Oct
NCIS Season 22 Premiere Recap: The Band’s Back Together
Who negotiates with the negotiator?
Welcome back to NCIS! After a brief yet impactful 21st season, the team is returning for a full run of episodes.
However, the team isn’t exactly together yet. Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) has spent the past six months leading REACT trainings in California, Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) has been deep undercover with a local fentanyl dealer, and Tim McGee (Sean Murray) has been pursuing the NCIS deputy director position. Meanwhile, Alden Parker (Gary Cole) is left with a near-empty office, with only Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover) and Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) still around, missing their colleagues.
Palmer tries to downplay his feelings about his breakup with Knight (176 days and counting) by insisting he only misses her platonically, but Kasie and Palmer are secretly plotting to reunite the team—with a plan that involves pulling some serious strings.
But let’s rewind. The episode opens with Parker accompanying family law attorney Celia Ross (Jackie Tohn) to a hostage situation where the perpetrator has specifically asked for Ross. The hostage taker? None other than Jessica Knight, who’s holding a priest hostage and casually offering Ross tea and bourbon. Knight claims she has a good reason for tying up the priest, though Ross—sporting a broken arm—tells her to be honest or she’s walking away.
We then flash back to Parker receiving an SOS from Torres, sending him and McGee to a nearby cell phone tower. There, they discover a cartel enforcer’s body and a note from Torres, leading them to believe that the cartel—run by a kingpin known as “El Padre”—has Torres headed to the West Coast. They quickly link the dead man to Jodie Moreno (Elizabeth Frances), one of Knight’s REACT trainees at Camp Pendleton.
As Knight tells her story, it becomes clear that her hostage situation has personal undertones, especially regarding her breakup with Jimmy. Despite this, she insists the mission is more important than personal feelings. While trying to find Torres, Parker and Knight zero in on cartel hideouts, eventually finding Torres tied up outside a warehouse. But Torres isn’t looking for a rescue—he’s staying undercover to thwart a cartel hit and take down El Padre.
In an intriguing twist, the priest Knight is holding hostage turns out to be none other than Reverend Edward Pike, a calm and collected man running a food bank with suspiciously close ties to cartel activities. Though Parker wants to let him go due to lack of evidence, Knight’s gut tells her otherwise. When Pike drops a colorful band used by the cartel, Knight draws her gun, locking them in as Ross starts texting, acting a bit suspicious herself.
Soon, the REACT team bursts in and arrests Ross, revealing that she’s the one who tipped off the cartel about NCIS’s raids through her connections with Moreno. Her quick thinking leads to a successful rescue of Torres, who cleverly avoids the hit by shooting out the warehouse’s power just as NCIS swoops in.
NCIS Season 22 Premiere Recap: The Band’s Back Together
With the mission wrapped up, Knight is offered a promotion to the Office of Strategic Support. But in a heartfelt decision, she chooses to stay with her team in D.C., much to Palmer’s delight, who’s seen cleaning Knight’s desk in anticipation of her return. Though Palmer claims it’s for his daughter Victoria, it’s clear that he still harbors feelings for Knight.
The episode’s final moments deliver some big surprises. First, Ross insists she didn’t blow Torres’ cover, suggesting there’s a bigger mole at play—possibly DOJ Inspector General Gabriel LaRoche (Seamus Dever), who’s been suspiciously uncooperative throughout the episode. Second, McGee’s bid for the deputy director position ends in disappointment when Vance informs him that the job went to none other than LaRoche, who smugly offers McGee a mint in a moment loaded with tension.
Stray Shots:
- The show’s back in full swing! Are you excited for a full season?
- Can we talk about Parker’s hilarious quip about not using the backseat of his 1973 Chevy Nova for charity work? More Parker stories, please!
- Knight’s protein pastries for her trainees—so wholesome. Clearly, Parker’s influence!
- The sibling-like dynamic between Torres and Knight was heartwarming. And can we all agree that Knight’s new California blond streaks are a fabulous touch? She’s rocking that Pacific vibe.
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