NCIS Season 23, Episode 9 ‘Heaven and Nature’ delivers closure for Parker and the kind of cliffhanger we dreamed of and never really thought we’d get. Is that really Ellie Bishop? What exactly is Knight’s mission? And how does this closure about his mom change Parker?
It’s a very good episode and a truly effective mid-season finale, one that leaves us desperate for more just as the show takes a very long break. Because there’s no way this doesn’t change who Parker is. Just as there’s no way whatever is coming with Bishop doesn’t change Nick, and whatever Jessica has to do doesn’t change her relationship with her friend—and likely, even what she wants for her own life, too.
Just one episode ago, we were wondering if the show was teasing a possible romance between Nick and Jessica. Now, it seems obvious that, just as I said last week, they weren’t. Big picture, they were just teasing the importance of that relationship and how it could change, considering what might happen next.
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CLOSURE
What this episode provides Parker is not just closure, it’s peace. Because it’s one thing to know what happened, even if it’s bad, it’s a very different one to know your mother never left. That she always loved you, that she always wanted you and that she was just trying to help someone and got killed for it. That the best parts of you are things you got from her, and that she would be proud of you. Not just that, that you can be proud of her. That is something Parker hasn’t had, and something that will undoubtedly change not just the way he sees life but also the way he sees himself.
Because for the longest time, Parker has seen himself as someone people leave. Someone worth leaving. But he isn’t. He never was. He’s someone staying for. He’s someone who helps, and someone who comes from a family of people who go out of their way to help. And that, combined with the way his final days reframed his relationship with his father, the father who always loved him even if he never really knew how to express it… well, who is Parker with this new information he now has? Particularly considering his new close relationship with his sister? It’ll be interesting to find out.
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AN OPEN WOUND
One person who never had closure is Nick Torres. Ellie Bishop left, and that was a gaping wound for Torres. He’s tried to move on. He’s tried to pretend that things are fine, that he’s fine. But he hasn’t really been good since then. That much has been clear. He hasn’t moved on. And sure, he’s kept on living. He’s carried on. But the lack of closure has weighed as heavily on him as it has on Parker.
Now Bishop is back, and what… she’s there, but Knight has Bishop as her target? Does that mean Bishop’s undercover op is done? Did something happen to Odette Malone? Will this somehow tie back to Ziva David? Can this result in Bishop returning to the team for good, or is this just closure for Torres—just like it was for Parker? Because it was really hard for him to move on with the ghost of Bishop hanging over him. But then there’s also the fact that he and Jessica, for one, have never had any romantic spark. So, who would he be moving on with in the first place?
Either way, the fact that we have over two months of hiatus to think about it makes this decision one of the best cliffhangers NCIS has done in quite a while. The Parker parts of the episode were already very emotional and effective—to tee up the second part of the season with the Ellie Bishop? We’ll give it to you, NCIS. We hoped something like this was coming, and yet we still didn’t actually see it coming. A+ episode, would watch again.
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Things I think I think:
- The Elite thing feels like a long buildup, and it was either Hetty or Bishop, and I didn’t think it was Hetty because that would require Callen, and Chris O’Donnell was a little busy with 9-1-1: Nashville.
- Standard grief talk actually helps sometimes, what can I say?
- “I’m a pretty long way from okay.”
- Lol, “if the Grinch stole Christmas, we’re gonna have to steal it back.”
- I’m actually so glad Parker is getting this closure.
- Santa Torres!
- I actually kinda love that Torres was so up for it. I don’t know if I would have called that.
- Look, it’s kinda funny that people so readily ship Jessica with Parker and Nick just because she’s a good friend to both, when the show has clearly only written her in romantic situations with Jimmy. Men and women can be friends!
- The scream I let out at Bishop, truly.
- “Details to follow.”
- This is a cruel cliffhanger. Cruel.
- I love it.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS Season 23, Episode 9 ‘Heaven and Nature’? 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 8/7c on CBS.
Interesting. A massive abrupt loose thread that began the same year that we last saw Hetty is being brought back. Who knew that was actually possible?! ‘sarcasm’.
Anyhoo, the episode and it’s twists were great.
JUST SAYING, THERE’S STILL HOPE.
First, Sam Hana becomes part of NCIS Elite. Now, Knight. Are they floating a trial ballon here? It was a damn good episode and great cliffhanger.
O M G, Bishop!!! What an episode, killer cliffhanger, aaagggghhhh!