Positively Positive Review – NCIS: Flesh and Blood

by Mokibobolink on Jan.13, 2010, under Crime, Drama, Television

Guest star Robert Wagner and Michael Weatherly in NCIS, season 7, episode 12 “Flesh and Blood”. Image from www.daemon’stv.com Tony's father comes to visit in NCIS

I’m going to come right out and say that I was pretty nervous about last night’s episode ever since I heard that we were finally going to meet Tony’s father. The very first thing that drew me to this show was the relationship between Gibbs and Tony and I was worried that meeting Tony’s father was going to ruin that somehow.

I’m one of those fans who always believed that Tony’s father wasn’t likely to be nominated for “Father of The Year”. From the little bits and pieces he’s let slip over the years, I’m not the only one who came to that conclusion. So when I found out that Robert Wagner was hired to play DiNozzo Sr., I got nervous. Then when I saw the preview clips for this ep, I got even more nervous. Tony’s dad coming off as charming and funny? This was not the DiNozzo Sr., I was prepared to accept. I think us fans need Daddy DiNozzo to be a little messed up. We need that because we need Tony to need Gibbs.

As it turned out, I had absolutely nothing to worry about. The writers of this show must know what we fans are thinking, because last night’s ep was very nearly like a dream come true.

In fact, there is so much I loved about it that I’m not going to do my normal “highlights” section of this review. Because if I did, it would be way too long and I have plenty to talk about without even going into the moment by moment stuff.

For me there were probably three key scenes that I loved. Truthfully I pretty much loved the entire episode from beginning to end but in order to keep this post from being 3 miles long, I’ll keep it to these three scenes.

Tony confronts his father – finally we hear Tony say what we’ve all wanted him to say to DiNozzo Sr.

Gibbs confronts Tony’s father – Gibbs and Tony’s dad together, alone, in a conference room. Did I already mention that this episode was a dream come true? Okay good, just checking.

Gibbs and Tony hanging out – This final scene nearly had me in tears….okay so it DID have me in tears actually but I was afraid to admit that, not wanting to sound like a complete loon. But it did. So there, I admitted it. But for a fan who loves the idea that Tony is Gibbs’ pseudo son, a replacement of sorts for the daughter he lost – and Gibbs is more of a father to Tony than his real flesh and blood will ever be – oh yeah, it was waterworks central. And I found the matching pocket knives a nice touch.

Overall this has now become one of my favorite episodes of NCIS ever. With Tony’s father turning out to be exactly who so many of us needed him to be, and cementing the relationship between my two favorite characters on the show. Robert Wagner did a fantastic job and I for one would love to see him come back again.

Oh and for any interested in seeing even more comments about this episode, feel free to check out my other blog.

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:CBS, Cote de Pablo, David McCallum, Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, NCIS, Pauley Perrette, Robert Wagner, Rocky Carroll, Sean Murray

12 Comments for this entry

Erin
January 13th, 2010 on 2:05 pm
Great post, great ep.

Just….. Squeeeeeeee.

One of my favorite eps ever.
Mokibobolink
January 13th, 2010 on 2:08 pm
Me too, Erin. This one is right up there with SWAK now. Such a freaking fantastic ep.

-Moki
pandi19
January 13th, 2010 on 4:48 pm
Excellent review of the episode! It was a dream come true for me as well!
Mokibobolink
January 13th, 2010 on 5:20 pm
Thanks Pandi! Glad you liked the ep too.

-Moki
AZGirl
January 13th, 2010 on 7:01 pm
It was really weird (eerie?) reading this post as I had nearly the same exact thoughts about this episode that you did! The preview definitely had me worried, but by the end I was kind of melty because of all the goodness….

I might be nuts but my favorite bit of the episode was when Gibbs and Tony pulled their ‘steak’ knives out of their respective pockets and flipped them open. I don’t know if I can properly describe why that bit is my favorite – shows that Tony follows rule 9? symbolic of their relationship, that they’re in sync? evidence of Gibbs’ influence on Tony’s life? Regardless, overall it’s a great scene! – and a great episode!
Mokibobolink
January 14th, 2010 on 9:25 am
Well AZGirl, I guess we can say “great minds think alike”, eh?

It’s good to know I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Seemed like other people I talked to weren’t nearly as nervous about it but then again, not all of them are as big fans of the Tony&Gibbs father/son that I am.

Oh! I loved that part too!! When they pulled out their knives I literally squealed out loud and immediately rewound the DVR so I could watch it again. I think it’s for all the reasons you said, plus to me it spoke volumes after Tony had just left his dad – with a hug goodbye but not returning his dad’s “I love you”. In a weird way, I felt like the knives (and the way the show made a point to focus on them) was their way of saying it…..without saying it.

Gah, the more I talk about it the more I want to watch it again and I still have my NCIS LA review to do. LOL.

-Moki
AZGirl
January 14th, 2010 on 11:43 am
I agree that that scene spoke volumes and the additional ‘volume’ that you mentioned is so spot on IMO! The juxtaposition of those two scenes – the awkwardness of the goodbye between Sr. and Jr. and the comfortableness of Gibbs and Tony’s interactions – is probably why the knife scene sticks out so much to me…
Mokibobolink
January 14th, 2010 on 12:38 pm
Yeah I’m sure they did that on purpose, AZGirl. Going straight from Tony’s goodbye to his dad (as you said, very awkward), to the relaxed conversation with Gibbs and their matching knives.

I want to see Robert Wagner again, but I think with that scene they showed us that no matter what daddy DiNozzo does to try and mend his relationship with his son, they will never be as close as Tony and Gibbs.
snail
January 14th, 2010 on 1:16 pm
i wasn’t worried about Wagner,.. i knew what he would do,.. and he did. great ep…

did you notice Yan Feldman aka Mingo from Serenity… ^_^
Mokibobolink
January 14th, 2010 on 1:43 pm
Well you were right about Wanger, Snail and I’m glad you were. :o)

Oh! I *thought* that was one of the Feldman brothers but I wasn’t sure and I totally forgot to check the credits to see. Too cool!
Jaz
January 18th, 2010 on 10:09 am
You guys are not the only ones who were nervous – I had the exact same feeling after seeing the previews! With all the hints they’d dropped over the years about Tony’s less than stellar relationship with his dad, I was afraid they were going to try and sweep it all under the rug – but they definitely delivered. Your favorite scenes are mine as well, with the addition of the Gibbs/Tony conversation in MTAC, where Tony manages to hesitantly confides his concerns to his boss.

I think it was so well done that DiNozzo Sr. managed to charm everyone there with the exception of Gibbs (and I liked that Ducky seemed to have a clue as well.) My only regret is that Abby didn’t seem to pick up on it.

But it has definitely earned a spot on my top five list!

Jaz
Mokibobolink
January 19th, 2010 on 8:56 am
Thanks Jaz, it’s good to know we weren’t the only ones who felt that way.

I think you’re right, it did seem like Ducky wasn’t quite buying DiNozzo Sr’s charm. I’ve always felt that Ducky sees Tony as a son (or maybe grandson) too. So that didn’t surprise me at all.

Good point about Abby, you’d think she would’ve been immune to him but I guess that shows just how potent the DiNozzo charm can be. Of course that leaves it open for him to come back in the future, and maybe next time she won’t be so starry-eyed. 😉

-Moki