NCIS - Cadence - Review: "The mystery of Tony DiNozzo"

NCIS gave us some insight into Tony's past as a murder led him back to his old military school. We saw a part of what made him the man he is today, and how he was struggling with that.

The body of Private John Wallace is found in the woods and he has a ring of the Remington Military Academy, which Tony also attended. Wallace also has a photo in his hand and it turns out his body was dumped there. In autopsy, Ducky discovers that he was stabbed 20 times, but since there are no defensive wounds it's likely Wallace knew his killer. The team discovers he emptied his bank account and went u.a. five days ago after receiving a call from the Academy. Tony and Bishop head to RMA, where Tony's old coach Tanner is waiting for them. They show him the photo and he tells them it is Christine Sanders. It is revealed that she committed suicide by drug overdose, and Tony and Bishop suspect that Wallace and Christine were dating even though it's against policy. This is confirmed by Cadet Lucas Craig, who is the one who called Wallace before his death to inform him of Christine's death. As Tony and Bishop get ready to go back to DC, they are called by someone who says he has information Wallace and Sanders. That turns out to be Travis, or Cadet "Piggy", whom Tony knows from back in the days. According to Travis, who is employed at RMA, Sanders was pushed to suicide by Honor Corps, a group of senior cadets who punishes young cadets that violates the rules.

Gibbs visits Cantor, Wallace's former mentor and alumni of RMA, whom Wallace went to see after he went missing. It is revealed that Sanders had a stalker who is none other than Cadet Craig. Sanders rejected him, and Tony accuses Craig of using the Honor Corps to punish her. However, Craig did not kill Wallace and points to coach Tanner. In the back of his trunk, they find blood and Tony subsequently arrests Tanner. While Tony is disappointed in Tanner for not banning Honor Corps, Tanner says that everyone knows where the spare keys of his car are and so anybody could have taken it. Abby deduces from fingerprints that Wallace took it, and that whoever returned the car must have taken the bus. That turns out to be Cantor, who killed Wallace because he wanted to go public with Honor Corps. Cantor didn't want his legacy to be ruined, so he killed Wallace.

In flashbacks and through stories, we learn a lot more about Tony. He came to RMA after six boarding schools, and got picked up at the train station by coach Tanner. During a drill led by drill leader Golan, Tony stands up for Cadet Travis, who can't keep up with the drill. Golan sees this as breaking the rules, and later he and his Honor Corps confront Tony. Fortunately, he is saved by coach Tanner, who takes him up in the basketball team. Tony later tries to get away from RMA by stealing Tanner's car, but that plan fails. Tanner then tells him he always looks out for his basketball team members and that he plans to discontinue Honor Corps. However, he failed to do so as it's currently still active. Tanner resigns after the case is closed, and makes it clear throughout the episode that he is very proud of Tony. Cadet Craig also saluted Tony, because the cadets like him make the school proud. Tony does his best to keep this part of him hidden and asks Bishop not to tell anyone. At the end of the episode, Tony calls Travis to have a drink with him and catch up.

Also, Jake and Bishop invite the other three agents for a dinner because Jake doesn't really know Bishop's co-workers. Tony and McGee do their best to find excuses not to go, while Gibbs has already confirmed his presence. But when Tony and Bishop are forced to return to RMA after Travis' call, it's just Jake and Gibbs at Gibbs favorite diner. McGee later comes in, but sneaks away after he only spots Jake and Gibbs. Gibbs subsequently asks Jake what he knows about the relations between Russia and Palestina, which he will probably need in the manhunt for Sergei Mishnev.

This episode taught us some interesting things about Tony DiNozzo. Yet it is clear that Tony doesn't want these things to have come out. That's intriguing as Tony apparently hated his entire time at RMA, but as Bishop later says, it also made him the man he is today. His behavior is questionable, but somewhat understandable. He hated the place so he wants to forget everything about it, even the good bits. Hence, Tony also doesn't want McGee to know that he excelled in his class because he knows that McGee will want to know everything about it. Anyway, it made for an interesting episode and Michael Weatherly did a great job. The case was great though a bit predictable. From the very first moment, I suspected coach Tanner to be the kiler, but when he was cleared, I immediately thought of Cantor. There are interesting parallels between the Cantor-Wallace and the Tanner-Tony relationships. Both mentors have let their protegees down, and both are intent on keeping RMA, their legacy, clean. However, whereas Tanner later comes around and realizes the mistakes he has made, Cantor instead kills to protect his mistakes and legacy.

A few side points:
-Bishop said it well: "Well whatever happened in your past helped make you the awesome guy you are today." Lovely quote!
-Tony said he was 17 when he started at RMA, and in the interrogation room with coach Tanner he said that was 20 years ago. Does that mean that Tony is 37 years old? That makes him 25 at the beginning of the series. Isn't that a bit young?
-We saw in a flashback that coach Tanner made a movie reference to the film The Godfather. Young Tony doesn't know the film. I am 100% certain that Tony has also made this reference once in the series, but I can't remember when. Does this imply that Tony's inspiration for always quoting movies comes from coach Tanner?
-Palmer is on paternity leave. Aww.
-Abby mentioned that she and Burt spend a lot of time with Bishop and Jake. I would love to see that!

What did you think of "Cadence"? What are your thoughts on the case of the week? How do you feel about Tony trying to bury his past? Is he doing the right thing, or should he accept that his past made him the man he is today? And finally, what did you think of the dinner with Gibbs and Jake, and what will Gibbs' question about the relations between Russia and Palestina propel? Tell me your opinions and theories in the comment section below.

The next NCIS episode airs Tuesday at 8/7c. Here is a promo for the episode:

About the Author - Daniel van der Veer

Daniel van der Veer is a Dutch university student studying Psychology. On SpoilerTV he is a reviewer of NCIS, The 100, Stalker, Madam Secretary and the upcoming shows Battle Creek and Odyssey. He also enjoys LOST, Arrow, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, Nikita, The Blacklist, Scorpion and How To Get Away With Murder.

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