Game for Game: Personal Vs Professional, Deeks Vs Hetty

Beginning of the End or End of the Beginning! 

Granger: Beginning of the End?
Hetty: No. End of the Beginning.

That was Hetty getting Deeks message. 

The End of Profanity
The End of Indecisivness
The End of Beating around the Bushes
The End of Hide and Seek
The End of How it Began. The "This Thing" "No Thing" "Our Thing"
Its the Beginning of serious commitment - Its a Love Story
Its the Beginning of serious consideration.

You might have noticed that there is an increasing distance between Deeks and Hetty from 5x14-War Cries. All we can see is a boss and subordinate relationship from 5x14-War Cries onwards. At first Hetty distances herself from Deeks. Hetty becomes pronounced as a tough boss from 5x17-Between the Lines. And by 5x19-SpoilsOfWar, Deeks does notice himself being singled out from the rest of the Kensi Search and Rescue Mission. I have traced this in each of the episodes so far. While Hetty relented to Deeks rebellious seeking of his partner in 5x20-Windfall, who would have suspected that she had plans of making a mockery of Deeks personal relationship with his partner, to her professional use of having a breakthrough to another NCIS Agent Paulo Angelo going rogue. It was downright making it public and that too in a demeaning way, like a commodity available for trade. She used Densi relationship for her professional gain and she justified as it being okay. Perhaps, these are the unforeseen ugly consequences of falling in love with partners at work places. Others making a joke or game out of it. What follows is an humiliated and outraged response from Densi, especially Deeks, as he can see where this is all leading to. And he makes a decision. Perhaps, Hetty can let Kensi and Deeks work together without worrying. But can Hetty be sure that, her relationship with Deeks is still intact. Would he be able to see that, by taking that extreme step, perhaps, she might have protected him before, it became more ugly?!!! We cannot tell. We have to wait.

One might wonder, what I am rambling about. Well..I am rambling about, why Deeks felt outraged coming out of the Boatshed Interrogation of Paulo Angelo, and how he felt like taking a shower. And how what he did in the end actually is his step to protect his third heart. Hetty asked Deeks in 5x05-Unwritten Rule, "How's your emotional Center?". And Kensi asked in 5x21-ThreeHearts, "What does your Third Heart say?" A long journey indeed for Deeks to learn that one can be exploited even by the persons you trust most. It is perhaps too early for me to even say this, but one cannot ignore the vibes we get. Hard as it was for Deeks to break away from Kensi, but he just got his personal dignity back by securing his Third Heart. 

How did Deeks come around this decision? or rather how did the writers take him there?

The Fight between Being Professional and Personal

It was Deeks all over again, with his Love Story in EP 5x21-ThreeHearts. A repeat of 5x16-Fish Out of Water mental state leading to 5x19-Spoils of War vulnerable state, seeking a release from the 5x10-FrozenLake. Can he be patient with Kensi? He can be provided Kensi wants to. Is Kensi serious enough about him. Yes. To the point of her letting him go to protect him. What does Deeks do? Take the plunge. He lets her go and do whatever she wants to do with him. He will wait for her.

In 5x16-Fish Out of Water, Joe Sachs weaves a story for Densi and Deeks, with the serious side of the “Love Story” coming up for the first time after Frozen Lake. The complication of two working partners falling in love and what implications each can have regards to his or her career is touched upon through the Guest character DEA Agent Talia. And yet by the end of the episode, Deeks is adamant about what he wants. If he fell in love with his work-partner and it has become a purposeful and meaningful existence for him, makes him a better person, he would fight for all of it, and be ready for any kind of fight he has to take up with his authorities. The simple human reason being, how can falling in love be demeaned as complicated if one can be reasonable enough to work it out. 

For all of these arguments, there are consequences and the persons, who ask these sort of questions get charged of breaking the law, like Paulo Angelo, but in the end, their question is valid enough for us to put our thoughts to amend a wrong. We can see that the emotional meltdown that Deeks goes through in 5x16-Fish Out of Water consequences both professionally and personally, he starts to fight for his own individuality, his beliefs, all that his existence is made of in the subsequent episodes. It starts becoming a fight between him and authority as represented by Henrietta Lange and a fight between him and professionalism as represented by Special Agent Kensi Blye. In 5x19-SpoilsofWar, Deeks disproves Hetty that he can let his emotions get in the middle of the rescue operation. Even if he loses himself briefly, Deeks finds his ground and is instrumental in rescuing all the others.

