SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 14. It also contains discussion of violence involving animals that may be upsetting to some readers.

“The Beautiful Ballad of Gary Callahan” is NCIS: Origins‘ version of the Futurama episode “Jurassic Bark.” Both of them are tear-jerking stories about the hero’s bond with his dog. Luckily, NCIS: Origins gives its tale a happier ending, but it’s likewise a deeply emotional episode that fans may not ever want to watch again just because of how much it will make them cry.

For animal lovers, the first ten to fifteen minutes of “The Beautiful Ballad of Gary Callahan” are an extraordinarily difficult watch. Viewers have to see not only Gary suffering from a stab wound after chasing a murder suspect, but his whole puppyhood of suffering: watching his brothers and sisters be taken away, the medical condition that made him unwanted, being dumped on the doorstep of a kill shelter, and then living on the streets. By the time the episode gets to the boilerplate scenes of poor Gary being ignored by plenty of humans who could’ve helped him, it’s hard not to be in tears, even though viewers know he’ll find a better life.

Things pick up when the audience learns how Gary met Mike Franks. It turns out that Franks was working in animal control, but fell in love with him and took Gary home instead. It’s an adorable scene when Franks and Tish come home to Gary having trashed their living room, and Tish knowingly tells Franks that he already has feelings for the dog. There are so many moments in the episode that reinforce how adorable Franks and Gary are together, and Kyle Schmid deserves a round of applause for being able to get through so many emotional scenes. Franks is either angry or close to tears for most of this episode (as he should be), and that can’t have been an easy performance to pull off.

It’s also lovely that Tish was equally supportive of their bond. Plus, any opportunity to see Tonantzin Carmelo as Tish again is much appreciated. There is a genuine “aww” moment when Tish mentions that she heard from Doc Tango about NIS launching a K-9 program, as fans can put the dots together and realize it’s Tish who set Franks and Gary on their path to greatness. There are all these little connections in the world of NCIS: Origins that make this prequel so emotionally satisfying.

The whodunit in this episode comes second to Gary’s well-being, but that isn’t really a flaw because the audience is also more concerned about Gary than anything else. Instead, it’s heartwarming to see the extent to which the whole office goes for Gary, including a whole “welcome back” setup in the NIS office and some freshly baked dog treats from Kowalski. Everybody has a Gary moment, too. This is a classic “agent wounded in the line of duty” episode, except that agent just happens to be a canine. Those scenes don’t erase the heart-clenching moments from act one, but they’re lovely all the same. Including the contrast of Gary receiving his own Purple Heart ceremony with his induction ceremony as an NIS agent—and the confirmation that it was Gary Callahan who brought Mike Franks to the agency.

That moment is mind-blowing for NCIS fans, knowing the impact that Franks had on Gibbs and on NIS as a whole. To see the scene of Cliff Wheeler offering Franks a job, and realizing how much wouldn’t have happened if not for Gary, immediately makes Gary Callahan one of the most memorable figures in NCIS canon. And there’s something sweet and hopeful about that. Gary even provides the inspiration that leads Franks to make an important decision about the case. Nobody’s going to remember that the actual killers are a pair of misguided high school girls; what they’ll recall is Franks giving an encouraging speech to the original suspect, based on what Franks learned from Gary.

“The Beautiful Ballad of Gary Callahan” could have been a very emotionally manipulative episode. No doubt the NCIS: Origins writers know that everyone loves Gary, and they could’ve just taken advantage of that. Instead, viewers are treated to an episode that—while it induces a lot of tears, several different times over the hour—makes Gary the hero, just like Franks and Gibbs and everyone else has had their chance to be a hero. It probably could’ve laid off on some of the early trauma and been just as memorable, but the end result is still loving Gary Callahan and giving him an even bigger piece of the NCIS story. And unlike Philip J. Fry and Seymour, fans can leave knowing that everything works out for Franks and Gary.

NCIS: Origins airs Tuesdays at 9:00 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.