Spider and the Fly

I'm a big fan of this series but occasionally the writers of the episode think I'm stupid. Also in this episode my intelligence is taken for granted. Jethro's father should have just shot that woman in his shop. End of story!

1 As one reviewer said, why didn't Jackson just shoot Paloma in the first scene.

2 A foreign drug cartel takes two machine guns to store fronts on main street in a town in Pennsylvania and there would be a lot bigger response by US agencies than shown here.

3 A foreign agent, the brother of a clear enemy of the US, plants a bug in the office of a director of a Federal agency and it won't be there 24 hours. Either bug sweeps or he wouldn't have gotten there in the first place.

4 You don't negotiate with a foreign country through someone like that who at best is highly suspect. (See #2 above.) 5 Paloma moves around freely throughout the US. Also inside the US Navy yard to plant threats on cars in the parking lot there.

6 Federal agents on guard duty are killed right and left like they are grade school kids with water guns. If it is that easy to do, then the Director assigning those agents to that duty without a more comprehensive security plan is an idiot. (But this happens on every TV crime show on a regular basis.) 7 The outcome of the climax is just beyond stupid. Satisfying for the viewer maybe, but ridiculous.

8 Gibbs guilt is well known by multiple prominent players and even formally documented. It is no spoiler to say he skates given that he is around for many more seasons.

So, the long-awaited (well, at least in USA) final part of the epic four-parter arrives. Does it deliver the goods? Well, yes, but not without some problems.

The first part was about Gibbs and Abby, the second about Gibbs and Ms. Hart, and the third about Gibbs and Vance. Season 7's cliffhanger ending might reveal what this one is about. Also, considering what the plot of the arc is about, the choice is appropriate.

It's rather puzzling why the writers opted for time between the seasons to pass within the series in sync with the real world (after the resolution to the cliffhanger), since they then need to come up with contrived stories outlining what each character has been doing for the past *four* months (the time elapsed is actually stated in one scene). This is a distracting fault that eats up too much of the running time in what is an otherwise excellent episode and a fine conclusion to the arc, with a poetic twist that echoes an old adage. Also, the climax is a bit too convenient a coincidence in terms of timing - unless one believes it was decreed by fate. But wasn't there a specific hit TV show about fate already?

Also, since this is the *conclusion* to an arc, it should by definition concentrate on climaxing the arc, not haphazardly sow seeds for future episodes. Couldn't that have waited until the second episode of Season 8? This is supposed to be the BIG finale. It almost seems the show-runners felt the need to bait the audience, as if they feared that with the arc coming to an end, part of the audience would only stick around if new questions were raised. This speaks of either poor judgment or lack of confidence. A shame - what could have been a 9/10, becomes "only" an 8/10.

As an afterthought, since the series has already reached its 8th year, one really has to wonder, what is Pauley Perrette's secret? She must be the envy of many, many actresses. Not only does it seem that she hasn't aged at all in 7 seasons, but in real life, she was actually 41 when this was filmed! Maybe the fact that Abby, The World's Perkiest Goth™, sleeps in a coffin has something to do about it...

While on the Women of NCIS, it is only fair to mention Cote de Pablo as well. Over the five seasons she's been in the show, some people have complained that the character of Ziva is an unfavorable portrayal of a non-native American. Are the other characters really superior to hers? Not really, when you start comparing them. Her character has actually developed the most over the seasons! Regardless of the characterization of Ziva, Cote de Pablo is of rare, both radiant yet soothing beauty. The show-runners were incredibly lucky when they found her to join Pauley Perrette. Together, they form perhaps the most formidable double-team in American TV today when it comes to pulling in male viewers for a TV show.

Great snappy dialogue between ziva tony and Magee. Bravo to the writers