The new episode of NCIS began by recapping several recent storylines.
That included Gibbs getting suspended, reporter Marcie Warren ambushing Gibbs at the diner, and then Marcie showing up at Gibbs’ house to get his opinion on a cold case.
On the last episode of NCIS, we got to see Gibbs spring back into action when he learned Phineas was in danger. It was a dramatic episode, ending with Gibbs making sure that Phineas was safe again.
He even gave him the dog, Lucy, that he had been caring for over the past few weeks.
The last episode also ended with a scene between Bishop and Torres where they were about to discuss their relationship and if there was anything between them.
The writers really teased the viewers by allowing the chat to begin and then having the elevator doors close as it continued.
We are now in the home stretch for NCIS Season 18, and the episode called Blown Away from Tuesday night is the last one before the big NCIS season finale.
We already knew that it was going to feature the introduction of NCIS REACT Special Agent Jessica Knight and that took place right before the opening titles.
NCIS recap for Blown Away
The episode started with the NCIS Regional Enforcement Action Capabilities Training Team (REACT) on the scene of a hostage negotiation.
Agent Knight was talking down a suspect who was holding a gun to his girlfriend. Knight figured out the woman was pregnant, and the suspect let her go. As she was being walked out the door and as the rest of Agent Knight’s team went inside, the house exploded.
The opening titles then ran.
Medical Examiner Jimmy Palmer was next at the scene as other members of the NCIS team investigated.
They thought nobody survived, but when Torres, Bishop, and McGee went inside, they heard someone tapping Morse code from beneath an enormous pile of debris. They found and rescued Agent Knight, who barely survived the explosion.
It was a big production that introduced actress Katrina Law as she joined the NCIS cast.
Back at the office, Kasie figured out that a cell phone detonated the bomb. When Torres and Bishop went to chat with Knight at the hospital, she let them know the suspect did not use a cell phone.
It led to a bigger mystery about what had happened.
As the investigation continued, Torres and Knight figured out that it wasn’t the suspect that was targeted in the explosion — it was the NCIS REACT team.
Knight was suffering through a lot of survivor’s guilt, leading to a good chat with Palmer, who had been through a similar situation when his wife died.
We got to see Knight go through an entire range of emotions as the episode continued. She felt lost at losing team members and then angry when she discovered that one of her team members had been stealing tech.
Palmer figured out that NCIS REACT Special Agent Edward Madden was stealing high-tech body armor to figure out why it was making him sick. His lungs were breaking down, and he only had months to live.
His asthma was reacting to something in the gear, making it worse and destroying his lungs.
The guy who made the gear was working with someone who had hired someone to blow up the house and kill Madden. It would take out Madden while also eliminating the evidence against them.
The mastermind behind it all turned out to be NCIS REACT Supervisory Special Agent Tom Dalton, who was Knight’s boss.
When Knight confronted Dalton about what had happened, he tried to commit suicide by jumping off a building, but she stopped him and took him into custody.
The episode drew to a close with a funeral for the fallen agents, with Vance speaking. McGee spoke with Knight at the end of the ceremony.
There was heavy foreshadowing that Knight could appear again. She will — on the NCIS Season 18 finale.
Pam Dawber returns as Marcie Warren
The other primary storyline in the episode involved Marcie showing up at Gibbs’ house to ask him what his thoughts were about the file she had previously dropped off.
They discussed the case a bit, including Marcie’s belief authorities arrested the wrong man for a crime. She pushed very hard to get Gibbs on the case.
Marcie finally revealed that she knew the victim. It was a friend that she had known since they were children (and a neighbor). It was the personal plea that got Gibbs really interested in helping.
Gibbs started investigating on his own, including getting some files from someone he knew at the police department.
Some of the information in the file reminded Marcie of a past case she had reported on. Marcie and Gibbs started putting the pieces together and discovered that they were looking for a serial killer.
The episode ended giving no resolution to that Marcie and Gibbs investigation, but that will come during NCIS Season 18, Episode 16 on May 25.
NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.