It’s funny because just before this show went on a break, I remember writing in my review that, as much as I’d been enjoying the show, I needed them to pick up the pace. NCIS: Sydney Season 3, Episode 11 ‘Berthed’ does just that, and it does so while also doing a tremendous job of setting up further relationship developments. I’m sorry I doubted you, NCIS: Sydney. You haven’t failed me yet.
On the surface, the things that move forward—outside of the implications of that last scene—are not that big. But in reality, a lot is happening here. There’s Mackey opening up to JD. There’s JD pushing, gently, not just because he cares about Mackey, but because he wants to know more about her. But it’s not just that, it’s also DeShawn putting into words, if not what his feelings for Evie are, at least the fact that their partnership means a lot to him.
Feels like breadcrumbs, but they are just the breadcrumbs we needed to know that we’re in safe hands. There’s a plan here. And we cannot wait to see it come to fruition.
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MACKEY AND JD
We gotta start here, not just because Mackey and JD are technically the leads, but because their relationship has always been more on the nose. If we had to guess which ship this show will commit to first, our bets were always going to be on these two.
They’ve just gotten so much more development. At this point, it’s been established not just that they’re partners, but that they’re friends. They trust each other. They rely on each other. And it’s not just on the job, either. Mackey knows more about JD than Evie, who has worked with him for longer. JD knows more about Mackey than DeShawn, and he knew her before.
In this episode, we see a bit of that dynamic as Mackey is faced with a woman in the position she once was. And what she gets from JD is just… understanding. Support. Admiration, even. For what she accomplished. For how hard it must have been for her. For the fact that she made it through and became the amazing woman he knows.
Clearly, Mackey still carries some guilt about the way things transpired, the decisions she made. But JD doesn’t see it that way. He doesn’t see her perceived failures. Instead, he sees someone he admires. Someone he respects. Someone he, perhaps, even loves. And he can’t stop looking.
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EVIE AND DESHAWN
Obviously, Evie and DeShawn are nowhere near where Mackey and JD are, but this episode proves that they are going somewhere, nonetheless. I’d expect the show to commit to Mackey and JD first, because they’re just so much farther along, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t happening. It is, and if you had any doubts, this episode proves it.
There’s no reason for DeShawn to ask to go to the IVF clinic with Trigger, other than to try to warn Trigger to treat Evie right. He’s also, of course, trying to get information out of Trigger, who is not giving him anything. So yes, DeShawn is jealous, and he’s bothered, but he’s also protective. That’s the most important emotion. He doesn’t like the idea that there’s something going on between Evie and Trigger. But he’ll put up with it if he needs to. He just wants to make sure Evie is okay.
We’ve already seen enough signs that Evie cares much more about DeShawn than she lets on, which is partly why she acts like a middle schooler around him and why she can never actually put her feelings into words. And though we have no confirmation that anything happened between her and Trigger, that doesn’t really matter either. That storyline is only happening to push this ship forward. To make the two of them put into words feelings that have only come out when one of them is in danger.
They’re not there yet, but they’re taking steps forward. That’s all we need right now.
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Things I think I think
- I cannot even picture Mackey bowling.
- D is trying to save you, Evie!
- Their dynamic is truly giving early days Densi.
- D’s response to the idea of Evie and Trigger is hilarious.
- “Can’t bring a kid on a destroyer, Jim.”
- Love when she calls him Jim.
- The way he gets that she’s talking from personal experience and recalculates.
- “What choice you got? It’s the hand you’ve been dealt, you work it out.”
- The Mackey-JD silent communication is communicating.
- DeShawn, we see it. You’re jealous.
- “Despite appearances, she’s got my back. And I got hers.”
- JD being so soft with Mackey is one of my favorite things. So much of their relationship is banter, but they can switch very easily into a more serious type of conversation when needed.
- Also loved how he knows when to stay behind and let her handle things.
- The way I almost jumped when those masked men were coming up on Blue.
- Trigger! I’ve never liked you more.
- Quick thinking on Blue’s part, I don’t know if I would have dared.
- Oh, so they took Mackey’s picture?
- You better say something now, Mackey.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS: Sydney Season 3, Episode 11 ‘Berthed’? Share with us in the comments below! And if you have your own opinion on the show, leave a review/rating on our NCIS: Sydney hub!
NCIS: Sydney airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on CBS.
