The body of former Marine Daniel Cryer is recovered by deep sea fishermen in Tanzania. Cryer is tied to Ziva’s Mossad mission aboard the Damocles, but the location of his body refutes Ziva’s claim that the Damocles went down in a storm. Gibbs and Vance must elicit the truth from Ziva before approving her request to become an NCIS Special Agent.
Dating back to last season, Ziva’s dual loyalties to Mossad and NCIS have been great fuel for stories. This episode was the stiffest test of her loyalties. Ziva’s duty to Mossad forbade her from discussing the Damocles mission, so coming clean to NCIS would mean no less than betraying her father.
I enjoyed getting to see the Damocles mission in flashbacks, but I was fairly sure Ziva would be innocent of Cryer’s (Erik Palladino) murder. More compelling was whether she would talk about the operation at all and break her ties with Mossad. It was interesting to consider how each team member’s position during the investigation mirrored those of viewers. Gibbs and Vance, as the two main interrogators, had to remain neutral. Abby was completely in Ziva’s corner while Ducky conducted his own, friendlier interview.
This episode amplified the metaphor in “Reunion” of Gibbs replacing Ziva’s father. In “Reunion,” Ziva opened up to Gibbs; here Gibbs goes so far as to tell Ziva her father is “not a good guy. He’s dirty.” Their final conversation set up another metaphor, namely that Ziva’s assassin persona died aboard the Damocles and who she is now is someone new. Earlier in the episode, the leader of her Mossad team had said she would get over her time away and her old instincts would come back.
This episode also stands out as the first time Vance and Gibbs cooperated seamlessly, without butting heads. That payoff was almost as satisfying as Ziva becoming an NCIS probie.
Make no mistake, Ziva has always been part of the team from the start. They wouldn’t go half way around the world rescuing their lives to save her if she hasn’t been part of the team. The whole thing about Ziva leaving Mossad and becoming NCIS agent is not to be part of the team but to soften Ziva’s image to the viewers. Ziva was always this tough strong kiss-ass Mossad agent who was trained to be a ruthless killer. By becoming a probie, we’ll see a soft emotional Ziva that will reminisce Kate’s character. Kate was emotional and didn’t have problems to show her vulnerability or ask questions. Ziva on the other hand, knows everything and CAN do anything. But the new Ziva will be more flirty and NCIS will turn into a TIVA soap opera. I hope not.