NCIS Los Angeles: “Hand-to-Hand” – review

Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Zuna is found dead in an alley near Hollywood Boulevard. His body shows no sign of injury, but he appears to have bled out of his eyes and left more than the usual amount of blood behind. Toxicology shows Zuna was injected with blood thinner. To find out who killed him, Sam goes undercover looking to join a team of mixed martial arts fighters made up of men from Zuna’s old unit.

Previews for this episode emphasized its MMA aspects. Real MMA fighters were filmed in the background of scenes, and I assume they consulted on the episode’s realism. However, as someone uninterested in MMA, I have no idea whether realism was achieved.

Fortunately, there were enough non-MMA elements to keep me interested in the episode. Some of the men in Zuna’s unit had died in a firefight blamed on him. Upon more rigorous questioning, Callen and the team learned a wrong turn ordered by Zuna’s commanding officer led the unit into the firefight. In addition, Zuna’s gym was a hub for everything from prescription drugs to performance enhancers.

The highlight of the episode for me was Eric Christian Olsen playing Jason Wyler. Wyler first fought Sam for the right to replace Zuna on the MMA team. Later we learned Wyler was actually undercover LAPD Det. Marty Deaks. The reveal of his true identity was well timed. He had good chemistry with the team, and in the end, Hetty asked him to be the LAPD liaison for NCIS–similar to Ziva’s original position with NCIS on the parent show.

Like the previous episode “Full Throttle,” “Hand-to-Hand” proves I don’t have to be interested in an episode’s theme to enjoy the episode. Deaks bonded with the team in a single episode, whereas original series regular Dominic Vail never did. That’s a sign the writing has improved. I look forward to the rest of the season.