When Kensi is back, she is not allowed to work on field with Deeks. Nell is asked to work with Deeks and Kensi is asked to help Eric Beale in Ops Room. Can Densi and Neric take all this? Neric take it professionally. Deeks though disappointed that he did not get Kensi's company even when, she was there, he still manages working on a good footing with Nell. He continues mentoring Nell as Senior to Junoir and supportive and appreciative of her skills on the field. In contrast, Kensi miserably fails to work with Eric Beale. After watching Nell and Eric make her feel totally incapable as them, her spirit just kicks in honestly to be humble enough to approach her boss and ask her to allow her to get back to “Agent-ing”. It was a big step for Kensi. Like in 5x02-Impact, Deeks came back to form at the carrot stick of Hetty having to find his replacement for Kensi’s partner, Kensi in 5x20-Windfall, feels the jolt of not being able to work with Deeks and that too someone who replaced her in a better way on the field and in the Ops Room where she was assigned for the day. Why this is important is because, Kensi has gone back to her shell and has grown comfortable in her inner pain by not reigning in her emotions. She also has stopped being responsive to Deeks as someone who loves her to infinity. But being left alone, with no partner, makes her kick herself alive. And then comes her possessive response about losing Deeks to someone else. The return and the punch.

All of this is being favourable and understanding to Kensi. But the wait is getting longer for Deeks. Who is taking care of him for his fallout in Afghanistan? Apparently no one. Not only had Deeks seen his Third Heart with regards to vulnerability caused by his feelings for Kensi, Deeks also had to see the revelation, that in Kensi's heart, Deeks had never been able to make a place for him in last 3 years, that Jack Simon had in Kensi's heart apparently gone missing and presumed dead from last 9 years. While Deeks sees Kensi as his soul mate and home, apparently Kensi does not see him that way.

He starts to fight for his own survival and standing and negotiates clearly with his boss and his love interest, what he considers as professional and personal boundaries. He starts questioning in talk-back style. For the first time. And he sends his message across rightly to Hetty and Kensi, both professional par excellance.

Deeks waited for 5 months for Kensi to be back. And he complainingly asks Hetty to give him back his partner in 5x20-Windfall. It takes a loving boss to take Deeks demand kindly. Otherwise, Deeks tone to Hetty is rebellious and demanding, when he asks, “I want my partner back”; just like it was in 5x03-Omni when he says,”Ask me tomorrow” when she asked him if he was back. Shows his losing his edge, trying to find a meaning, why would Hetty not trust Kensi with him?! Is he not capable of taking care of Kensi?! more than anyone?! that seems to be his questioning as against Hetty’s administrative and qualified judgement call to detain Kensi from going on field without making her feel responsible enough on how serious she has to be while at work now. His whole attitude about questioning Hetty, is if she is ready to trust him. There is clear articulation of Hetty remarking on Deeks questions, "yet you question about my judgement".

Hetty in her official capacity and also in personal capacity; does relent by the end of the episode that, she or for that matter anyone else other than Deeks cannot assess Kensi's true emotional condition after her stint in Afghanistan. If she must have her Special Agent recover quickly from a traumatic experience, she would have to entrust Kensi to Deeks care. There is no doubt about it that Kensi will not open herself to anyone else. The only person, close enough to break her walls has been Deeks. And Hetty is well aware of it. Hetty remains impartial in this decision from administrative point, Hetty employs Eric Beale and Nell Jones to come to this decision. She trusts Neric as friends of Densi and yet quite capable of deductive reasoning much needed on the job. After speaking to Eric, Hetty is able to table it in her official assessment that Kensi is bored and restless when not in the field and appears totally stable emotionally to him. She informs Kensi, that she is allowing her to work on the field as she has come to an understanding that, if she is kept apart from the field or Deeks, revelations would not happen about her emotional state.

