NCIS season 16 episode 18 preview: Torres’ struggle in ‘Mona Lisa’

Next week, NCIS season 16 episode 18 is going to deliver another personal story — and this time around, the focus is on Nick Torres! Of course, we say that with a sense of excitement, knowing that Torres himself probably isn’t going to be feeling a lot of that over the coming episode. Instead, it’s more likely that he’s going to be wrestling with a sense of panic and despair. He’s not going to know what happened to him!

As a means of kicking that off, CarterMatt offers the official NCIS season 16 episode 18 synopsis with some more news as to what’s coming:

“Mona Lisa” – Torres relies on his team’s investigative skills after he wakes up on a dilapidated fishing boat, covered in blood and unable to remember the last 12 hours, on NCIS Tuesday, April 2 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

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We’ve seen variations of this story before on other shows and when you see them, there’s one question that tends to come before all others — how did this happen? It’s easy to say “oh, Torres partied a little too much and got himself in a Hangover sort of situation,” but that’s not really the guy we’ve come to know Torres to be over the run of this show. Yea, he likes to have some fun here and there, but this story is likely a little bit more nuanced than seeing Nick get his party on before waking up somewhere, covered in blood. It’s probably more horrific than that.

If we were to issue out a big theory in advance here, it’s that someone is setting Nick up — maybe someone with a past vendetta against him from an undercover mission. Or, maybe it’s someone with a vendetta against NCIS and they’ve decided that Nick is the best possible target for their plot. They may realize that he’s the guy with the biggest tendency to break the rules and because of that, he is the guy most likely to be distrusted if something is pinned on them.

Insofar as different episodes for NCIS, this is exciting! It could also prove to be one of the best performances for Wilmer Valderrama on the show to date. A vulnerable Torres, at least for us as a viewer, is a very strong Torres. This is the side of him that is going to get him closer to some other agents, and make him so much better at his job when the dust actually settles in the end. This is what we’re hoping for him amidst his confusion and frustration.

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Then be sure to visit the link here! That’s where you can get some more theorizing regarding the future for Ziva on this show, based largely on some evidence and credits online.

What do you want to see on NCIS season 16 episode 18 when this episode airs? Be sure to share right now in the comments! (Photo: CBS.)