NCIS Episode Review: 9.12 Housekeeping

[dragonheart]

I have so much ♥love♥ for this episode that I almost don’t have the words for it.

 

Seriously.

 

I thought this review would be easy to write, but I have so much emotion tied up in it that it is actually difficult.

 

I want you to know right up front that I am trying really hard not to go all fangirly schizoid and will try not to embarrass  myself with the flailing and squeeing, but I am making no promises….

 

Another warning: If you object strongly to Tiva, you should read no further because I can assure you this review will be T/Z heavy.

 

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We got a glimpse of the opening scene in a sneak peek posted earlier in the day and I had a feeling that the banter about taking action was a foreshadowing of things to come.  I just had no idea it was gonna go where it eventually did.  Color me stunned.

 

Both Tony and Ziva missed the office New Year’s party?  Part of me thinks that Ziva was sitting home alone pining about the lack of communication from Ray while Tony was home alone being  introspective about what he wants out of life – which brings me to Tony’s bucket list and that no show “date” with Wendy.

 

One of the items on the list was “tell her” – a lot of people speculated that “her” could possibly be Wendy. I now feel fairly certain that she is not “her”.  If she was “her”, he had the perfect opportunity to “tell her” at the Christmas luncheon she invited him to – yet he chose not to pursue that “could be” relationship any further.

 

 I think he actually meant it when he said that the time for Wendy was over and he wanted to keep that part of his life in his past.  Wendy is at least 4 years older than Tony (if Tony is 42/43 – then Wendy is 46/47) and I can’t imagine him settling down with a divorced  almost 50 year old woman with a son.  (NOTHING against the women who fall in that demographic because except for the divorced part I could easily be talking about myself), but that’s just not Tony – not even the new more mature Tony.

 

So, Ziva has talked to Ray since September – but it’s still been 7 weeks since she has heard from him and she is getting a tad bit frustrated with that.  Well. Duh!

 

Now let’s jump to EJ.  When we first saw her – I immediately disliked her again – leaving Tony for dead, leaving her friend James Barnsway for dead – leaving Cade and Levin for dead - looks suspiciously like a pattern for EJ.  Now, I have to admit I was not much of an EJ fan so I was not apt to cut her much slack so I was inwardly happy when Tony didn’t act too darn pleased to see her.  I think he was glad that she was alive, but it hurt him that she would actually just leave him in that alley even if she was on the run.  EJ has always been about her survival first – when Tony has always been about protecting others at the expense of himself (more on that later).   

 

I like that Tony didn’t immediately forgive EJ and that he stood his ground on his reasons for being angry.  They did have a relationship at one time and I do think he cared for her and it hurt him immensely that she would do that to him.
Side observation: a ticked off Tony is hot.

 

I started to warm up to EJ once they got to the safe house and even felt a little sympathy for her situation.  My heart broke when Tony was talking about his failures – it’s obvious that he has been doing a lot of thinking about his life and his past and his future.
Side observation: I loved that he covered up EJ’s feet (maybe that’s the mom in me.)

 

The next morning: Tony made sure that Ziva knew that he slept in the chair while EJ slept on the couch/bed.  I loved that Ziva asked how they slept in that roundabout way she has – asking one question while getting an answer to her unasked question. Smooth.

 

I thought it interesting that Tony and EJ didn’t even broach the fact that they were once together.  If I hadn’t seen back episodes, I never would have guessed that they were ever in a relationship.

 

I liked the little moment between Ziva and EJ even if it was out of the blue (they have never been friendly).

 

I have to give EJ credit for being more astute than I realized and here’s why:

·         In Pyramid – EJ saw that Tony obviously had more than platonic feelings for Ziva when she was being held by P2P (it’s just different for some of us)

·         She saw through Tony’s “talk” concerning Ziva.  I am not sure exactly what Tony told her about Ziva, but I am sure it was along the lines of “we’re just co-workers – there is nothing between us”. Yes, she realized that whatever Tony told her about Ziva and his relationship with Ziva - just wasn’t true at all. 

·         She saw that Ziva cares about Tony and told him so.  She caused him to see that maybe his feelings could be reciprocated.  Maybe for the first time he thought he and Ziva just might work. He wants to surround himself with people that he would give his life for and he was willing to do that for Ziva – he couldn’t live without her.

·         Yes, I love EJ Barrett for all that.  She served her purpose well.

 

Back to that bucket list and “tell her.  I also don’t think “her” was EJ as some speculated in the past – if so, he had plenty of opportunity at the safe house for that type of conservation and yet it didn’t happen.  We can now mark EJ’s name off the list for the contender of “her” along with Wendy’s.  It could still be someone other than Ziva, but I am liking her chances more and more.

 

And since this episode was about something other than T/Z and EJ – I have a few quick points about that:

·         Stratton killed Latham and took his dog?  Seriously? What a psycho.

·         Gibbs and Jarvis played Latham by giving him a fake safe house location hoping that Latham would tell Stratton (real name Jonathan Cole) and he did.

·         Gibbs, Ziva and McGee were not shooting to kill Cole – they were herding him towards the “trap”.  It was thought out and planned – they aren’t horrible shots. They needed Cole alive – he was only one left who could answer questions about Phantom 8.

·         Cole knows about Mexico.  Why do I think we will see more on that later?  Perhaps in the 200^th episode? I believe Gibbs is gonna have to face the music on his actions there sooner or later, but I would rather that arc fall into one of those holes that never see the light of day again.  Goodness knows NCIS is full of them, why can’t we add this one to the list?

