NCIS Season 23 Episode 6 Was a Page-Turner in the Best Possible Sense

In fact, the audience isn’t too keen on his work anymore, either. It’s become what you listen to when you fold your laundry.

I had to wonder if this was a play on the status of broadcast TV because that’s been the complaint about it for a long time.

Doesn’t everyone double-task when listening to an audiobook? That’s the whole purpose of listening rather than reading.

When McGee gave an interview to the grouchy and unimpressed critic, he answered a question the guy didn’t ask.

“Yes, I do talk to my characters. Sometimes, I can’t get them out of my head.” That paved the way for how McGee handled his kidnapping.

Does he always think like that? If so, I’m going to have to demand we see Professor Parkman, Rick Soares, KC 3000, and Agent Nightshade more often.

By the way, the press photos this week call Jessica Knightingale, but she’s clearly Nightshade in the show.

And since McGee plays with spellings, I’m guessing Nightshade doesn’t have a k. And that she was channeling her best Nyssa al Ghul from Arrow? Perfection!

I need more Pimmy Jalmer in my life, too, and the director’s more fiery personality? Yes, please! There is just so much to love here.

When I do imagine writing a novel, real people I know are always at the center of it (including about 300 versions of myself). Who wouldn’t have trouble separating fact from fiction?

While the opening set up McGee’s number one fan, Frances Bates, to go all Misery on his arse, that’s not how the mystery went at all. No hobbling, you guys!

In a surprising turn of events, Frances wasn’t involved in the kidnapping, although she unwittingly facilitated the setup.

The woman was connected, though, having worked with a defense contractor, knowing her way around a computer, and being a Deep Sixie; however, that was too easy.

Instead, the kidnapper was connected to Captain Meyers, the Navy man who was found mutilated. Her son, Matthew, was also missing, and she had gone to the police and was given the cold shoulder.

Matthew looked up to McGee, even joining the Navy because of him. His mom, Kathy Sheldon, was as far in over her head as McGee, but she wasn’t even locked to the floor.

And as if one kidnapping wasn’t enough, a crazy defense contractor named Mark Daniels, who holds meetings in VR, was selling retrofitted old planes to Russia to infiltrate the Ukrainian front. Or something.

It was a very convoluted story, and something tells me that’s pretty much how the average Deep Six novels unfold, too.

There were some absolute gems of quotes in this one, from Kasie saying, “Whoever this guy is, he’s down two ears,” to Parker’s droll, “I’ll go get more swag,” just moments before Frances appeared wearing official NCIS gear from head to toe.

I even laughed out loud when, at the crime scene, McGee was taking selfies with Frances, and Parker said, “Is that something we do now? ‘Cause that’s a new one.” Yes, Parker, we want all agents to start taking selfies at crime scenes.

The Russian connection was a bit odd.

Daniels desiccated Matthew’s corpse with the hopes of concealing his identity. Well, he left teeth, some fingers, and DNA, so how did he think he would accomplish that?

If all Russians are like Daniels, or Daniels is indicative of the average person doing work with them, then we don’t have too much to worry about.

However, the story with Matthew’s mother had an even more tragic ending, but it also revealed something that gave her solace. She was living a delusion, which makes sense since she took to kidnapping McGee.

She was in the midst of grief psychosis. She had already been hit hard by the death of her son, but in the wake of his death, Captain Meyers began visiting her. Then he went missing, and she spiraled.

She received the closure she needed when McGee told her that although her son died in one of the poorly designed retrofitted planes, he died a hero.

He had the chance to eject, but he went down with the plane, guiding it away from a school filled with kids.

It was just what she needed to hear. Herself a decorated military intelligence officer, knowing her son followed in her footsteps will help her recover from his loss.

But if this hour was light and a page turner in every sense of the word, Jimmy’s investigation into Parker’s mom’s autopsy and what he and Kasie are doing regarding the Parker family is going to drag them back into darkness.

The upcoming episodes will have some weight to them. Now that we know his mother didn’t die in that car accident, we also know his family saga is far from over.

 

There are some other goodies coming our way that Murray thinks you’ll be into, so don’t miss the interview.

I’d been waiting for another McGee-centric episode, and this one delivered. It put us into his mindset and took us outside the normal NCIS routine with a little MCIS action.

And can I say that I felt McGee’s bad review in my bones?

Granted, I’m no author, but we at TV Fanatic put our hearts into this site, and we do it for two reasons. First, our love for television. Second, our love for you. People may not understand our direction, but to us, our coverage makes total sense.

Just like McGee, we write for the “fans,” or, in our case, readers. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Page-Turner” sealed NCIS Season 23 as one of my favorites. I don’t know if it’s the fact that the universe has been opened with Origins and Tony & Ziva or if the show has finally found its groove after years of upheaval.

It doesn’t really matter. It’s been delivering some of the series’ best work to date. What more can we ask for?

But what about you? Did this one stick the landing? (Ouch. Too soon?) Share your thoughts in the comments below!