Jurisdiction

Not the best NCIS episode by any means. Disappointing for me.

Diane Neal got way too much attention. She was a dud on Law and Order too where I believe they killed her off. Gibbs seemed deferential to her which is ridiculous. In fact, he seemed subdued much of the episode.

The main NCIS characters did not have the verbal interplay that usually makes the show exciting. Actually, very little dialog from them.

Tony and Ziva said little of consequence which is a bummer. Their interactions are usually a big reason for watching.

Ducky and McGee had limited dialog too which is sad.

Abby had brief exposure too which is silly. With so many great regular characters, it is a shame not to use them effectively.

I hope Neal is not a recurring character as it would hurt a fine show.

While nothing special, this is a solid episode. The show-runners have now established that Gibbs did indeed start a relationship with Rena Sofer's lawyer woman (I am *really* bad with names), but there is still plenty of teasing left regarding the undisclosed status of Ziva and Tony's relationship. Their private scene together is just so full of dialog fueling the speculation, it might make the weaker fans climbing the walls in desperation because of the lack of definite answers. One just hopes the show-runners don't intend to keep this up well into the next season. A reveal in the season ender would be just right, a "Thank You" for the audience.

With all the seriousness of recent episodes, the NCIS - CGIS mirroring that is played for amusement is a welcome incident. The CGIS "counterparts" of Gibbs, Tony, McGee, Abby and Ziva are a lot of fun, even if only the boss woman is given proper screen time. The looks on the faces of Tony, McGee and Ziva when they realize there is a female version of Gibbs is priceless. Another great scene is Abby's meltdown with the laptop. It's been too long since Abby had a comedy standout scene. The "Abby²" scene and the Cof-Pow conspiracy are pretty funny too. And the Ducky - Gibbs straight-faced relationship discussion is absolutely hilarious.

Again, the character moments overshadow the plot, leaving us with another 7/10 overall, but who's complaining when the character moments are so good? After all, didn't someone say all the stories in the world have already been told and we are only left with variations of them?

Once again Tony shows what an ignorant jerk he is my comparing someone to Corky in Life Goes On. Who writes his lines? First he makes fun of people who ride short buses in a previous episode, now he mocks someone with Down Syndrome. The writers, and Tony need to grow up.