And after working a case together, Deeks goes for another rebellious questioning with Kensi and shows her what he thinks of her personal investment towards him. That's in 5x21-Three Hearts. Kensi's indecisiveness towards their relationship, Deeks sees it as a professional affront to his capabilities as seen through her personal and professionally critical eyes. She goes at length at protecting him before Angelo, which kind of puts Deeks in a bad light, as if he cannot manage himself. Could be true. But if Kensi was really professional, she would not have bothered to cut into Deeks negotiating style with Angelo. She would have had that trust on him both personally and professionally and they could still have their private thing going on. By protecting Deeks, Kensi exposes herself too. She forgets that Deeks has raised himself, is a negotiator by profession and would know how to manage interrogation. Its pleasure seeing someone going at length to protect you, but then it also means that the other cares about you in wholesome manner. Can Deeks be sure of that now? After what he saw in Afghanistan? Is Kensi protecting her work partner or protecting him for other personal reasons? Then it just remains for Deeks to take care of the fact that she need not get protective on him when working. Remove his "emotional center" and end the bother. 

So just by being a good work-partner to her, he lets go off the personal dangling "thing" between them, showing Kensi that if she prefers professionalism, then so be it until they both are ready to handle their personal versus profess He breaks away from her. Its slam dunk case he makes for himself against two judging women against his professional integrity. One has to either trust or distrust. One cannot be in perpetual doubtful state of "is he going to be one of us or be the weakling or a traitor, just because he is good at his undercover persona or wears his heart on his sleeve." Deeks neither can let Kensi become the DEA Agent like Talia, who can go ahead and dump him; nor can let himself get turned into Paulo Angelo the "doubted" as the NCIS under Hetty make of him. Slam Dunk rebellion of the Crass Distrust and the mockery that Hetty makes of his Love Story by sending him into the Interrogation Room to question Angelo, something that was so personal to him treated as a commodity by others.

That was Deeks point of view. What is Hetty's point of view? And how do they hash it out?

We see that even Hetty goes through a Fight between Personal and Professional desires. Her personal desire is that she wants Deeks and Kensi get to together. And she has helped them a lot from last 4 seasons. But then there is that professional side of hers, that also needs to assess the partners in love, dedication and objectivity towards work. It would have been easy for us to manage her two loved team members. But as fate would have it, she has a friend in Afghanistan, Jack Simon; who is in trouble and needs her help. Coincidentally, Jack Simon is also Kensi's Ex-Fiance, whom Kensi believes as dead. Hetty has to make the tough choice between her two personal wishes of seeing Kensi with Deeks, but having to send Kensi for rescuing Jack Simon. Its a tough call, but more on the professional lines, she decides to send Kensi to Afghanistan, well aware of the repercussions it may have on Deek's budding Love story with Kensi.

I am sure Hetty might have started feeling heavy about this. And thus she starts distancing herself from Deeks. This is where I started with the post above. How did then Hetty's decision affect her personally by affecting both Deeks and Kensi?  The answer is that, both Kensi and Deeks get to their Third Heart, that part of them that is so vulnerable that they cannot ever let it seen by others and have to always gaurd it. Both Kensi and Deeks lose stability when in Afghanistan. Its good and bad that they have seen what can happen to them. But what is the fallout?  The Fallout is that, its a step back for The Love Story. Kensi can see, that in her heart there was still Jack Simon. And until she flushes him out, she cannot let in Deeks. And Deeks, sees for himself, that he could go to a dark place for Kensi, but its not worth at all, because Kensi does not love him. She might care for him a lot, they have their Thing going on, but definitely its not the kind that Kensi feels for Jack Simon.  Hetty is all aware of this fallout. This is her personal loss. But first things first, she needs to get back her Special Agent Kensi Blye into shape, even if that means; having to exploit her other skilled team member Deeks closeness to Kensi. A Manager indeed!

Captivity, Interrogation, Torture and Dehumanization

Everyone of us know what is the Boat Shed for in our Procedural Drama NCIS Los Angeles. Its a secret place, an undisclosed location where suspects who might have who might have aided directly or indirectly a breach to national security of United States, are taken taken for questioning that might lead to a disclosure of more information. The usefulness of the boat shed serves the purpose of keeping the subjects in captivity under the Patriot Act until the case is solved without having to go through the normal channels of law and justice which makes the Enforcement laws do not allow suspects to be "charged" without sufficient evidence and Legal process makes the "Charged" remain "Not Guilty until Proven".

