NCIS Season 15 (2017)

Season 15 of NCIS first aired between 26th September 2017 and May 22nd 2018, opening on the cliffhanger of the previous season’s finale as Gibbs and McGee are left stranded in Paraguay after aiding in a rescue mission. We find them 2 months later trapped in a rebel prison, starved and delirious while Torres and Bishop hold the fort back home.

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I think it’s an epic season opener - Leroy has been in these situations before, but it’s completely new territory for Timothy who has a pregnant wife to consider back home, and he has to see his leader tortured, the whole situation something that will impact him forever. Eventually they manage to escape by working together and contacting their team for assistance, while Vance and Torres have been arguing their case at Congress.

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Shortly afterwards we are introduced to the newest cast member, as Dr Jack Sloane arrives on the back of a storm and brings a more psychological aspect to the show. She has her own office rather than being in the Bullpen, the creative team deciding that 4 core agents in the Squadroom is the right amount. I absolutely love Maria Bello as this character and I think she brings so much warmth to NCIS. We’ve had female agents before like Kate, Ziva, Ellie and Alex, but Jack Sloane offers a more mature presence that feels very comforting. I like that we don’t know everything about her at once, instead her past unfurling as we move through the season.

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One episode I really loved was ‘Ready or Not’, as we see a hostage situation in a hospital while Delilah is upstairs in labour. It’s actually McGee that spots the suspect while on the way to greet his twins, international arms dealer Andre Yorka who has recently killed a friend of Sloane’s. Maria excels in this episode, as she goes undercover as a nurse and enjoys herself while messily digging a bullet out of Yorka’s leg, all a ploy to catch him off guard so Gibbs can wrap up the situation.

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Another great episode is ‘Death From Above’, as NCIS headquarters is evacuated after a body falls on the skylight above the Squadroom. This eventually turns into another hostage operation, as an Agent within the building assists a group of terrorists in obtaining intelligence to destroy. The whole mainframe is shut down, locking doors and barring communication. There’s alot of comedy within this show, including Torres masquerading as a cleaner and both Bishop and Palmer blowing up Abby’s lab, only for the power to come back on seconds later.

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One of the main story arc’s for this season revolves around serial killer Gabriel Hicks, who is pleading false imprisonment after Fornell put him behind bars 10 years prior. Gibbs is caught in a conundrum as he knows giving a testimony to release Hicks will end Fornell’s career, but he does what he thinks is the right thing and Gabriel walks free.

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This chain of events leads to Tobias becoming a private detective instead, and after seeing that Hicks is ambidextrous Gibbs teams up with Fornell to take him down, as it’s known the murder victims were killed by a left-handed blow, Gabriel insisting that he favours the right. They do eventually catch him, thanks to the assistance of Paul Triff who he shared a prison cell with and divulged all his secrets to - but this isn’t before he kills his lawyer too. French Stewart is superb throughout this storyline, as the terms for Triff’s cooperation are to spend a few days in his old apartment occupied by McGee, quickly becoming what he considers friends - later insisting he’ll be godparent for the twins to Tim’s horror.

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This is the season that we lose Abby, and it’s a devastating loss because she’s without a doubt my favourite character. I always look forward to her scenes and I always remember Abby-centric episodes with the most fondness. I liked the way she was written out though, playing on her past doubts about whether the work is sustainable when the bad keeps on coming. Pauley will be sorely missed but a new forensic specialist is refreshing and Diona Reasonover seems wonderful.

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At the same time MI6 Agent Clayton Reeves is killed, while trying to save Abby. Duane Henry brings so much charm to the show and and we were only just starting to learn more his character this season, from being unhoused with his Mum as a kid to the fact he’s in recovery from alcohol addiction. His absence will be noticed but the creative team always find ways to reinvent NCIS each season, so I’m excited to see what comes next.

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Despite this being a really strong instalment of the show, the only thing about this season that I think was poorly executed was Jennifer Esposito’s exit, especially given that this was a creative choice rather than one of her own. After just one season, the last we see of her character Alex Quinn is in the Season 14 finale as she reveals she’s moving in with her mother to care for her, but there’s still no proper goodbye to the team she’s worked with for a year.

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The special features includes a look behind-the-scenes of Season 15, which reveals that David McCallum chose to do less episodes this season so he could spend more time with his family and commute less. What he’s offered the show for the last 15 years is magical and he deserved the rest; it also feels like the perfect moment to let Jimmy take the reins and step into a leading role.

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We also see David take the Proust questionnaire, which gives some interesting insight into his thoughts, and we get to know more about Maria Bello as Jack Sloane. One thing I really enjoyed seeing in the bonus content was a look at the visual effects department that do the green screen work, something that hasn’t been touched upon before. I hoped there would be something dedicated to Pauley given her exit, but perhaps she left so swiftly there wasn’t time to arrange this.