On NCIS Season 12 Episode 8, Gibbs decides to assist a former Navy corpsman when she is charged for practicing medicine without a license... after saving two people injured in a car crash.
On the home front, Abby and Burt have reached a two-month milestone in their dating relationship, an anniversary that Tony and McGee know spells certain doom for them.
Join TV Fanatic panelists Kathleen Wiedel, David Taylor, Christine Orlando, Tanya Moat and Douglas Wolfe as they hash out the details of the episode. Then, give us your own take on the questions in the comments below!
How would you describe this episode, in a few words or a sentence?
Kathleen: Duty versus Law.
David: The law that was definitely meant to be broken.
Christine: No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed by Gibbs.
Tanya: Some laws are meant to be broken.
Doug: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.
What was your favorite quote or scene?
Kathleen: I liked the scene when McGee gently suggested that Abby give her boyfriend an extension on her two-month requirement. To judge by her expression when he showed up with those flowers, I think she will!
David: Bishop cornering McGee and Tony in the men's room was pretty cool and their abject panic at the thought of Bishop talking with Abby about her "requirements" was a hoot.
Christine: It was Tony telling Gibbs and Anna, "These aren't the droids we're looking for." As a movie and a Star Wars fan, Tony's movie references never fail to make me smile.
Tanya: I laughed out loud at the "these are not the droids you're looking for" comment too. But I will choose the first time Gibbs called Anna "Doc" and that little spark it created in her.
Doug: I'm going with Tony's "These aren't the droids we're looking for" too. It was so subtle as to almost be unnoticed, which made it hilarious.
What, if anything, didn’t work?
Kathleen: That local district attorney must have a real stick up his you-know-what for charging a former Navy hospital corpsman with practicing without a license. There's such a thing as prosecutorial discretion, and I find it unlikely that a district attorney would court such a public relations nightmare by prosecuting her after she clearly saved the lives of two people.
Also, I don't know the laws in Virginia, but where I live, I suspect that Anna Dillon's actions would probably be covered under the Good Samaritan laws.
David: Comments on the inanity of the law are already flooding in so I won't comment other than to say that I agree it should be changed.
I also didn't like Abby's "Do what I say, but not as I do."
What didn't quite scan for me was Gibbs' manner in some spots. We've seen Gibbs get very heated with JAG reps, attorneys, police officers, even the Director and SecNav. However, as he was escorting Dillon out of the police station and was stopped by the arresting officer, he was very calm and mild-mannered. It freaked me out a little. :-)
Christine: Kathleen said it so well that I'll move on to something else. Jimmy Palmer annoyed the heck out of me in this episode. I know his rambling is suppose to be cute and obviously it's ramped up with impending fatherhood but Palmer was more grating than usual.
Tanya: I agree with Kathleen that Anna's actions would fall under Good Samaritan laws, and I can't imagine any prosecutor wanting to even touch that case with a 10 foot pole.
But my biggest problem with it was how the police (not Gibbs and company) seemed more interested in prosecuting her then actually finding the person who caused the accident. Really? You're more interested in arresting someone who tried to help and actually saved lives then catch the person guilty of vehicular manslaughter and eventual murder. Yikes!
Doug: I'm not a fan of the "hands off" approach that Abby gave McGee when it comes to her love life. If it wasn't out of bounds for her to confront Tony, it's not out of bounds for McGee or Tony to confront her either. I'd have gently called her on her hypocrisy.
What do you imagine might be included in Abby’s list of very specific rules for the man in her life?
Kathleen: One date must involve bowling.
David: Abby doesn't strike me as the bowling type (pun absolutely intended). I'm thinking that one date would have to be to a performance of a punk rock band with names like "Karkass" or "Roadkill" or "The Red Death."
Christine: Perhaps bringing her black roses instead of the regular kind? Whatever's on it, I'd love to take a peek.
Tanya: I would love to that see that list. I imagine one must not fear sleeping in a coffin.
Doug: Have at least one kick-ass tattoo. When buying flowers, make sure they're black. I'm guessing a piercing or two wouldn't be unwelcome either.
McGee fended off an advance on Bishop by Lancellotti and has taken a proprietary in Abby’s love life. Older brother material, or mother hen or something else?
Kathleen: I think McGee's probably moved on in his life from pining over Abby romantically. For one thing, he's seen too many office romances turn sour or simply end badly. (Bishop briefly mentions Rule 12, "Never date a coworker.") Anyway, I'm leaning more towards big brother than anything else. For the first time, he's actually got the real-world experience advantage over someone, in this case Bishop, and he probably feels obligated to defend her honor, as it were.
David: I suppose gender would lead to the de facto response of "big brother", but when he said that, my first thought was "JEEZ...what are you? Her mother?!?!?!!?" It was a good line, but it could have come directly from Bishop herself as "Thanks...my husband thinks so too!" Last week, we saw her get real with Gibbs so having her fend for herself might have helped show that her character was changing from mousy to gutsy.
Christine: McGee's kind of annoying me with that. The guy was being a jerk but Bishop seems more than capable of handling that and it's hard to tell sometimes if McGee is being a concerned friend or if jealousy is involved. Overall his "big brother" act feels a little off to me.
Tanya: This is a tough one for me because I always been more of a McAbby fan than a Tiva fan. So I'll go with big brother with maybe a tiny bit of jealously too. Let the shipper in me have that, okay? Please! I don't even want them to be together now. Just when the series ends, a little footnote that says Abby and McGee lived happily ever after and had super smart goth babies. :)
Doug: He's being an old hen and needs to stop. The women can take care of themselves - as we saw with Bishop. It diminishes him when he does this. Which may account for Bishop's exclamation of "Ew! Like, each other?" when he told her he and Abby used to date.
NOTE: NCIS Season 12 Episode 9, "Grounded," will air on Tuesday, November 25 at 8/7c on CBS.