Under the AUMF legislation, Detention centers had been opened up Security Agencies, primary one being CIA. The AUMF legislation also gave rights to the President of United States and CIA to enhance interrogation methods to enhance questioning techniques. Such questioning techniques however, later came to be suspect. The Detention and Rendition of the Captives became a subject of Human Rights Violation. The most famous or rather infamous example known to the whole world has been the Guantanemo Bay, symbolic of the extraordinary rendition "The covert transportation for interrogation of a foreigner suspected of crimes such as terrorism to another country known to have harsher and less stringently regulated methods of interrogation."

One can wonder, why I am talking about Boatshed, Interrogation, Detention and Rendition. Our NCIS Agents are good guys. They are not CIA. They don't use questionable techniques such as used or abused by CIA. Then how is it all relevant. Well...to begin with, under Patriot Act legislation, our Agents do practice certain amount of unregulated questioning during the detention at an undisclosed center. And the interrogation room's floor is right on the water surface. Suffocation through Immersion in water is very much allowed and acceptable. Even, then one can wonder, what is the point of writing all this. Well, the 5x19-Spoils of War Episode made me write about all this. Season 5 is all about Captivity, Interrogation, Torture and Execution while in detention. Don't you agree with me ? Who are the writers who are able to show us this commentary on present times?! Frank Military and R S Gemmill. 

It is the episodes 5x01-Ascension, 5x02-Impact, 5x14-War Cries and 5x19-Spoils of War which present us the commentary through Deeks, the non-Agent and affiliated to the Security Agency through his Liaison Role from local enforcement Agency LA Police Department and the Navy Seal Sam Hanna directly involved in Govenment's mission criticial National Security Assignments. While Deeks as a Cop is supposed to protect people under his care by himself following the rules, Sam as the Soldier, as the Navy Seal, protects people whom he is supposed to take care by whatever means possible, even if it means breaking rules. While its Civilian order that Deeks is trained to work for, Sam forever is in a War situation. That is the difference between these two characters and that is how it gets interesting to see Gemmill and Military's comment on the dark side of war adventures where instead of victory, we have to take the fall.

Deeks goes through an unreasonable torture in 5x01-Ascension during his captivity by Siderov to give up on Sam and Michelle's identity. An interrogation and torture that leaves him with a PTSD, an impact which is reasonably shown in 5x02-Impact. One might wonder, why Deeks' torture and subsequent PTSD recovery was so significant. The argument is that even Sam underwent torture, then how he is able to recover and why can't Deeks recover. The difference as I explained above is in the training. Sam has all the necessary training to deal with war like grim and dark situations. And yet Sam is having a toll on his body and soul with all these experiences. Military showed us in 2x06-Little Angels, traumatic experiences affecting Sam when he was buried alive in Bosnian War . And Military shows the same state of mind for Sam in 5x02-Impact and 5x19-Spoils of War. Sam cannot hear for a while after the explosion on 5x19-Spoils of War.

But what's interesting or rather disturbing factor is the dehumanization that occurs to people like Deeks, if the same training about honor and code of conduct is not given. One is then just left to personal principles of character integrity of our humanity. We see it shockingly through Deeks eyes, the way he reacts when his boss Assistant Director Owen Granger uses a certain extreme kind of interrogation technique on an asset in5x14-War Cries as Deeks kind nature contrasts Granger's CIA trained hardline methods. Granger shoots the man at close range at his ear to make him talk. It speaks about how many dangerous missions he has been on while working for CIA on War on Terror Missions. One starts wondering, where is all this leading Deeks to? Is he really fit for an Agent life? Can he accept such close range coercive tactics applied on human beings as part of his job? What happens to his humane trait, the trait that appeals us most about him. And all this Deeks has actually gone over in his mind in 5x02-Impact, the way he explains himself to Hetty or Nate. But when he himself is left to interrogate a blind man to find out where Kensi is taken to, Deeks in 5x19-Spoils of War, becomes the Fish Out of the water. He starts to act as a man that we do not know of. And more so, he behaves so because he doesn't seem to get a grip on his reality without Kensi. 