·         Where the heck was Vance?  Was his absence explained or mentioned?  If so, I didn’t hear it.

 

 

Back to the T/Z – and here is where I will maybe get a bit carried away with the squeeing.

·         Tony and Ziva having drinks later.  Yes!

·         Tony and EJ parted as friends – I like that EJ got to leave on a happy note and that we know without a shadow of a doubt that it is well and truly over between her and Tony. I seriously doubt we will ever see her again, but if we do – I won’t look on her return with trepidation.

·         Tony actually went “there” with Ziva.  He approached her with honesty and his feelings more or less on his sleeve. 

·         The look on his face when he asked her if he was in fact “in her life”

·         The look on her face when she realized that he was being serious

·         The way they looked at each other when they both realized that they were gonna actually have this conversation and possibly move “things” along

·         And then… the freaking phone rings….

·         The look on his face when he realized it was Ray calling

·         The look on her face when she realized it was Ray calling

·         His “seriously?” – he couldn’t believe Ray was interfering yet again

·         I liked that she asked him what she should do – she wasn’t jumping at the bit to talk to Ray – not at the expense of not talking to Tony.  I love that she was conflicted.

·         The fact that he confidently told her to answer it – he knows the Ray issue has to be dealt with if there is going to be any forward movement between them

·         He didn’t move out of her way so that she could take the call – was he figuratively saying
 I am not moving away this time.  I am sticking around.  Ray is not running me off.  I am standing my ground. I am not backing away in the face of his interference. 

      The fact that she had to practically crawl over him to talk to Ray spoke volumes to me.

·         The look on his face as she was talking to Ray - determination coupled with sadness

 

 

After seeing this episode, I am again reminded of Michael Weatherly’s interview from September 2011 in TV Guide:

 

"All of the goofiness and the sense of humor and the deflection are clearly covering something nasty eating away at him inside," Weatherly says. "I think that this should take us one step closer to maybe understanding an essential core truth... about what makes Tony tick. I think that you have to do that work alone sometimes. But it might make him more able down the road more able to approach a relationship with Ziva."

 

We do still have that Ray sized obstacle to overcome, but I am confident that T/Z will be together some day.  If TPTB were gonna kill this ship they would have done it already

 

Comments

[whiteink]

I'm still grinning the morning. It was awesome. I'm working on a fic ... well, a second fic because I wasn't loving what I wrote last night. Yay! TIVA!!!

[proseac]

You already know my stance on Tiva, but this just might be the episode that tips the scales for me. It was subtle, and very well done, not maudlin or fanficcy or stupid. I actually liked it. Very astute observation about the symbolism of Ziva having to crawl over Tony to take the phone call.

Oh, and I also like your take on why Stratton/Cole didn't take any shots from the team - makes sense that they'd want him alive. I saw someone complaining about the missed shots, but this is logical when put in the context you describe.

Overall, I'm a very happy camper with last night's episode, and I may actually be forced to write a bit of Tiva fic (no, hell hasn't frozen over yet). :)

(BTW honey, I'll have your beta back to you this evening I promise - very sorry. I've also had "eye issues" and my vision is all blurry today. See my post on my DW if you want an explanation).

[alidiabin]

I don't think they'll kill the ship. They've all but made in endgame, but I don't think they can jump into relationship right now. They need to heal.

Maybe, they can dance at Jimmy's wedding and kiss in the SF. Slow and steady.

[dragonheart]

slow and steady is good. I won't complain about slow and steady.

[jelenamichel.livejournal.com]

It says something about me that aside from the end scene, the next thing to really stand out to me and get an emotional reaction was Stratton taking the dog after he killed whatsisname. What a cold-hearted SOB! He took the dog to an animal shelter, right?

To add to the above (about which I agree wholeheartedly) I thought it was also telling that Tony blew up at EJ for leaving him after she assumed he was dead, and then made the point later in the safe house that he needs to surround himself with people who he'd give his life for and who would give their life for him. I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it. So he's basically acknowledging that EJ isn't one of those people. Not to make it a Ziva vs EJ thing, because the same can be said for Gibbs or McGee, but there's no way in hell that Ziva would've turned tail and run if she'd seen him get shot and just assumed he was dead. Not even if staying put her in immediate danger. Because she's got his back.

[dragonheart]

what you said.

[rebecca-in-blue.livejournal.com]

leaving Tony for dead, leaving her friend James Barnsway for dead – leaving Cade and Levin for dead - looks suspiciously like a pattern for EJ.

Oh, definitely. Did you notice that when Tony told her to "take care," she answered, "Always do"? I was like, "Yes, EJ, you're very good at taking care of yourself."

He didn’t move out of her way so that she could take the call – was he figuratively saying I am not moving away this time. I am sticking around. Ray is not running me off.

I love this interpretation of Tony not moving out of her way! I imagined him thinking, "Maybe if I just make it hard enough for her, she'll give up on answering his call." But I like your take much better. I hope Tony non-figuratively says this in A Desperate Man. We'll see!

[erin (from livejournal.com)]

Once I reached the end of the eppie I somehow managed to forget everything that happened before that...

...should I be concerned? XD

Anyways, nice review, sums it up pretty well in my oppinion. Now instead of fearing the episode with Ray I actually cant wait for it.