S10E24 False Flag
Season finales tend to be explosive, whether in the literal sense with the team in a life or death situation, or due to a personal situations. The best will always combine both. False Flag falls short on both accounts. None of the team are individually affected by the finale's plot on a personal level and this means there is less engagement with the case. The episode, albeit still running at a breakneck pace, has less urgency. The explosiveness is present in the literal sense with Kensi, Deeks and company being under attack in Iran whilst Callen and Sam on the USS Allegiance witness the Saudi's launching rockets towards Israel - but both occur in the final minutes.
Prior to that, the episode continues from the last week at a rapid pace and remains rather confused as to who is who and why. To recap, Pavel Volkoff (arch enemy of Callen's late father) was involved in a Russian state sanctioned operation involving Chechen sleeper agents/spies who are actually ISIS sympathisers and are hiding in plain sight as crew on board the aircraft carrier. These men and women of Chechen decent changed their names upon marriage to hide their heritage, which was touched on previously and becomes a little clearer in False Flag. What is not clarified, is the Russian's end game. Russian diplomat Yashnikov admits Chechens were used so if the operation went south, they could distance themselves and place the blame elsewhere.
It seems the Russian's have successfully created a network of spies, which is fair enough but
how come they all ended up Muslim and with ties to ISIS? This connection is never bottomed out and this is another reason why the episode lacks that little something associated with finales. There is also a question whether Pavel Vokoff's involvement with the Chechens was in anyway linked to the project he lost control of in Cuba and his final words, warning the team about dangers headed their way - or had he lost control of two separate projects? It is potentially a missed opportunity to build a larger arc, connected back to Callen, Darius and Volkoff. The above details come to light thanks to Kensi and Deeks, who arrest Olivia Baird (her husband blew himself up last episode). She fails to cover her tracks by making a call to the Russian diplomat in LA - surely a rookie mistake no self-effacing Russian sleeper would make. She speaks with a perfect American accent yet slips to speaking English with a strong Russian accent half way through the interrogation when her lies catch her up.
The most delightful aspects of the episode is the return of CIA Agent Sabatino, who seems to be the only field agent in the CIA. His sardonic attitude and repartee means he can play off all the main cast. This outing, he was in Iran to locate a French journalist who was with an ISIS defector who could evidence the false flag operation and part of his purpose is to disseminate a lot of information within a minute. He also brings with him a light-hearted element.
Sabatino: Well, well, well. Of all the gin joints in the world. Heard you guys were looking for me.
Deeks: You realize you pissed off the entire crew of the USS Allegiance, right?
Sabatino: Eh, it's what I do.
Kensi: Chief Wallace, SEAL Team Seven. This is Sabatino, he's a-an acquired taste.
Wallace: Nice place you got there. Covert tax dollars at work.
Deeks: Listen, we need to talk.
Sabaino: About how you guys didn't invite me to the wedding?
Wallace's SEAL team was on board the Allegiance. When Sam introduced himself, he is of
course recognised by the SEALs. Sam is a living legend! New character NCIS Special Agent Jasmine Garcia, forces her way on screen to assist Eric in Ops. She is young, brash, obnoxious and extremely competent, repeatedly calling out Eric's insecurities and pulling out ideas that Eric would usually have had. As usual he takes offence and is immediately over-protective of the ops centre. The purpose can only be to underline how well Eric and Nell work together, and that Eric is losing his touch, maybe due to Nell's absence, which is actually a distraction when she appears on screen, all teary to have a heart to heart with Eric. The episode has moved on and this subplot is not required, although it does allow Hetty to order Eric to be with Nell in San Francisco. Personal storylines outside of NCIS is important to see, yet this one seems to only be inserted to provide a reason for Nell and Eric's absence.
The fast paced plot sees Kensi and Deeks first in LA, then ordered by Callen to the Allegiance, and then diverted to Iran. Alongside this Sam and Callen remain on the ship while Hetty and Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie squeeze Yashnikov for information. Along with Navy Captain Harmon Rabb, MacKenzie is the other JAG character. She is introduced (in classic NCIS soft lighting style) to the JAG signature tune and works well with Hetty. Opportunities are seized for Mac to summarise the missing years of their relationship and too much time is spent on the awkward conversation between Harm and Mac (ship and ops). It unnecessarily slows down the narrative and is clumsily orchestrated, as Sam and Callen are called away from the screen to to allow couple space.
The pace increases as the episode concludes, with scenes from the various locations inter cut, adding to the sense of urgency and concluding with dire situations occurring on the ship and in Iran. In summary this is a very busy episode, much like the previous one, There are a plethora of characters, plots, subplots and locations which are difficult to keep track of. The best moments come from Sabatino and also Hetty, who has the best line ever:
"And I'll have the filet mignon. Uh, I'd like it burned on the outside and bloody on the inside, like my enemies. "