Deeks partnership with Sergeant Makar is like a debate that starts with proclamation of presence of ethics and morals in us (Americans) represented by Deeks and going through a cycle of helplessness stranding, repressed emotions bursting through dehumanizing rage as depicted in justification of questioning techniques being used on a blind old man, who is a priest. Deeks means of questioning are questioned by Sergeant Rabee Makar. Its 48 hours for Deeks to be staying out of action, aside from Sam, Callen and Granger and having no news about Kensi being found. For 48 hours he has been questioning Mulla Muhammed to give any information that leads him to Kensi’s whereabouts. By the end of 48 hours, he starts to lose the point of his questioning as he too knows like Sergeant Makar that the priest is not going to give away any kind of information. But he keeps passing his time to kill his thoughts racing through his mind about Kensi. The moment he gets the picture of Kensi’s lying in a pool of blood, Deeks just funnels his emotional suffering into uncontrollable and irrational rage where he starts suffocating the old man with wet cloth and further smothers him with cold water, making him totally breathless. Sergeant Makar is terrified of Deeks having tried several times to stop him losing it. Finally coming to the back to the edge of his conscience, Deeks recognizes the human values that he was ready to debase. Had he not stopped himself, he could easily have slipped into being guilty of a crime about violation of human rights.

Together 5x01-Ascension, 5x02-Impact, 5x14-War Cries and 5x19-Spoils of War are a commentary on the dark side of evolving methods of interrogation and torture that easily become the War Crimes committed in the name of "War on Terror" or "Profit", be it private contractors hiring psychotic killers or CIA Agents who were given authority by the Govt. to exercise all kinds of interrogation tactics, however inhuman they are. Gemmill and Military show us the emotional rage and angst one goes through at helpless situations at hand when our fellow brothers die before us, or when we are caught in the grip of power. Its like Heart of Darkness revealed to us through Deeks’s sense of pain, anguish, extreme stress one lives through when one nearly loses his emotional support that actually holds them together. Is it not the same affecting several young minds that are given weapons with their unstable and inexperienced minds, who are infused with wrong values by tapping into their emotional system? It is this same emotional support system which gets back us to the realm of reason in order to make our judgement calls and continue living on with whatever is left of us. Our emotional center is subject of vulnerability and its only the lateral support systems that protect it from losing its ground. One can live through actual physical pain being a subject of torture while one's emotional center is not compromised, but one can lose himself to pain and become an agent of torture through an irrational aggression if one's emotional center is compromised. It then becomes imperative that we train ourselves to protect our emotional center and most importantly undergo a periodic review of what we consider as our emotional center. Is it really worth it to be allowed to control us, so far as to compromise our fundamental human values? 

The shockers of the season 5 for Densi Love Story - My guesses

About the Recovery Promo and Frozen Lake Press release

Two Writer friends, Gil Grant and Dave Kalstein; who have excellent grip on Densi, Deeks and Kensi write these episodes. Kalstein knows closely Kensi character, so he had to be there to continue the story-telling where Gil Grant leaves it off. I believe Recovery and Frozen Lake are continuations for Densi episode. Its for Deeks and Kensi to talk about their relationship and react to consequences of that talk.

The way I am looking at Deeks expressive desire in Recovery promo, its meaningful to me than how its been interpreted over Densi tumblr world of posts. "I wanna be at My Place right now, With You."  Now could he have not said, "I wanna be with you at someplace right now"..than eating this insipid dinner :D- okay the extension was just me! :D  But it would have sounded like the sex addict undercover part he plays in that episode!

For me, at my place; means more. Its like Deeks once again coming up with his honest feelings for Kensi that he loves his place, which is his home, but without Kensi, it is becoming something he wants more at his home to return to. All he misses at his home is Kensi. So if Kensi is there, he will be full. And his emotional center will be all fine. There is so much depth of meaning here for me that Kensi would certainly think hard before she can say anything to Deeks. Knowing the kind of person she is, we know she understands Deeks perfectly and what he is desiring of her. However, for Kensi, the partnership and friendship matters most than them being lovers. Atleast that's what she knows as. She is no Deeks to understand what she really wants for herself, specially apprehensive she is about losing. Deeks atleast tries to be hopeful inspite of losing.  

