'NCIS' 'Dead Reflection' review: Strained relationships and MTAC access

Last night's episode of NCIS was 'Dead Reflection,' season 8 episode 21. There isn't a new episode until May 3, and that one will be the Tony origins one, 'Baltimore.' 'Dead Reflection' had plenty of moments that speak to the future of relationships on the show and the continued hunt for P2P.

Strained relationships

Tony has been working on Gibbs' team for 10 years now, and despite the head slaps (which Tony sees as a sign of affection), they have had a pretty good relationship. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to attribute Gibbs as the reason (or at least the main one) why Tony has stayed at the agency this long when before, he switched police departments about every two years. However, things couldn't remain good between the two forever, and now things are strained after Gibbs found out about Tony and EJ.

Gibbs has his rules, and Tony's breaking a major one right now – rule #12: Never date a co-worker. As Gibbs told Tony in the basement scene, "My team, my rules," and even though they're not on the same team, Gibbs doesn't care. Gibbs knows how messy things can get when personal and professional relationships are mixed (Jenny Shepard). When Tony talked to Ziva about his conversation with Gibbs, he likened it to talking to his father – by telling him what not to do, Gibbs made him want to continue what he's doing more. Ziva warned him that he's going to have to make some choices. Could this be foreshadowing part of the end of this season's serial killer arc? Could this change once Tony starts remembering his days in Baltimore and how he joined NCIS in the next episode?

Tony was distracted in last night's episode – during the scenes in the bullpen, he did keep looking over towards EJ's team. However, the entire team seems to be distracted. It is interesting to watch as Gibbs and Tony's relationship – one of the strongest on the show – becomes strained just as a new team enters who are just as close as Gibbs' team.

Jealousy strikes again

Abby and McGee haven't been together in years, but that doesn't mean that they don't still get jealous when one has a possible love interest. Last night's NCIS featured Abby going out with Cade to show him around town. McGee did not like that one bit, and Abby knew he was jealous. Will these two ever get back together? The way their relationship played out the first time is just how romance should be dealt with on procedural dramas – off-screen, with a couple of mentions to others. It didn't dominate the story line, and the focus remained on the cases.

The blue eye

'Dead Reflection' also gave some clues about that eye delivered to Tony in his drink. Ducky told EJ that the eye belonged to a male in his mid 30s (based on the condition of his retina) who has undergone LASIK surgery. (That seems to rule out Director Tom Morrow, unfortunately. He seemed like a pretty good candidate.) The episode ended with EJ and Palmer taking the eye up to MTAC and scanning it – and the door opening. If it is someone from the past, could it be Stan Burley (he worked on Gibbs' team before Tony)? He would be about the right age. Trent Kort still remains a possibility, though he is a bit older.

Last night's episode also showed Palmer taking on a more central role. Ducky had him take over at the first crime scene and directed EJ Palmer's way when she had questions about eyes. It's always a good thing to see Palmer taking on a more important role, but could this be foreshadowing something to come in the P2P case?

What did you think of these aspects of last night's NCIS?

Photo Source: TV.com

© Meredith Jacobs 2011

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