NCIS Season 23, Episode 18 ‘Bad Impressions’ continues the storyline from ‘Reboot‘ and manages to not just be a good reminder that Sam Hanna is a pretty cool guy, one who can absolutely carry a spinoff, but also a great showcase for Diona Reasonover’s Kasie Hines, a character who doesn’t always get the spotlight she deserves.
This hour, however, delivers on many things we’ve been asking for. First, we get some solid Kasie backstory that ties into the present. Second, we get a pretty good idea of what Kasie has been doing when we don’t see her intervene directly in cases. And third, we get a love interest for Kasie, and not just any love interest, either! An old flame. It’s like the trifecta of stuff we wanted to see from Kasie.
And though this new girlfriend isn’t played by Kristin Stewart, who Diona Reasonover shared with us would be her dream cast for Kasie’s girlfriend, I think Kasie (and us) is pretty happy with Joanna and with the character growth that means saying yes at the end of this episode.
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YOU ARE YOUR LEGACY
The real message of ‘Bad Impressions’ is about legacy, as Kasie struggles with what Edna is and what it can do. The right answer is indeed to delete it, as she does at the end of the episode, but there’s a journey to get there because Kasie has always seen Edna as the thing people will remember her by.
If this episode makes something clear about Kasie is that, of all the people in this team, she is perhaps the one who has run from relationships the most. And look, she’s got some stiff competition. But meeting Joanna makes us understand why. At some point, Kasie thought her legacy was more important than having a life, than being happy in a relationship. And when she lost the relationship she really wanted, well… what could she do but double down? Otherwise, it would have all been for nothing.
But being framed for murder has a way of putting things into perspective. Well, that and some solid wisdom from Mr. Been there, Done that Sam Hanna. Because Kasie’s life purpose isn’t Edna. Kasie isn’t just what she can do. And the people around her, the team, Joanna, don’t care about her just because of how smart she is. They care about Kasie. And they will continue to, even without Edna.
What a revelation it is to know that in the end, the only thing you owe yourself is to be happy. To enjoy every day. To hang onto the people you love, and make sure you can experience life with them. Hopefully, Kasie takes it to heart. She’s had someone waiting for her to get there for a while.
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EVERYONE NEEDS A SAM
This episode acts like there are people around who needed to be convinced that Sam Hanna can carry a spinoff, but I am not one of those. I watched 14 seasons of NCIS: LA, and one thing I can say about my time watching and loving that show is that I truly never expected to love Sam as much as I did. However, Sam was one of those characters who was never really what you expected him to be. Sure, he can be and often is a tough guy. But he’s so much more than that.
I’ve seen Sam the friend (to different people, too). Sam, the husband. Sam the son and Sam the father. But who is Sam Hanna now? What’s his purpose? That’s probably where we’ll follow him on NCIS: New York.
The thing is, when NCIS: LA ended with Callen getting married, we knew that would affect Sam the most. Later, we learned Callen and Anna were having a baby. Deeks and Kensi had a baby. Hetty is still very much MIA. So, what does that mean for the LA team? Where does that leave Sam, the only one who didn’t have a tether? Going to New York, it seems. And we’ll be happy to follow him there.
We didn’t need this hour to be convinced of that, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t enjoy it. More Sam Hanna is always good in our book.
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Things I think I think:
- Young baby Kasie!!!
- “You know what else matters? Your life. And you’re not living it.”
- Is it giving romance?
- Look, “it’s okay to look up every once in a while” is actually pretty solid advice that Kasie should listen to.
- Welcome back, team!
- Once again, David Barbado is sus. It’s the white hair.
- Jess looking worried about Jimmy is us.
- I mean, he did get into an axe fight.
- The confusion from Torres, McGee and Jess is fun.
- No, it really wasn’t your fault, Kasie.
- I can see Kasie hating the attention.
- Nick’s whole “I can’t believe I bought her dinner last week.”
- She wants to talk, Sam. She really, really does.
- Aw, Edna as a tribute to grandma is kinda cute.
- Look, if you can reverse engineer a print, we’re f*ed.
- “That’s why I asked you to do it instead of McGee.” At least that answers my question!
- “You broke my heart, Kasie.” Oooh.
- Sam would be a good counselor.
- I actually love you, Sam Hanna. A talking stick.
- And then you ate it.
- Truly, I’ve missed you.
- I kinda get Jimmy being upset Kasie didn’t tell him, but the best part of this scene is that he’s confiding in Jess. Hello, when are we getting somewhere with them? Inquiring minds want to know.
- “What if Kasie doesn’t have time for us anymore?”
- Oh, joy. Classified documents.
- “I never meant to hurt you.”
- Wait, did Sam’s dad die?
- “Stop chasing your legacy so hard. Who you are is what you leave behind.”
- Deep, Sam. I like it.
- He does have friends in pretty high places.
- I get not wanting to leave, but you’re more help outside!
- See, creepy DOD guy had to be the bad guy!
- Okay, that car thing was something, Sam.
- I don’t blame Kasie for deleting Edna. I really don’t. Would probably have done the same.
- A DATE. A DATE.
Are you excited for NCIS Season 23, Episode 18 ‘Bad Impressions’? 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.
