NCIS season 16 episode 12 review: Gibbs takes a trip down memory lane

Mark Harmon

The last episode of NCIS reminded us of two major storylines that are being played out this season: That there is something romantic brewing between Torres and Bishop and that Leon Vance is still being investigated by the CIA. While the Bishop and Torres story has been a long slow burn the past two seasons of the show, the Vance/CIA story is burning a little quicker and we are really hoping to get a conclusion to it before the season is over.

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When man shows up (named Sydney) Gibbs is immediately on edge. They have a very long history, but not all of it is good as we can see when Sydney goes in for a hug and Gibbs instead gives him a handshake. He’s known Gibbs since he was a child telling a story of when Gibbs was 9 he tried to bring a dog home when he was nine and even though he got in trouble for it, he still got to keep the dog.

Sydney reveals that the man Gibbs was named after (LJ)  who was a friend of his father’s has passed away – to which Gibbs says he already knows and will see him at the funeral trying to rush him out the door, but Sydney tries to say he has another reason being there. Gibbs doesn’t want to hear it and sends him out the door anyway.

Later when Gibbs returns home Sydney is in his living room and Gibbs is still unhappy to see him. What happened between these two men? When Gibbs was younger his father took Sydney in after he hard a hard time readjusting after being in the army so he lived with Gibbs for a while and even took Gibbs on fishing trips just the two of them. Sydney tells him that his biggest regret was never having kids but that Gibbs was the closest thing he had to a son making us even more intrigued as to the reason why they fell out.

No one holds a grudge quite like Gibbs and finally he asks Sydney why he left their house. Sydney said that his drinking was out of control and Gibbs mom had enough and told him it was time to go since he refused any kind of help she offered him, but instead of saying goodbye and giving the relationship they had proper respect, Sydney just left. At least now Gibbs has some closure on some of his feelings of abandonment from Sydney and with a better understanding can move forward and be less angry at Sydney for handling the situation the way he did. The last moments of the episodes between them at Gibbs’ house was really wonderful to see as they forgave, reconnected and bonded once again.

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CarterMatt Verdict

Getting a look at what Gibbs was like as a kid was a lot of fun since we rarely get to hear stories from his childhood – mostly it feels like Gibbs has been this age for ever!

Also for all of the Bishop and Torres fans out there the show gave everyone a moment between them when Bishop snuggled into Torres’ arm while they were undercover watching a sting operation. Not only that but Torres found Bishops favorite chips and bought her five bags of them to make up for cancelling her date.

As we said it’s been a pretty slow burn on these two for a while now, but they have really been pushing this relationship forward a lot these past few episodes. Are we going to see them involved in a relationship before this season ends? It’s starting to feel like it could shake out that way.

What did you think of this week’s episode of NCIS and how are you enjoying the season so far? Leave us a comment below and tell us what you think! (Photo: CBS)

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