NCIS: LOS ANGELES Doesn’t Sacrifice the Human Element

When an unknown Middle Eastern man is found among the dead after an LAPD raid, the LAPD hands the investigation over to NCIS. It’s up to Callen and the team to uncover the link between Al-Qaeda and a powerful Mexican drug cartel.

Complicating NCIS’s task in “Sacrifice” were the arrivals of a Mexican female sheriff (America Olivo) and two mysterious men claiming to be with the FBI. Individual loyalties had to be determined for any real progress to be made on the case. I bought into the affinity Deeks felt for the Mexican sheriff. Yes, she was quite attractive, but I also believed the bond they had as cops; everyone else was a federal agent.

On the other hand, I also trusted the two “FBI agents” once they revealed they were CIA agents and began to explain that the case involved the black market sale of a U.S. Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle stolen in Afghanistan. I was surprised when the female sheriff claimed one of the CIA men worked for the cartel. Not only that, he was the man who had murdered her younger brother.

I’ve criticized how many of NCIS: Los Angeles‘s previous plots have been tied to national security. In “Sacrifice”, though, I thought the national security element was well hidden. The team didn’t find it until they brought in the two CIA agents. The real flaw I saw in early episodes, I suppose, was that the national security stakes didn’t hit home with the characters. Part of that is just not knowing as much about the characters as I know now.

As a viewer, I relate much better when high stakes are humanized by one of the characters. In this case, I cared more about the sheriff’s personal stake than the fate of the Reaper drone. Callen, Kensi, and Sam didn’t completely trust the sheriff at any point, but Deeks believed in her, and that made me want to believe in her, too.