NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 17 ‘Rule 13’ does a pretty good job of setting up the finale, as it takes us through the backstory of one of Gibbs rules. But the hour isn’t just about how Gibbs (and Franks, who inspired the rule) hate lawyers. Instead, the hour is about the lessons we take from the ways life knocks us down and how we get back in the ring, or in some cases, choose to throw in the towel.
For Wheeler and for his son, Jason, it’s a nice step forward. Sometimes, we need to find our passion, and as a parent, sometimes it’s just about never giving up. But for Gibbs and, in many ways, for Lala, this is anything but a good thing. It might not be a step back, but it’s at the very least the kind of pause that feels a little frustrating for us, because we’re running out of time.
And yet, isn’t that the tragedy of knowing how this story ends? Or at least, knowing the middle? We were always going to run out of time. The question is, what do we do with every second that we have now?
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SOMETHING BIGGER
We’ve always been kind of living on borrowed time with NCIS: Origins. We know where Gibbs will be in a decade or so, and we know where he’ll be in three. At this point, we have explored enough that we can say we know the beginning of his story pretty well. And we sure know the middle. But we don’t know the end. And we don’t know how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Not yet.
This episode gives us a few clues, though this show is not even close to showing its hand yet. What is Lala to Gibbs? Is she a maybe that never materialized? Is she the love of his life that slipped away from him? Or is there a reason he never mentioned her on NCIS, a reason they haven’t seen each other since, even while she remains out there? We don’t know. But we do know this story, Gibbs’ backstory, is primarily a story about her.
At the end of ‘Rule 13’, we see Gibbs say that he’s done. Presumably, that means not just with relationships, but with love. With trying. But we know he’s not. He’s missing two whole wives from the Gibbs we’ll meet in the mothership. But we also know he’s not done because, even as he says it, he almost goes after Lala. We know he’s done because he clearly cares for her. And as good as Gibbs is at lying to himself, reality always wins out. He said it himself.
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REALITY ALWAYS WON OUT
Pragmatic Gibbs strikes again in this hour, or at least tries to. Because though the man we know, the man he’ll continue to be, can be described by that word, there’s another side of Gibbs. We saw it on NCIS. We’ve seen it here. And that side comes out especially around Lala.
It’s the side of himself that scares Gibbs, of course. He’s done a pretty decent job of moving on from someone people sometimes can’t recover from, losing his wife and kid. And yet, has he healed? Can anyone heal from that? It’s a complex answer, and the answer is clearly that Gibbs is carrying a lot of baggage still, even when it seems like he isn’t.
That baggage is keeping him from forming real connections, from taking that step forward that he actually really wants to take. Because what if he lets himself really commit, really love someone… and then he loses them again? Gibbs couldn’t survive that. For him, it’s not better to have loved and lost than to never have loved. And in a way, it’s understandable. When you’ve already been through that, do you really want to go through it again?
But what other choice do you have? It’s either that or let fear rule you forever. And that’s no way of living.
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Things I think I think:
- I hope this entire episode isn’t about Doug Westmont.
- Really? “What a wonderful world?”
- Kowalski is just very, very nice.
- How are you gonna tell everyone, Kowalski?
- Randy is in the future with the computer, lol.
- Ah, he’s gonna tell Gail. That tracks.
- Lala is driving now! She deserves her spot back.
- Oh, well. It wasn’t all about Westmont, I guess.
- Anyone surprise Gibbs made a beeline for Lala?
- Dalton, you are a really helpful man. We don’t give you enough credit.
- Literally everyone came to tell Lala about Gibbs and Diane.
- Randy, do you think Gibbs wanted a hug? Though I will say, I adore Randy. He can give me hugs. He’s just a ray of sunshine.
- Gail, did you really send a fax about Gibbs’ breakup?
- I’m sorry Franks, but they are right about attorney/client privilege…
- Franks hating lawyers would have something to do with his family’s farm.
- The fight at the gun range was kinda hilarious.
- Man, even a conversation between Gibbs and Wheeler can get me in this show.
- “Worst part about being a dad. When you don’t know how to help them.”
- Okay, I have some wild theories about where Lala is in the future because I feel like we’re getting some hints about Gibbs as a father.
- Jason did help!
- Lala’s “you’re displacing your anger again” to Franks and then him apologizing is A+ character growth.
- We been knew Pruitt was going to be our big bad.
- “I always wanted to be like that.. The kind of person who believes in something bigger.”
- Gibbs describes his future. And yet we’re still two wives short!
- “I think that’d be enough.” But would it?
- Are you done, though?
- “I tried to hang on to something bigger, but in the end, reality always won out.”
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 17 ‘Rule 13’? 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.
