Episode
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5x15 - Tuhon
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Tuhon is a character played by Danny Trejo, who comes from the past of Hetty, Callen and Sam directly and who also happens to know Kensi’s father. He is a Kalinga Head Hunter and is the last of his tribe. The Kalinga Head Hunters come from Northern Philippines and they only have blade as their weapon. Tuhon is a US Patriot with no record of his work done for the country, all wept out by Hetty. He was recruited by Hetty for CIA Ops and was her weapon of choice for CIA wet-work during Cold war which only means Political Assassinations. It comes across to us that Tuhon and Hetty are old friends, while working together and may have developed a mutual admiration for each other. The happiness on Hetty’s face is visible as she sees the opportunity of seeing Tuhon once again. She seems a smiling shy girl. The affection with which she cleans and polishes the blade gifted by Tuhon to her, is returned in equal as Tuhon affectionately receives her gift of the book with the blade hid inside it like in old days and he kisses his dame’s hands in all honour. Read below on Hetty Lange, Scallen and Knife.
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Writer
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Dave Kalstein for Tuhon - LA Story
R S Gemmill for War Cries - Afghan Story
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This episode in Dave Kalstein’s words is something about Past, Present and Future coming together. Tuhon is again a statement for DK with him relating to a character like Tuhon who works with Blades. Tuhon was first mentioned in Dave Kalstein’s story; 4x14-Kill House as the Head Hunter who could survive alone, trusting no one but his training, who could kill anyone just like that and yet Hetty was able to work with him; just because she trusted her training as well. Callen and Sam are telling about this to the rest of the team and especially Nell Jones when out in the field, she asks all of them, how they approach their work that is wrought with danger every step of the way. And Callen and Sam preach Tuhon’s belief to Nell ..Trust in Your Training.
Though Tuhon, DK sheds the light on Callen and Sam’s start of partnership when with CIA, Hetty’s career in CIA and how Tuhon was the connecting point for Sam and Callen, unknown to each other before Tuhon’s case. The way Hetty and Tuhon work closely and are able to trust each other, somewhere that gets imbibed by even Callen and Sam and thus becomes the beginning of trust in each other through “Trust in Your Training Principle”. That was past, where DK also brings back Nate Getz back into Ops to join the team, who actually knows who is Tuhon and how Hetty, Callen and Sam are connected together. That was past.
We all know, DK has special liking for character Kensi. He calls her his Alter-Ego. In 4x14-Kill-House, she was shown how much she liked using blades and same is shown in 5x10-Frozen Lake with her Father’s Knife which was specially forged by DK’s friend Rafael Kayanan. And so, as expected, DK doesn’t leave alone Kensi with her mission in Afghanistan in this episode. He connects Kensi’s father to Tuhon, both being CIA Political assassins, working for CIA Wet-Work Ops during Cold War. Even if Hetty might not have known Kensi’s father as much as Granger knew him personally, Tuhon has known Kensi’s father on personal level. He also remembers Kensi as a sweet girl; and he was the one who made that knife for Kensi’s father, which now being taken care of by Deeks after being entrusted to him by Kensi when he went alone on a mission in 5x10-Frozen Lake for his protection. And this is revealed by Tuhon to Deeks when he sees the knife. It is news to everyone. But then through that little peek into past, we have a path being built to future as well. We can see how Deeks is affected by the news. Its the same felt by us viewers. That kind of news only can bring you closer as history connects us and provides roots to us that we cannot uproot ourselves from.
Basically what comes across to us is a Family, a tribe that Tuhon built along with Hetty and now today they have something that can be passed along to next generation, when it is time for them to leave. They have forged a solid partnership between Sam & Callen, and are now also being instrumental in binding Kensi and Deeks with this same Tribe. There are all connecting dots in these characters of NCIS OSP and if traced they become a family tree tracing to Hetty and Tuhon.
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Director
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Christine Moore for LA Story
John Peter Kousakis for Afghan Story
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Christine Moore First time Director for NCIS LA.
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Editor
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Eric Wilson
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A good weave of suspense, action and emotion that is must for an action film/episode.
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Episode Summary
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Tuhon is implicated in the murder of a Diplomatic Envoy of Equatorial Guinea when contract killer, Michael Santos kills Leonard Atugu and his two gaurds. It becomes the mission of NCIS LA crew to find out if that is indeed true. And if not extract him back from danger to protected cover.
