NCIS: New Orleans season 4 episode 7 review: Daryl ‘Chill’ Mitchell shines
From the start it was pretty clear that this episode was going to be a case very close to Patton and his area of expertise: Tech. A veteran found himself losing his temper and murdering someone on the highway after a minor fender-bender, and the reason traced back to a company looking to make life better for veterans with PTSS and other issues coming back from war. They were doing their best to do the right thing, but in this case something went terribly wrong.
This is where things got a little more personal for Patton: At the center of this case was his ex-wife Anna (Kelly Hu), who shared a painful history with him. The two did not have a healthy marriage, and through some of their earlier scenes we also got a good sense as to why. They weren’t altogether kind to each other for much of their time together and they had to learn to get over their hardships. Clearly, their marriage did not end well, judging from how Patton didn’t even realize that Anna was now a mother.
Over the course of the episode, they were able to put much of their past behind them and figure out what really happened — of course Anna was innocent, but in the process of identifying the responsible party for toying with the tech, they almost got themselves killed. (We also had the coolest Patton-centric action scene since the start of the show.) As fun as the case itself was there was nothing better on the show tonight than Patton’s apology scene with Anna. Mitchell and Hu have really great chemistry together and we certainly wouldn’t mind if she was to turn up again in the future.
Did this case change Patton?
Maybe not so much. We don’t foresee him stopping his daredevil ways after anything in this episode; what we do think though, is that he has a greater sense of perspective both about himself and also just what he is capable of in terms of relationships with other people. He already knew that he was very good at his job, but what this episode showed us was that he can also be a better human being, someone who should put himself out there and care more for other people.
CarterMatt Verdict
NCIS: New Orleans has done a great job this season of giving all of its supporting characters moments in the spotlight and this was no exception. Mitchell’s great performance made us eager to get some more episodes like this in the near future. He got to be a hero, but at the same time explored some of his flaws. Add to this some great scenes featuring Patton and Gregorio and this was a fantastic episode through and through.
What did you think about NCIS: New Orleans season 4 episode 7?
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