How NCIS: Los Angeles season 9 has a hero with Eric Christian Olsen’s Deeks

We’re back today with another edition of our ongoing CarterMatt TV Heroes article series, and the focus this time is shifting over to NCIS: Los Angeles. This is a series that despite being in its ninth season is still finding some ways to shake things up and make them exciting. The cases remain as high-octane as ever, but underneath all that this is a show about some of the characters and the attachment that we’ve built with them. We watch because we root for them to get the job done, and occasionally also have a little bit of fun along the way.

While Eric Christian Olsen’s character of Marty Deeks was not originally one of the leading men for the series, they’ve established him grow into one of those roles. We’ve seen him be so much more than just the often comedic cop who teams up with the NCIS field office to take out criminals — he’s also a friend, a fiance, a shoulder to lean on, and in many ways the guy among the team you’d probably most want to go out and have a drink with. He’s a great representation of a heroes on this show, but one of the best things about Deeks is that if you were to label him in such a way, we’re not sure that he would even accept that.

When it comes to his own self-image, we think of Deeks as the sort of guy who just imagines himself in pretty simple terms: He’s a happy guy who loves his life and doesn’t really think outside of himself. He takes things one day at a time and puts others before himself. He’s somehow both carefree and responsible, boastful and yet humble. He’s one of the reasons why NCIS: Los Angeles works so well now — he brings a unique perspective to just how every case he works on because of his police experience.

In doing these TV Heroes articles, we don’t tend to think in terms of the obvious. For example, with Deeks it’s obvious that he’s a hero because that’s his job, but takes that to the next level is how they are able to project some of that into everything that they do. Deeks is a guy who wants to help others even when he’s not on the clock and works hard to get the admiration of those close to him. He’s a hero in how he carries himself just as much as the work that he does. You can say that he has plenty of flaws, but really, what hero doesn’t? He’s a good inspiration for viewers in that he shows that you can perform a high-stress, super-intense job and still find a way in order to be there for other people and not lose yourself in the sense of what you do. Deeks loves his job, but it feels pretty clear at this point that he isn’t letting this said job change him in any way.

Related – Be sure to check out some other news on the next new episode

Credit has to go to the writers for crafting the Deeks character to be as outstanding as he is and beyond that, we also have to give praise to Eric Christian Olsen for finding a way to inject so much humanity and passion into this guy. It could’ve been easy to just pin Deeks down as the comic relief of the team and while he is a part of some of the funniest moments every episode he’s so much more than a lovable goofball. He’s also someone with a big heart who struggles, but also conquers many of his issues with the help of those close to him.

What do you like the best about Deeks on NCIS: Los Angeles?

Let us know right now in the comments! Meanwhile, be sure to also like CarterMatt on Facebook for even more news related to the show. (Photo: CBS.)