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Leonard Atugu - Diplomatic Envoy to United States, is murdered by Michael Santos, a contract Killer, just with his T Shirt and 2 batteries that he had taken from the wall-clock. But before he kills him and his two guards, he says the name Tuhon. That alerts US Enforcement Agencies and gets Tuhon into their wanted list. The background story behind the killing is that Atugu betrayed the mercenaries who led the coup against Oil-rich country Equatorial Guinea’s President; who also had a terrible Human Rights Violations record some 7 years back before the current story starts. His betrayal caused the Coup to fail and it had led people like Tuhon to go underground and mercenaries of his team like Steven Carter to be caught and imprisoned in the Black Beach Prison one of the worst prisons in Africa. While in prison, he suffered many casualties on his body. Steven Carter after his release from prison some 6 months back is now putting together his old Merc team and blackmailing Tuhon to help him by implicating him in the murder. Steven Carter wants the Oil Money that he was supposed to get at the time of Coup. And he knows that Tuhon is a patriot and not a mercenary like him to help his cause, but he needs him as without him, he cannot get to what we wants.
Against this background, the NCIS team meets up with Tuhon and he is rescued from the danger and brought back to safety. The entire story is worth watching, as the story is all about how, team finds Tuhon, what are their stories linked to Tuhon, how he brings back memories for them from the past, how the present discussions cave a path into their future, individually for each of them and as a team.
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Afghan Story
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Afghan Base Camp: Owen Granger, Sabatino and Kensi Blye
LA NCIS Office : Deeks, Nate and Hetty
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The suspense grows thicker for the White Ghost Mission. After 5 episodes, we still do not have a clue who is the White Ghost. There is a powerful scene between Sabatino and Kensi and we are really tempted to ask Kensi like Sabatino, why does she suspect him?!
Kensi is distraught with being unable to trust anyone. Her distrust on Sabatino, her Drone surveillance on Sabatino is questioned by Sabatino when he takes her out to the woods and asks her what mission she is on and why is tracking him. Kensi is caught unawares, but then, it also becomes a venting opportunity for her to tell Sabatino and Granger that she doesn’t trust anyone and thinks that Sabatino could be the White Ghost. Granger tells her in resolute tones that he trusts Sabatino and her job is to shoot the White Ghost when the Task Force finds him. Question that seems to linger is , “Will Kensi be able to shoot the White Ghost when told who is the White Ghost?”
Back in LA, it seemed quite strange to me that Deeks was now able to talk to Nate in a fully knowing manner of Kensi’s situation. He says,”She's not lonely, Got Granger, Sabatino and whole Crew, except that she doesn't trust anyone.” It speaks volumes with showing us that Nell and Eric shared this information with Deeks and Hetty can’t be knowing it. After all Granger’s visit gave some privy information to Hetty. And the way Nate and Hetty talked together was foreboding that The White Ghost Mission can only end badly.
Hetty: No one can be a Tribe of One, Not even Me
Nate: You are worried about how this ends.
Hetty: It can only end one way. How we get there is the question.
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NCIS Personnel Highlights and Bull Pen Fun
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Tuhon is the highlight. How he is connected to Hetty, Callen and Sam, Kensi’s father is certainly the highlight.
Nate returning to NCIS to partner Deeks is another highlight.
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The Bull Pen interaction starts with Sam wanting to know what Callen thinks of Joel and the Date. Callen as usually does nothing but vex Sam. Its fun to watch the interaction, with Deeks being pulled in by Sam to support his cause against Callen and yet Deeks naturally feeling like Callen has to support Sam because of his bully and Papa Bear looks. Even Eric, the bachelor seems to interrupt Sam’s proceedings to team up with Callen and Deeks, though everyone seems to cave into Sam’s thunderous and yet emotional looks.
Nate is a lovely addition to the team. He is teased by SCallen and yet Nate holds on his own about his classified work and deputation. Deeks sometimes has worked alone in the past, but the case belonging to Kalinga Head Hunters, seeing the risk Deeks can be in, Hetty calls Nate to be his partner for the case in hand.
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Ops Manager
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Hetty Lange
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Hetty and Tuhon.
They have something for each other. Reminds me of the older couple (Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh) in Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon. Two Trained Warriors, married to their professions and yet there is that unspoken but cannot miss expressing of mutual admiration for each other. One should watch to catch that sparkle in Hetty’s eyes. In 2x08-Deliverance. Hetty as Sylvia Undercover might have acted married to German Agent Coles to the point of her believing as one of her cover that has become a reality for her, with Tuhon, Hetty is the free-spirited herself and fully enjoying her truthful story with Tuhon.
Everything about Tuhon as far as Scallen know, links him to Hetty. But Tuhon also associates himself to Kensi’s father, which something Hetty does not know and yet, two men from Hetty’s past and present, Granger and Tuhon, know Kensi’s father and somehow the world around Hetty keeps shrinking and we see her building a family because “No one can be a Tribe of One, Not even Me”. Probably Tuhon taught Hetty the value of Tribe and that’s why she started putting up a team together that is turning out be a family.
