NCIS Season 7 Episode 6-Outlaws and In-Laws

Mike Franks, Agent Gibbs' former senior partner, always seems to return to NCIS with a whole lot of trouble in tow. This time, there are two dead bodies discovered on Agent Gibbs' boat The Kelly, with five bullet holes in one and twelve in the other. Gibbs gave the boat to Franks as a gift to his goddaughter. It doesn't take much for one and one to add to Mike Franks being the one who shot them, at least for Gibbs and NCIS Director Leon Vance. They and Agent Afloat Cortez (who was on the ship that discovered the body) head out to Franks' beach hacienda in Mexico, where Franks is nowhere to be found. Neither are his daughter-in-law Leyla Shakarji and grand-daughter Amirah, whom Franks has been protecting in the memory of his son ever since they left Iraq.

It only gets more complicated from there, as Gibbs has to sort out what happened and exactly what Franks is and isn't responsible for in this fiasco. Vance, who spent most of last season keeping Gibbs on short leash, is willing to give Gibbs some latitude in his investigation. It pays off later on when Gibbs extends the same courtesy to Vance by not going straight after private contractor (mercenary service for hire executive) Colonel Merton Bell (guest star Robert Patrick, criminally underused here). Gibbs also proves to be more forthright in their later conversation when he rather easily admits that he has stowed Franks and his family in his own house.

Interestingly, it is Ducky and Abby who are questioning Gibbs feelings of loyalty towards Franks and how that may blindside the investigation. He quickly schools them on that theory. Gibbs' body language throughout the episode is clear-he knows that Franks is hiding the truth from him-but it takes time and patience (and most of the episode) to get that out of him. Even then the admission that it wasn't Franks but his daughter-in-law that killed the two men to protect Franks and her daughter isn't spoken of directly, rather through the vagaries of pronoun usage.

It seems Layla's mother Shada Sharkaji, head of a tribe in Iran, contracted with Colonel Bell's private military company to bring her and Amirah back. The two dead men were ex-Army and ex-Navy. Bell's agency has a tendency to hire former military servicemen and women with less than sterling records. When they fail to accomplish their mission, Shada comes to America herself. Bell doesn't like failure as well. When he tries again to collect the mother and daughter, it leads to a flash bang going off in Gibbs' house and a stand-off that ends with a twist that a long-time follower of the show will enjoy.

At first Shada comes off as hard hearted, but like most parents, it's a façade for a complicated interior of conflicted emotions. The face-off between her and Franks is one of concerned grand-parents debating what is the greater good for the family. It's quite the summit, eventually leading to a reconciliation that seems amicable enough for all parties. Shada is able to see her daughter and grand-daughter, but Franks is able to keep them in Mexico.

in the past Mike Franks has been strong willed, bullish and even toeing on edge of the line between solider and cowboy-cum-outlaw. This time, he comes across as resigned and perhaps even outmatched by the situation. He later admits he didn't even hear the mercenaries coming for the girls. Muse Watson plays the character more from the angle of the doting grandfather who does what's necessary to protect his family, which brings even more of the character's charm and humanity to the forefront. You can't help but like the guy and hope that in the end he and Gibbs will be on the beachfront property slinging back a few Mexican beers while watching the sunset, though that happy sort of farewell rarely happens to fictional characters like the aging gunslinger.

This episode is another one dependent on the history of the characters as opposed to the stand-alone procedurals. However, it is filled with lots of pay-offs for those who have followed NCIS over the long haul. There is the clever inclusion of ex-Marine Corporal Damon Werth, who proved to be more than a match for Ziva David in Season five's "Corporal Punishment". There is the return of Gibbs' first NCIS partner Mike Franks, his daughter-in-law and viewers being able to see Amirah as a toddler. Then there is the sheer thrill of seeing the fully completed boat, THE BOAT that Gibbs built over the last several seasons (although by the end of the episode it will have seen better days).

Abby's glee as she shows off The Kelly to DiNozzo, McGee and Ziva is irrepressible and contagious-she spins around the evidence garage and joyously shouts "it's all mine". Abby is very respectful and careful at first, but Gibbs seems willing to let his hard work go the way of the evidence heap when he gives her the okay to "tear it apart". This seems to give Abby the green light to try to figure out not just evidence crucial to the case but also, how Gibbs got the boat out of the basement in the first place.

Even better than that, most Gibbs-fans will thrill at the first-ever sight of the upstairs to Gibbs' house. It's a simple yet comfortable layout, with wood side paneling and sporadically filled with couches and filled bookcases. Well, okay, it's not like fans should have expected a grand ballroom with crystal chandeliers or anything, we're talking about a straight-forward and honest ex-Marine here in Agent Gibbs.

The parallels made between Layla and Ziva, both in the position of ex-patriots of their respective homelands and looking to make fresh starts elsewhere. It should be noted that Ziva is mocked rather harshly by DiNozzo during this episode when she is studying for her naturalization, which strikes me as off-tone for even their Tom-and-Jerry like relationship.

Even more disappointing, we still don't know how Gibbs got that damned boat out of his basement!