SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for NCIS: Origins Season 3, Episode 2.
“My Own Worst Enemy” sees NCIS: Origins get back to its single character-driven storytelling, kind of. Season 3, Episode 2 is primarily about lab tech Woody being falsely accused of murder. But compared to the premiere, the present-day Gibbs storyline hangs over the CBS show more obviously.
The majority of the episode sees the team trying to prove that Woody didn’t kill the woman found dead in his apartment, who happens to be someone against whom he has a very old grudge (it turns out one of her practical jokes caused the wrist injury that derailed his dream of bowling professionally). Standing in their way is an FBI agent named Casey Bloom, who’s played by NCIS: Origins executive producer Sean Harmon. Fans of the franchise also know Harmon previously portrayed young Gibbs on the original series—it was a surprise when he wasn’t cast in the prequel—so there’s an extra bit of fun in watching him share the screen with Austin Stowell.
Several of the best NCIS: Origins episodes are the ones that take deep dives into a specific character, and really let them drive the show. “My Own Worst Enemy” does that to a point. The audience learns more about Woody and actor Bobby Moynihan gets to play a wider range of emotions than he usually does, as makes sense when his character suddenly becomes a murder suspect. But it’s not quite as sharp as some of the past character studies, and that’s due in part to the Gibbs of it all.
There’s a certain degree of false jeopardy, because the present-day scenes that start and end the episode show Mark Harmon’s Gibbs getting help from Woody. That means that Woody obviously can’t have killed Sheila in the past, or he wouldn’t be available to assist Gibbs in the present. This tempers the suspense of what’s happening in the main plot; it’s about how the team gets Woody off the hook, not if. And the real truth winds up being handwaved, as Mike Franks explains how and why the actual murderer did it to Cliff Wheeler over a drink in Wheeler’s office.
Here’s where the decision to split NCIS: Origins Season 3 between past and present can be as much a challenge as a pleasure. Woody’s story only starts because the show explains why Woody owes Gibbs a favor. Then the hour ends with a not-quick sequence of Gibbs returning to the main NCIS office, in an extended setup for the already-announced crossover between the two shows. This makes Woody’s plot feel just slightly less important, and it also means Origins has to allocate time away from its main plot in order to tee up the crossover, even if it’s only a few minutes. Origins will have to be careful the rest of the season to balance giving fans the Mark Harmon scenes that they want, with not short-changing the prequel cast. And it can be done; that’s pretty much what happened in the Season 3 premiere, It just doesn’t happen as well here.
(One also wonders if any NCIS: Sydney viewers had their brains pivot that direction when Gibbs told Woody he was going to get help from “Blue.” It’s not likely a crossover between Sydney and any of the other shows ever happens, just because of logistics, but that’s a nice thought.)
“My Own Worst Enemy” is not a bad episode by any means. It’s just not as powerful an episode as NCIS: Origins has done in the past. If this episode had aired in Seasons 1 or 2, when there wasn’t a present-day scene to kick it off and act as an unintentional spoiler, it would play a little differently. But with the crossover just ahead, viewers will almost certainly get a better idea of where the present-day storyline is going and how it’ll impact the past adventures of Gibbs and his team going forward. This episode is just the appetizer.
NCIS: Origins airs Tuesdays at 10:00 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.