This is what we feel and remember about the two.
“Hetty -Trust Your Training-Tuhon”
“No one can be a Tribe of One, Not even Me”.
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Bull Pen Partnership
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G Callen & Sam Hanna
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How did Sam and Callen come together ?
How was their parternship developed ?
What it was for them to work together to become a team ?
If anyone was interested in knowing answers to these questions, then these questions are answered in the episode. People do watch it. Like always, I maintain, I cannot write the pleasure I get out of watching the two. It might not be emotional, but it is certainly entertainment. Sam and Callen, perfect antidotes for each other !!!
When Tuhon got betrayed in Equatorial Guinea, Hetty sent an agent to rescue him, but he had got killed. Then Hetty seeing the danger, had to send two agents. And those two Agents were Callen and Sam, complete strangers to each other, who were figuring out a way to work together. Sam was figuring out what to call Callen, G, GC or Callen. Callen was training himself to avoid calling Sam as Teddy. And yet, Tuhon could see through them, trust their training and allowed them to rescue him from Equator Guinea to Mexico City. He had called Sam as “Tyrant of the Tribe”. He had called Callen as “Tribe of One”. And that’s how the two powerful men, with complete opposite natures could fight the bullyism and brushing-off between each other, develop respect and dependability between the two. The way Tuhon called them, might have set them thinking what is that trait which comes off as an aberration in their character and had started cutting it down.
Tuhon once again asks them, as they claim to have changed over the 7 years and now completely trust each other, to show them essentially even emotionally how they are poles apart, different even if they have a reason. Probably that reason is something that Callen and Sam would be seeing in each other and start becoming a family with fuller emotions. Tuhon asks them what they would do if they are trapped in a room lit by fire and they can save only one person from their life. Sam’s answer is like a father, “I will save my child”. Callen’s answer is like an Orphan, a lone man….”I will walk out by myself, because I have been in so many orphanages, and how can he be partial to anyone ?”
The Dating and Joel leg-pulling game continues….
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Partnership -2
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Marty Deeks and Nate Getz
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Nate is called by Hetty to partner Deeks. Deeks sometimes has worked alone in the past, but the case belonging to Kalinga Head Hunters, seeing the risk Deeks can be in, Hetty calls Nate to be his partner for the case in hand.
What works for Nate and Deeks ? What cannot work for Nate ?
Nate becomes a good partner to anyone he works with. Seeing him play “Dr.Nathan Getz - Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs, US State Department” was wonderful. His knowledge about US Politics, Trade interests gives him the diplomatic edge to deal with Equatorial Guinea Diplomatic Staff. I loved when he cuts the Embassy official, with his talk of Military expenditure and how EG Government failed to give US any business in that big Military Budget. No wonder Deeks and the Embassy official is impressed and he says, “It makes a dapper man to pull out Plaid Dr.Getz”. The blankety plaid jacket that Nate gets dressed in, though creates a “fabric phobia” (in Hetty’s words) in Deeks going by the number of comments he has on Nate’s dress in OPs. Deeks feels like he “Swallowed by a Giant Quilt”. LOL!
But its not just the knowledge that Nate shows off in the field, he also does what he is great at, psych assessment of people. He once again studies Deeks and Hetty. Though his questions and statements to Deeks and Hetty, he is able to see and show that Deeks is always thinking of Kensi, is concerned about her, likewise, Hetty is worried about the Mission in Afghanistan. It would be fair for us to believe that Nate is aware of White Ghost mission just as much as Hetty knows about it.
Nate: You are worried about how this ends.
Hetty: It can only end one way. How we get there is the question.
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Ops Room Partnership
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Eric Beale- Tech Operator
Nell Jones - Intelligence Analyst
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Nothing much in this episode. But Eric is lovely to watch.
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Love Story
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Densi - Deeks and Kensi
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The knife from 5x10-Frozen Lake comes into play.
Nate sees Deeks playing with it and can’t stop asking Deeks, “thinking about Kensi”
Tuhon sees the knife stuck at Deeks waist. When Deeks says he is taking care of the knife for someone, Tuhon cuts him off saying, “the knife is taking care of you”. And out comes the story, how he forged the knife for his friend Blye, Kensi’s father and how he remembers his sweet daughter.
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Others/GK
| Obama Care, Oil, Human Rights, Black Beach Prison
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Obama Care - Some words from the present have to be thrown in !!! LOL. Go dig on Obama Care. Deeks promoting was fun to watch.
And that thing that Nate and entire NCIS team does...Oil Possession, Human Rights record go hand in hand for US.
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