I tend to think that Kensi will say No to Deeks's wish and explain to him that she cannot risk their partnership being affected. But the next case onwards, Kensi starts having problems seeing straight as she failed to realize that love was essentially one of the key ingredient of her partnership with Deeks. Take it out of the equation, the magic will be gone. And this is why they will see their partnership not functioning when the love ingrediant is removed...if I use Nate's words :)

Enter Hetty - the Densi or officially Keeks Shipper of the Cast and Crew, she will separate Kensi from Deeks partnership wise. Then potentially she removed the obstacle for Kensi to accept Densi Ship. May be then Kensi realizes in next 6 to 7 episodes, reaching the 18th episode of the season for another shocker as Shane Brennan suggested. Now that Kensi wants to be with Deeks, may be the shocker to them is that their love will be separated with like someone as Jack coming up from nowhere.  :D

This is how Shane Brennan seems to have planned the Season 5 for Deeks and Kensi and providing leave of absence for Daniela Ruah.  I am sure he was waiting for viewer feedback to decide what he does for the rest of seasons's 6 or 7 episodes left.

3rd April 2014
I am impressed that my guesses about the plotline for the Densi hold true even today after watching 11 episodes. Nothing changes. Its essentially the same. Densi is a ship and Deeks has a "wheelhouse". Hetty blessed Deeks saying in 5x09-Recovery, "oh! You have a wheelhouse". So Deeks is the driver of the Densi Ship. It is his love story. And he is at home when Kensi is with him. That's how he proposed to Kensi, "I wanna be at my place right now with you."  And Kensi's answer to him in 5x10-Frozen Lake was, "I am standing on my Frozen Lake" and that is what we see in, 5x18-Zero Days. Kensi is frozen in time about her relationship status with her ex-fiance and is unable to let go of her past and sinking into the icy water. Deeks who also sees Kensi's point and counters her from his point of view, what if he did not even realize the danger and he is already into the middle of freezing waters around her. That was in Frozen Lake. In 5x19-Spoils of War, Deeks actually sees the reason why Kensi is still standing on the Frozen Lake and not coming away. He sails to Kensi, rescues her from the icy lake by pulling her into his ship, offering warmth of his home as she enters his home.  That was what the rescue and the hug was about in 5x19-Spoils of War. Kensi slips into his arms trustingly, helplessly needing a friend, needing support, needing rescue and Deeks offering it, "Its okay. I got you. We are going home"

• 5x09-Recovery-5x10-The Frozen Lake-5x18-ZeroDays-5x19-Spoilsof War
• Wheelhouse-MyPlace-FrozenLake-Rescue-We are going Home
• Ship-Home-FrozenInMoment-Sailing on the Ship to reach warmth of home. 

The journey just began for them to go home. And this is what the coming episodes from 5x20-Windfall followed by 5x21-Three Hearts will show us. Again we have Gil Grant and Dave Kalstein writing the episodes where they started the season for Densi Ship Sailing Home.

17th April update
And the Journey Just began. 
Gil Grant made them partners again. Densi want to be partners. Its Serious. 
Dave Kalstein made the partners shed their outer covers of "partners also in love" to enter deep waters of their Thing which is actually a Love Story. Deeks wants serious commitment and Kensi is getting ready. She just opened one Box of hers. And there's another Box. And its going to be a Touche Ride once again with their one-upping moves on each other.

It all started with the Thing for Densi from 2x22-Plan B.
This Thing ...No Thing...became Our Thing in 3x10-TheDebt
Kensi accepted This Thing as Our Thing in 5x10-FrozenLake.
And Deeks now wants serious commitment. His Love Story cannot be called a Thing.
He Ends the Thing.
End of how it started. End of Beginning.

End of the Beginning! 
The End of Profanity
The End of Indecisivness
The End of Beating around the Bushes
The End of Hide and Seek
The End of How it Began. The "This Thing" "No Thing" "Our Thing"
Its the Beginning of serious commitment - Its a Love Story

Its the Beginning of serious consideration.