NCIS Season 24 Opens with a Case That Could Have Been Slightly Twistier

After ten years, Michael Weatherly has returned as Tony DiNozzo on the flagship NCIS series.

His return was everything we needed it to be, bringing the pop culture references and fun while also showing how much DiNozzo has grown over the last decade.

At the same time, stepping in as not a “very special” agent added a layer that let us get to the bottom of the case — a case I thought would be a little twistier.

DiNozzo Has Matured Over the Years

All summer, we’ve wondered how NCIS would tackle the cliffhanger of Mateo and Torres going head-to-head.

Who had been shot? Would McGee believe Torres about Mateo’s actions?

I liked how quickly the show handled it. DiNozzo happened to arrive just at the right time, and he was the one shot.

With him there, McGee stayed a little calmer than he probably would have with just Torres around.

DiNozzo offered the answers McGee needed while remaining a friendly, impartial party.

It also allowed for a lot of catch-up without too many details.

Mentions of international arms dealers, boarding schools, and Boston tied everything up in a neat bow, giving enough temporary closure for NCIS: Tony & Ziva.

In fact, I’d spent the summer wondering if I needed to watch Tony & Ziva to appreciate DiNozzo’s return, and I ended up deciding not to.

Now, I may watch it, but I feel like the NCIS Season 24 premiere did a good enough job explaining why DiNozzo is setting up his satellite office.

This didn’t feel like the DiNozzo we’d left behind at the end of NCIS Season 13, though, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

He’s matured a lot, and running a security firm and raising a family have certainly led to this.

There’s even a quick discussion between DiNozzo and McGee about this, and again, the show doesn’t spend too long on it. The show will cover it more throughout the rest of the season.

That doesn’t mean we’ve lost everything that made this character fun. He’ll still add some comedic relief, but not in the same way he used to.

That’s not a bad thing. I feared that having Torres and DiNozzo on the screen together would be too much.

Torres filled the role DiNozzo’s exit left empty, and I think NCIS would lose its balance if two of them were constantly cracking jokes.

Instead, DiNozzo brings up the pop culture references that are fully relevant to the moment.

The mention of The Goonies made it extremely clear what he was planning. It helped cut out some exposition and focus more on the story itself.

Am I convinced that he was the Secretary of the Navy’s first choice for Director of NCIS? Not quite, but I’m here to see what he can do.

His maturity helps me see how he could step into Vance’s shoes.

Honestly, he’s the best way to bring back the nostalgia of the earlier seasons and keep the threat of another Director coming in and creating change for change’s sake.

Reminding us that Vance did that put a smile on my face, and I think that reminder tells us the type of director DiNozzo will end up being.

He’ll have to make some tough decisions, and that could make us and the team dislike him at times. However, his heart is in the right place.

I Thought LaRoche Was Involved

I thought LaRoche would end up involved in the case somehow.

I know, it’s such a cliché move! So many TV shows have done this. In fact, NCIS did it just last season.

But the way the case was playing out, I really thought that LaRoche was going to end up being involved in the hunt for the diamonds.

A lot still doesn’t add up for me. How did they have access to the files at the DMV? How did they end up sending LaRoche the hostage video so soon after that?

Nobody was talking about it, though, and I started screaming at the TV for them to look inside.

There was no way LaRoche could remain Director of NCIS. He doesn’t have the people skills or the ability to think outside the box to do the job.

He can only see the evidence in front of him, as this case proved, both in running for the docked ship and in not trusting the rest of the team that there was a reason Mateo was acting the way he was.

While I think the case could have been twistier, I’m actually glad it didn’t turn out that way. It worked with LaRoche proving his own incompetence.

I just wish there was a little more closure on the case itself, because I’m still not quite sure who was running the show — and I feel like nobody cared to get those answers.

This won’t be the last we’ve seen of LaRoche, I’m sure.

I assume he’s been knocked back down to deputy director, but given the near-grave mistake he made during the case, somebody should think twice about giving him that position.

Could it be time McGee got the promotion he was passed over for?

I will say LaRoche firing Parker was one of the best parts of the episode. It allowed Parker and DiNozzo time to work together and get to know each other a little better.

They couldn’t have done that if they were working with NCIS rather than outsiders, and it set them up for a good working relationship as NCIS Season 24 continues.

If you’d asked me two or three seasons ago if I could be excited about another season of NCIS, I’d probably have shrugged. Things were starting to feel stale and off.

However, last season picked up the quality, and now with DiNozzo as Director of NCIS, I’m ready to see the laughter, pop culture, and fun added back to the show.

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It’s time to weigh in on the episodes. While reviews let us share our thoughts, the comments section is for you to discuss likes and dislikes. So, whether you love DiNozzo coming back to NCIS or not, feel free to tell us!