NCIS: New York Season 1, Episode 3 ‘Carousel‘ feels like the moment where this show actually clicks. The ‘Pilot’ is just setup, and the second episode is always tricky, because you have to try to build from what you already did, even though it’s typically been a while since you filmed the first episode. But with this hour, it feels like the show is starting to fire on all cylinders, and we’re not gonna lie, watching this episode made us really look forward to what’s coming next.
It’s not just Sam (LL Cool J) and whatever history he has with this mysterious woman from his past; it’s whatever happened with Nick (Scott Caan) and his ex-partner, and ASAC Wells (Jennifer Beals) and her workaholic tendencies, plus Addy (Jacqueline Byers) and Wyatt (Shane Harper) finally giving us the setup we need to really ship them. And ‘Carousel’ delivered all that while also giving us an engaging case! A win all around, both for longtime fans and new ones.
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CAN WE INVEST IN A NEW RELATIONSHIP FOR SAM?
This is an easy yes for anyone coming into this show new, and a probably yes for anyone who isn’t. Michelle, Sam’s wife, died on the Season 8 finale of NCIS: Los Angeles, which aired almost a decade ago. We even saw Sam date someone else after, though that didn’t last long enough for us to have to invest or have moral qualms about whether he was moving too fast or not.
Now, Sam has been a widower for almost a decade. His two children are grown. He’s back in his hometown, and Nick has plenty of women to set him up with. But there’s clearly some unfinished business for Sam, and that’s exactly what we see him pursue in this hour. Is that even romantic? Hard to say yet. But I’m not sure I would mind seeing it grow that way.
However, I will add some caveats as a longtime viewer here. Grief is a weird thing, and if Sam is indeed going to start a new relationship, I hope we get to see him come to terms with what he lost, and I also hope we get to see his children have opinions about it. Hell, I think his former partner and his former team would probably have some opinions too, but if nothing else, I at least need his kids to show up and have some thoughts.
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TEN QUESTIONS
The push and pull between Addy and Wyatt has been prevalent throughout the first three episodes, but it’s in ‘Carousel’ that it starts to take the shape any seasoned procedural watcher could have told you it was going to. We see them not just go undercover together and showcase their comfort with each other, despite the fact that Addy is still keeping her walls very high, but we also see Wyatt put in a lot of effort to try to tear down those walls.
For him, it’s just about getting to know this woman he has worked with for 10 months. But the setup with the questions, which he doesn’t ask because he doesn’t want to waste them, and the fact that even though he doesn’t ask, she still shares with him, is textbook ship setup. Of course, all the textbook setup in the world cannot work if two people don’t have chemistry, and this episode was our first clear sign that these two do.
What next? Well, a lot more development. Any ship worth its salt takes a while, and when your show starts with the words NCIS you already have the advantage of knowing you’re unlikely to get cancelled right away. That means they have time to build. For now, it’ll be the partnership first. The trust. The rest, well… the rest we know. Or, we know the destination. They can still surprise us with the journey.
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Things I think I think:
- The couple was giving problems, but neither of them was giving ‘I’m responsible for this’.
- Nick, this is low.
- “An absolute unit but soft and gooey on the inside.” Wow.
- Nick saying, “You know I’m crazy, but it’s part of my charm.” Is it?
- Thirteen languages? Thirteen?
- “Every day you’re all up on my business; the second I ask you about your life, you shut down. How’s that fair?”
- “Are you having a human moment?” LOL.
- I mean, undercover as a couple is such a trope.
- Wyatt asking if she was good, like seriously, got to me.
- Your fake wife needs help with the zipper!
- “They’re adults now, technically.” Not technically, Sam. Your kids are adults.
- “It’s okay to have feelings, just let it flow.”
- These questions are going to be a running storyline that I’m going to devour.
- “As your partner and ex-husband, I want to know you better.”
- I really like that Addy shared anyway.
- Poor dog, truly.
- “It’s not like it was.”/”Duly noted.”
- LOL, twenty-five years is a complicated timeline because he should have already been with Michelle by that time. Aiden, Sam’s oldest, cannot be under 25.
- Sorry, I know too much.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of NCIS: New York Season 1, Episode 3 ‘Carousel’? Share with us in the comments below!
NCIS: New York airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on CBS.
Starting to get a bit interesting. Still feels like a slowish pace though with me.