NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 12 ‘The Gambler’ is another outstanding hour for a show that has made high-quality entertainment a staple. It would have been very easy to dismiss NCIS: Origins as the kind of show that only hardcore fans will understand or enjoy. And, even for the team behind it, it might have been simple to just…make a decent show, knowing that those fans would indeed tune in.
Instead, NCIS: Origins has continued to deliver not just good, but great episodes hour after hour. Episodes that touch us. Episodes that make us care about every single one of these characters. Episodes that feel much bigger than Gibbs—even if this is still a “young Gibbs” show. And this hour, centered on Mary Jo, is no exception.
A lot of people deserve credit for the things I’ve just laid out. This isn’t the job of one person or even ten. It’s a team effort. But in this hour, no one deserves more credit than Tyla Abercrumbie, who has taken Mary Jo from “just a secretary” at a time when, perhaps, someone like her would not be really respected and appreciated and elevated her into a deeply relatable character, one everyone loves—on screen and off.
MORE: What did Tyla Abercrumbie tell us about Mary Jo?
THE PERFECT NEXT STEP FOR MARY JO
Last time we got a Mary Jo-centric episode, I cried. Like, really cried. Learning her backstory was beautiful and cathartic and also really, really sad. Because Mary Jo was deprived of something she really wanted, the chance to be a mother. And that changed her. In many ways, it broke her. It didn’t help her marriage. And as we faced another Mary Jo episode, I admit I hoped we would not go back there.
Because yes, those experiences shaped Mary Jo. That pain remains. But Mary Jo and other women like her are so much more than their losses. So much more than the desires they could never fulfill. And this hour allows Mary Jo to be just that. Not merely the secretary, the one holding this NIS office together, or even the one Cliff, Mike, and basically everyone else from Gail to Lala depends on… but a woman.
There’s something liberating about storytelling that never gets stuck on one side of a character, and allows actors to grow and shape these people they share with us week in and week out. The story we got is a storytelling win, yes. But Abercrumbie is the one giving us stoic when she needs to, the one being loving and yet firm with Dalton Basement, and the one who cannot help but be incredibly touched when Cliff comes through and manages to make sure she isn’t transferred.
And it’s a pleasure to watch.
MORE: Here’s how to watch every NCIS show in order!
THIS IS YOUR CASE TOO
The team spends a fair amount of time during ‘The Gambler’ making sure Mary Jo understands that this is her case, too. From Cliff to Mike, without forgetting everyone from Gail and Nadia to Gibbs, Lala, and Randy… and of course, Dalton Basement, everyone’s got Mary Jo’s back in whatever way they can. And though there’s a little bit of a feeling of ‘you don’t know what you got until it’s gone’, or until you think you might lose it at least, it’s still very nice to see.
Sometimes we don’t say the things we should say when we should say them. We aren’t always the best at telling people who matter that they matter, and how much they matter. Mary Jo matters. To the NIS office, yes. To the work they do. But also, to all of these people individually. And not just as the woman who makes their lives easier, but as someone they care about. Someone who is part of the team.
Funny how NCIS: Origins has done such a good job at showing us why Gibbs was the perfect choice to make a team that was family in the original NCIS. He already had that before.
MORE: Want a complete list of Gibbs’ rules? We’ve got one!
Things I Think I Think:
- Dalton Basement has a last name! We’re still all calling him Dalton Basement, let’s not even lie.
- “The person who got the brunt of it was Mary Jo.”
- “She took the time to wonder why he was the way he was.”
- I mean, I didn’t clock Dalton having a crush, but smart man, because… yes.
- Honestly, you go, Mary Jo.
- What do you mean you lose track of time and space in the shower, Randy?
- “You had Dominguez worried sick.” Yeah, don’t try to deny it, Lala.
- Lala seeing through Mary Jo is cute.
- Procedural 101: All interoffice relationships must be disclosed. I’ve seen this film before.
- Man, I didn’t miss this regional director dude.
- “Anything inappropriate I may or may not have done.”
- Fun times! Not.
- Don’t you dare take Mary Jo.
- She obviously doesn’t want to go.
- Franks being all like “you ain’t letting my Mary Jo walk out that door” was kind funny.
- And the team trying to come up with a way to stall? Perfect.
- I kinda get Mary Jo wanting to keep a secret, but that means they can never be fully together.
- When you get Franks and Lala on the field together, you can tell he really does respect her.
- Dalton defending Mary Jo was kinda hot.
- “If a woman cries at work, it takes her 2-5 years to recover from the backlash.” Funny (not) how this is still kinda true.
- Everyone was gonna cry about Mary Jo possibly leaving!
- Franks, you sofite.
- “It’s been an honor.”
- You go, Cliff. You go.
- I’m glad she at least told the team about Dalton, truly.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 12 ‘The Gambler’ 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.
