SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 4.

When NCIS: Origins brought Mike Franks’ brother back into the picture, fans of the CBS show knew it was going to be painful. Actor Kyle Schmid and the creative team had already dug so beautifully into Franks’ past in Season 1, but his family history was on a whole other level. “No Man Left Behind” delivers the gut punch that viewers have been waiting for, plus the bonus of Philip Winchester arriving on the scene.

Schmid has repeatedly proven that he was the perfect choice to play the young version of Mike Franks. The layers that the Six alum has given the character, together with the character-driven writing that NCIS: Origins does so well, have made this Franks even more compelling than his older self from NCIS. Muse Watson was great in that role, but when the spotlight is on Franks, Schmid is a force of nature. He’s asked to do a ton of emotional heavy lifting in this episode—not just anger, but grief and desperation—and he hits every note emphatically.

That’s also what makes Winchester the right choice to portray Mason Franks, Mike’s estranged older brother. These days, TV viewers know him from his stint in the land of NBC procedurals (Chicago Justice and Law & Order: SVU), but he’s an actor who can reach those same levels of both intensity and vulnerability. The work he did on Cinemax’s Strike Back was award-worthy, just on an overlooked network in one of the most underrated shows of all time. Winchester is thus able to hold his own with Schmid, and even take control in the scenes when Mason is supposed to get the better of his younger brother. The battle between the Franks siblings is the emotional core of “No Man Left Behind,” and it wouldn’t exist without the equal talents of both Schmid and Winchester. As emotional as this episode is, it also should earn both actors a few new fans.

There are other good things going in this episode as well, thanks to writer Gia Gordon (working from a story by Gordon and NCIS: Origins co-creator Gina Lucita Monreal). “No Man Left Behind” displays a level of continuity that most TV shows never get anywhere near. The case of the week is a direct callback to the Season 2 premiere “The Funky Bunch” in more ways than one. The suspect is the key witness from that episode, Corporal Joel Wade, who explains that he was robbing a Naval bank to give money to Thomas Meyers’ family—he’s still wracked with guilt over Meyers’ death. Audiences probably never expected to hear anything about that story again, and yet Gordon and Monreal get a second, equally poignant plot out of it. And just the idea that what happens in one investigation can have a ripple effect into another one is appreciated. Crimes never happen in a vacuum in real life, but on TV, most of the time stories don’t get revisited… or if they do, it’s because there’s a serial perpetrator or some kind of main character trauma. The guest characters, the “little people,” rarely get this kind of attention.

Beyond that, Gordon connects the Franks family story to The Range, the community that the NIS team stumbled into during the Meyers case. “No Man Left Behind” ends with Mike bringing Mason there, so that his brother has a new opportunity… and not just any new home, but one that genuinely fits his character. As Mike explains to Mason (and thus the audience), the people at The Range understand what it’s like to lose one’s land. This isn’t just a happy ending thrown out there to have a happy ending. It’s one that actually makes perfect sense. And NCIS: Origins deserves flowers for that thoughtfulness, as well as its willingness to avoid the most dramatic ending. Other shows would pick the angsty result simply for perceived entertainment value. But this episode, while bittersweet because the last scene is Mike coming home to pack up the Franks family ranch, chooses to end with hope and a little bit of peace. That’s what Mike Franks and his brother both deserve—and it’s great for the viewers, too.

Elsewhere, NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 4 also confirms the romance between Cliff Wheeler and FBI agent Noah Oakley that was hinted at during Season 1. Oakley returns when NIS joins forces with the FBI, and when he and Wheeler tell Mary Jo Hayes the exact same anecdote about the Elton John song “Daniel,” she realizes that they were on a date together. Before that, Wheeler and Oakley share a brief scene in Wheeler’s office. The episode lets these moments, as well as those between Franks and Mason, breathe on their own. There’s no dragging something out too long, or being heavy-handed with what the audience is supposed to feel; the scenes are simply left to be. Even the latest reminder of Lala Dominguez’s car accident fits perfectly within the narrative.

“No Man Left Behind” is one of the best examples of NCIS: Origins‘ commitment to both character and overall continuity. It fits perfectly within what’s already happened in Season 2 and with the characters that have been established. Kyle Schmid and Philip Winchester do excellent work, delivering everything that viewers have been waiting for. And the story gives the audience something to look forward to, even as it looks back.

NCIS: Origins airs Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Photo Credit: Courtesy of CBS.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.