Saturday, November 9, 2013

2x11 Disorder



Episode
2X11 -  Disorder

A great episode as the window to all of its character personal stories, emotions and relationships they forge with each other.
Writer
Gil Grant and Dave Kalstein
Dave Kalstein - Lover of Martial Arts. Is member of Forge Fighting. He is NCIS LA’s master backstopper for personal stories of its characters. He is the resident expert on Kensi’s character portrayal. His tools and skills being Action Drama, Revelation of Past Lives and planting personal background setting to carry forward the story-arc for the character.


Gil Grant - He is the resident expert of Keeks Ship (Densi relationship). He is a great at interweaving character interpersonal dynamics within the team and making it look like the family. We remember the magical and understanding moments between them all. Relationship dynamics is what matters to him.
Director
Jonathan Frakes

Episode Summary
There’s a shootout on Christmas Eve in the Naval Officer’s house and two men are found dead.
Its PTSD faking by a Naval Intelligence officer who is corrupt and been selling Intel to Iranians -Takawar. Kensi is caught in sympathy as she had a similar situation with her fiance Jack who was suffering from PTSD and had left her on Christmas day 6 years back in the story. Kensi gets emotional and takes the wrong judgement...Talbot is no Jack....The team gets the man.
NCIS Personnel Highlights
Its Christmas time


Focussed on Kensi, Deeks, Nell, Sam and Hetty


Hetty takes care of them all.


Kensi and Deeks are lonely - so enjoy it together


Nell and Sam -spend it with their family


Callen and Eric - Not into Christmas
Christmas - what it means to all of them. Peek into non-NCIS lives and how they spend their Christmases - all alone without their family or enjoying with NCIS Surrogate family first. Followed by their lone-solitary plans of spending it alone or spending it with others.

Hetty has the beautiful idea of recycling her past Christmas presents and appropriately gift it to team in well-thought out care. It definitely creates a bonding.

For Kensi - its a reminder of sad day of her fiance Jack leaving her never to return. She hides the loneliness from others, but Talbot’s case makes her do the revelation. Deeks gives her a lovely Christmas evening present at the end of the episode by taking her to Shelter Christmas Dinner for the Homeless. Message - you are not alone now.

For Deeks - its an ever hopeful day for him to expect the unexpected - a day of possible surprises within the gift packages. His childish excitement at receiving gifts is infact a bit sad to see because he might not be in a position to expect anything as Sam predicts. However his day is made as Hetty makes him happy with her Christmas presents to him. He swoops the other gifts from the others. And he has one of the most meaningful evening planned out for himself, which he calls it as a date; a Christmas Dinner with Homeless at the local Shelter House where the woman lovingly calls him “Marty”.  Deeks can sense Kensi’s loneliness and invites her to join him. Kensi joins.

For Nell - Christmas has to be spent with Family. But case stops her from being with them. But she is all packed up and determined to fly the moment case is solved. Surprise - Hetty lovingly gifts her the red and green Christmas sweater that is perfect and festive for Nell and also drives her to Airport.

Sam is the perfect family person around, putting his thought and care for his surrogate NCIS family. Just goes to show, he might be doing the same with his immediate family. He is just so right with his reactions coming from a well-grounded background and finding it all different at the Bullpen idio-syncracies of Christmas Gifts Recycling.


Unanswered plots - Will Deeks parents show up? Will Kensi’s Fiance Jack show-up?
Ops Manager
Hetty Lange
Hetty’s attention to all of them with her care and choice of Christmas Present.

It is Christmas time and Hetty is into regifting her crew of 6 members with the 2 season gifts Callen, Sam and Kensi had presented her. Deeks gets Kensi's scarf, Callen gets Kensi's Jasmine scented candle, Kensi gets Sam's spice box,  Sam gets Callen's game or something .. of course as the three resent it, Deeks happily collects their gifts as theirs. Nell gets Sam's Christmas sweater and Eric gets Callen's whistle. Though Hetty gives an original gift of driving Nell to airport in her Jaguar (or was it Cobra - need to rewatch it).  

To think of it, its symbolic of the presents what Hetty actually wants for her Agents and Operatives. Deeks to get close to Kensi, Kensi to be a girl rather than just being the Mutant Ninja, Sam to lighten up other than just being the NAVY SEAL, Callen to lose himself to romance. Eric and Nell get the more useful presents like they always are in Ops room.

To think of it the writers tried giving a fair chance to both groups of shippers by prodding both Deeks and Callen to come close to Kensi through Hetty’s presents. But only Deeks takes his chance by actually trying to take care of his partner. So there the setting sail of the official Ship Keeks. Yeah to the NCIS LA Crew they are known as Keeks while the Fans call them as Densi.
Bull Pen Partnership -1
Callen/Sam
Callen is leading the team, though Kensi tries to take charge forcing Sam to show caution to Kensi. Sam asks Kensi to take a step back and see that Talbot is no Jack.

Sam earlier suspects quite instinctively that Deeks is still the kid looking for wishes that never may come true and that explains his love for surprises. He guesses it as something about Deeks parents never showing up….though Deeks is silent and doesn’t let anyone see anything.

Sam is also upset at what Hetty did with his gifts and warns his partner Callen to better save his present. Callen is in tight spot.
Bull Pen Partnership -2
Kensi/Deeks
We learn that Kensi 6 years back was engaged to Marine named Jack who left her post his PTSD issues. It clouds her judgement on the case and the whole team is able to see it. Callen is surprised that Kensi is marching ahead without his instruction. Sam (who has brotherly care for Kensi and she trusts him) tries to put some sense into her subtly and yet Kensi is no mood to listen to. She is far too emotionally vested in wanting to save Talbot.

We learn that Deeks loves surprises and gifts. As her partner Deeks is seeing all thing and surprised at new findings. He is beginning to know Kensi, just like the others are. But him being the outsider and new to team, he doesn’t have hold on Kensi except as her partner. Deeks doesn’t trust Talbot as innocent and yet does not dismiss Kensi’s analysis. He is acting on Team Input. In the beginning Kensi again uses him as her pawn to show her forensic analysis of the murder at Talbot’s house. Deeks does not appreciate that but also does not hold it as grudge against her, just makes it known that he does not like what she is doing in his casual manner, which ofcourse goes unheeded by Insensitive Kensi to Deeks.  By the end of the episode, Deeks makes another forge into their relationship to make it working through his sensitivity. He keeps observing Kensi closely distrusting her judgment at closeness to Talbot and yet respecting her emotions.  After Kensi is hit and injured by Talbot, Deeks doesn’t let her drive. He knows when to assert himself over her. Deeks takes Kensi to his Date -Shelter Home Christmas Dinner where the woman (African) lovingly calls Deeks as Marty and asks him to help her inviting Kensi too.

Seems that both Deeks and Kensi portray the lighter-boyish-attention seeking and tougher-wonder-womanish exterior but deep down they may be different people from what they project to be. They could be opposites. Deeks could be a serious man who is capable of taking care of others and Kensi actually a softer vulnerable girl who wants to be loved and strives hard for attention from people she cares for and feels bad that she doesn’t have sense of humour to get along and so props herself with all combative skills. And pretty much this is what is touched upon later in Lock-Up as they discuss issues between them and complain to Hetty.
Ops Room  Partnership
Eric/Nell
Eric and Nell's partnership is working. They help each other and respect each other’s skills. And Nell loves to spend her Christmas with her family. That is so not geeky or nerdy. She is just a normal girl.

Others/GK
Iranian Takawar, PTSD
Need to read on that.