‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ season 5 finale review: A Hetty surprise; Sam and Callen’s wild ride

Tonight on CBS, “NCIS: Los Angeles” ended season 5 with an episode that was mostly what you expected. Not only were there explosions, and shockers up the wazoo, but some genuine character moments as well.

The biggest shocker that we have to discuss about this show comes merely in the form of a question: Is Hetty gone from the show? The finale certainly made it look like the character was going away, but the bigger surprise was the way in which she went: Quietly. We would be even more worried about the character’s future on the show, but this is hardly the first time that the “Hetty leaving” call has been played.

While all this was going on, Callen and Sam faced a difficult situation as they got on board a sub that was basically a torpedo, and one that could explode at almost any moment. For Sam and Callen, this was one of the more intense / claustrophobic scenes that the characters have ever been involved with. Shootouts are tough in the first place, but forcing them into these conditions made it so much worse.

This story ultimately became a race against time, as we had to figure out if Kensi and Deeks were going to be able to make it in time … and it was not going to be good. Sam and Callen lost out at sea on a dangerous sub is one heck of a cliffhanger ending, and the writers put themselves into quite a corner trying to resolve this one. Even though there was little moment on the Kensi / Deeks front, we still enjoyed this finale just for the sake of the action. This is how you do a cliffhanger! Grade: B+.

What was your take on the “NCIS: Los Angeles” finale tonight? Share your thoughts below.