SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for NCIS Season 23, Episode 11.

There’s a bit of art imitating life in NCIS Season 23, Episode 11. “Army of One” centers around a fakeout that Jessica Knight pulls off to expose a drug lord. But the commercials for the CBS drama, which made it look like Knight was resigning, essentially faked out the audience, too.

This episode is a prime example of how TV promotional spots need to be taken with a heavy grain of salt. “Army of One” turns out to be very different from what viewers expected, even as it relies on a couple of familiar NCIS plot twists. But it works thanks to the performances of Katrina Law and guest star Chad Michael Collins—while potentially setting the latter up for a return or even a recurring role in the future.

The plot focuses on Ryan Harper, an informant of Knight’s who went on to enlist in the Army, only to barricade himself in a warehouse and ask for her help in proving that he’s been framed for murder. Harper seems to have killed his friend over money that went missing from the charity they founded, and he wants Knight to help prove his innocence. But the Army investigator in charge, Major Matthew Malone, has another idea. And then a third one after that, which is when NCIS picks up steam.

This episode requires a certain amount of patience, as the whole first act seems like an overly obvious version of the procedural trope where the heroes butt heads with a character from an outside agency. Malone comes off as exceedingly one-dimensional, and Collins does a fine job of making him the unlikeable adversary. It’s not until later on that NCIS starts giving the character depth, so it takes longer than it should for viewers to care about him. But in retrospect, that’s the point—because disliking Malone means that fans don’t catch on to the fact that Knight didn’t actually quit. She and Malone were working together to identify the real villain, who turns out to be Harper’s girlfriend Amanda.

That aspect is the part of “Army of One” that rings the most hollow. NCIS has done a couple of episodes that involve the family members of notorious criminals, such as the underwhelming “Baker’s Man” from Season 22. This reveal isn’t that interesting either, in part because of that predictability and also because Amanda doesn’t get the screen time for viewers to have any sense of her character. Prior to her being arrested, she has one other scene with Knight. NCIS also deprives viewers of getting to see Malone’s reaction to the news that Amanda is the daughter of drug kingpin Roland Massi. Sure, showing that would have tipped off the audience to the fourth-act plot twist early, but it’s a big moment to keep off-screen and Collins would have been great in that potential scene.

This could have been an even better episode if the audience was in on the scheme slightly earlier, and rallying for Knight and Malone to take down Amanda. But as it stands “Army of One” is entertaining. Viewers know that Knight is going to find a way out, because Katrina Law isn’t leaving NCIS. They just don’t know how and the how is satisfying in two ways. It doesn’t go for the melodramatic ending of making Ryan into a villain and Knight angsting over that. It also is nice to see Malone turn out to be a good guy, because it would likewise be too easy to leave him as a self-centered jerk, unwilling to admit his mistakes. The latter is what suggests the show could have other plans for the character, and it absolutely should.

The subplot in NCIS Season 23, Episode 11 is the rumor that the Army may shut down its entire investigative division and pass its caseload off to NCIS. (Hollis Mann would be so disappointed.) At the end of the hour, Malone is gutsy enough to ask Knight to recommend him for a job. Is this a hint that the character could reappear as a member of the NCIS team at a later date? That wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility, as the show has plenty of recurring characters who don’t have to be seen very often. There’s Zane Holtz as Dale Sawyer, and the show bringing back Joel Gretsch’s character Stan Burley years after his first episode. Collins could easily resurface next season or anytime, and he’d be an asset to the series as another solid actor who can come off the bench to add something extra to a story.

Whether or not that happens, his presence is one of the reasons why “Army of One” is successful. It might be using some very familiar parts to assemble its plot, but the audience cares about what happens to Knight and the switch-up at the end is emotionally satisfying even if it’s not surprising. NCIS keeps the audience wanting more and that’s the most important part.

NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Photo Credit: Courtesy of CBS.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 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.