NCIS Quenches a THIRST For Ducky

In “Thirst”, a trucker accidentally hits Naval reservist Jason Simms, who is crossing a Virginia highway on foot. The impact isn’t enough to kill Simms, but he collapses and dies within minutes. NCIS discovers a large amount of water in his system, enough to cause death.

The characters spent a significant amount of time this episode discussing Ducky’s new girlfriend, Dr. Mary Courtney (Cheryl Ladd), whom he’d met on a highbrow dating site. The time devoted to Mary–including a pastry break in the park and two dinner dates–was so significant that she had to be involved in the main case.

The new love interest who turns out to be a killer is nothing new to crime dramas. I sometimes dismiss it as a possibility because it is such a cliche. At the same time, the detective’s romantic involvement with the killer is one of the best explanations why he gets fooled.

At first, Ducky almost admired the killer’s handiwork as something he hadn’t seen in all his experience. When NCIS found another man killed in the same internally-drowned fashion as Simms, Ducky realized this was a common serial killer. As he decried the killer’s sadism to Mary, I could see the strands of her polished exterior fray. When she felt insulted enough, she snapped. Her rationale for killing was to present Ducky with something he hadn’t seen before (“I did it all for you!”). It’s remarkable that we were introduced to Mary as someone who could be a suitable match for Ducky and she ended up flat as cardboard.

As old as the plot was, having Ducky as the central hero was new. His forensic wisdom is usually sprinkled throughout an episode while Tony, Ziva, Gibbs, and McGee do the heavy lifting. Ducky’s brand of detecting is less action-oriented, more psychological. I enjoyed watching him use these talents, not some action moves, to handle Mary.