SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for NCIS: Origins Season 3, Episode 3.
NCIS: Origins Season 3, Episode 3 is entitled “Return of the Mack,” and will mostly be known for the return of Adam Campbell as Young Ducky. The rest of the CBS prequel, though, doesn’t have the heft that this show usually does. It feels like an episode constructed to move everyone’s relationship drama along.
The case of the week involves the murder of a Lance Corporal who had a side job as part of a Russian-run male escort ring. It’s not a very hard case to figure out; all of the suspect characters are exaggerated enough so as for it to be obvious it’s not them. Add in that most TV procedurals have a fourth-act twist, and fans will be able to guess the killer before NCIS makes the arrest. The best part of the plot, from a procedural standpoint, is that Eric Balfour makes another appearance as Vlad, the CI who’s so happy to be running his own Blockbuster Video franchise.
Most of the episode, though, is about various personal dilemmas. Adam Campbell is once again spot-on as Ducky, who spends most of the hour wrangling his hedonistic mother Victoria (a scene-stealing Caroline Lagerfelt). Victoria’s schtick has the potential to get old very quickly, but Campbell plays Ducky’s frustration so perfectly that it never does. And Lagerfelt makes her character just larger than life enough to be entertaining rather than grating, especially when Victoria sets her eyes on Kowalski. In general, it’s just great to see Michael Harney back again.
But Hannah Barefoot appears in two scenes as FBI agent Jo Swanson just so Mike Franks can fumble over asking her out on a date. Then there’s the ongoing situation between young Gibbs and Lala Dominguez, where they almost kiss again but then don’t, suggesting NCIS: Origins is going to keep dragging out the “will they, won’t they” awhile longer. Good on Gibbs for continuing to respect Lala’s ask for time, yet the show can’t keep viewers waiting forever either.
And the big idea of the show is Gibbs going undercover as an escort to identify the killer, which never stops feeling gimmicky the entire time. It’s a bit funny when an upset husband storms into the hotel room and throws Gibbs into the table, but otherwise this whole sequence of events is just a series of too-obvious awkward laughs. Even the lead-up is trying a bit too hard; Randy giving Gibbs some cologne comes off like Origins doing its version of the “Sex Panther” joke from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. There’s nothing in the prequel part of Origins that the viewer will remember past the credits, and that’s not typical for this show.
Then there’s the present-day Gibbs material, which also isn’t a huge game-changer. Despite all the advertisements hyping up the Gibbs and Tony DiNozzo reunion, because of Origins‘ structure, they only share two brief scenes together. And what those scenes amount to is Tony doing his Ducky impression and then handing Gibbs his next clue. NCIS: Origins has to be careful not to over-promise with these present-day scenes, especially not at the expense of its main story. The commercial for Episode 4 is focused on the return of Emily Wickersham as Ellie Bishop, which is good news, but that shouldn’t be all it promotes. Origins has a great universe of its own and a great cast, and “Return of the Mack” doesn’t take advantage of any of that. It feels like a filler episode to move the characters along to their next waypoint.
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.
