NCIS - Homefront - Review: "Joining Forces"

NCIS combined the manhunt for Jacob Scott with a weekly case in last Tuesday's episode. While the case was wrapped at the end of the episode, the manhunt for Scott continues as he left one of their own in danger.

The case starts with two officers finding 14-year-old Henry Marshall hidden in a closet. The boy apparently prevented a home invasion at his house by shooting the intruder. The intruder is nowhere to be found, but Abby finds a DNA match to Micky Doyle. McGee bonds with Henry and Henry confirms that Doyle was the intruder. However, Henry had earlier said that he got his father's gun when he heard Doyle enter the house, but evidence concludes that Henry already had the gun days earlier. Henry says that he witnessed Doyle murder someone in an alley and that he took his father's gun from the safe because he was afraid. While Henry and his family are placed in protective custody, the team searches for bodies that were found in an alley, but they come up empty. Examining the alley itself also leads to nothing. Later, a body is pulled from the river and Henry recognizes it as the man killed by Doyle. The man was killed for his involvement with local drug dealers. The team also finds Doyle, but he is dead too. It turns out Doyle had help from someone who accessed traffic cameras following Henry on the night of the murder, and that person also killed Doyle. It is revealed that one of the police officers who responded to the home invasion is responsible for both and that she is a dirty cop.

Also, since Henry's father is in the Navy, they keep moving from one state to another. Henry's mother Anne practiced law in California, but she can't do the same in West Virginia because of differences between the two states. Bishop thinks this is very unfair and suggests to contact Joining Forces, an initiative that supports the families of military veterans. Gibbs reaches out to Joining Forces and is invited to a meeting at the White House with First Lady Michelle Obama, who is one of the two founders of the initiative. Obama says the sacrifices that military families make don't go unnoticed. At the end of the episode, Henry and Anne are reunited with their father and husband.

Meanwhile, Tony is tracking down leads on Jacob Scott in Russia, and he has arranged a meeting with an MI6 agent. Director Vance and Fornell travel to London to meet the MI6 agent, and he refers them to Jessica Terdei, who was the head of the operation that killed Scott's wife. Vance and Fornell track down her Terdei's uncle, who leads them to Jessica. She tells them that an unidentified sniper killed Scott's wife and that someone from NCIS leaked information on the operation. Suddenly, the cottage is attacked by gunfire, but everybody makes it out alive. Jessica, Vance and Fornell head back to the States, where Fornell takes Jessica to Gibbs' house. He notices someone else is in the house and pulls his gun, but he is too late. Fornell is shot twice and Jessica is murdered.

This was a great episode. The case of the week was quite interesting, and it's sad to learn about the way military families are treated. I loved that McGee bonded with Henry and how they shared stories of their fathers being away. Michelle Obama making a cameo was a great way to support Joining Forces. As for the Jacob Scott manhunt, I enjoyed seeing Vance and Fornell working together. Usually it's Gibbs and Fornell, but this time the Director decided to go out in the field again. I'm not sure how to feel about another mole at NCIS. In fact, all three NCIS shows now have an active mole since the spinoffs also have one mole each. Not exactly realistic, but okay. I hope Fornell survives, I love that guy and he has been the longest recurring character on the show. Finally, this episode was the first ever episode where Tony did not appear. Maybe this episode is an example of what the show will look like once Tony exits. And to be honest, I don't think the episode suffered from Tony's absence at all. I will really miss Tony, but I think the show will be fine without him. The episode was still very good, even without Tony.

What did you think of "Homefront"? What did you think of the case of the week? Do you think Fornell will survive his gunshot wounds? Do you have any idea who the mole at NCIS could be? And lastly, did you miss Tony in this episode? I would love to hear your thoughts and theories in the comment section below.

The next episode airs Tuesday at 8/7c on CBS. Watch a promo for the episode below.

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, Madam Secretary and Quantico. 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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