jo when she said she’d keep his secret.
- “I learned to like being alone, or at least that’s the thing I tell myself.”
- What do you mean until someone shows up to share a steak by the fire?!
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 7 ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’? Share with us in the comments below! And if you have any thoughts about the show, share them with us in our NCIS: Origins hub!
NCIS: Origins airs on Tuesdays at 9/8c on CBS.
