NCIS: LA Review: Overdue (Season 12 Episode 7)
Our friends at the Office of Special Projects are back as NCIS: LA Season 12 Episode 7, “Overdue,” sees the team investigating a doctor’s murder.
Bellamy had access to medical files on high ranking officers. He also had a gambling problem and was planning to sell these names. His murder leads to Dr. Natalie Chan, who works with DARPA, being kidnapped by Chinese spies, and the team must race the clock to rescue her.
As dire as that sounds, the case takes a back seat to Deeks being interviewed for his entrance into FLETC.
This episode is a real showcase for Eric Christian Olsen, as we get a reminder of how good he can be when he’s allowed to be serious for more than five minutes.
His speech where he talks about important it is that he fight all the darkness in the world alongside his teammates, is the kind of beautiful moment that sets NCIS: LA apart from other procedurals.
It’s no secret we weren’t fans of the show using Deeks to tell a police reform story, but none of our criticism was directed toward Olsen, as he has given Deeks new depth throughout the arc.
Since the promo for next week shows Deeks at FLETC, we assume this all works out, and he continues with the team.
Naturally, the team rescues Dr. Chan in the nick of time. However, the loose end of a Chinese spy hiding in LA is left for another day.
We also got to see Callen awkwardly approach Arkady about making a more permanent commitment to Anna. Just as it seems he’s about to ask for his blessing, Arkady basically tells him not to rock the boat.
Quick question: Why does Callen think an independent woman, with a complicated relationship with her father would care about an old-fashioned tradition like getting Arkady’s blessing?
Other than the team, Arkady has been one of the most consistent people in Callen’s life. Though he’d never admit it, he considers him family.
Their relationship migrates from frustration to humor to respect, and is always fascinating. We’re wondering if Arkady was protecting Anna or Callen?
On a side note, Arkady is still training for his triathlon, and we really want to see the outcome.
Despite the ticking clock, the case never seems as urgent as the show wanted us to believe. In fact, it was a little disappointing every time it went back to the kidnapping, because we wanted to spend more time with Deeks and his FLETC interviewer Agent Martinez.
Moving forward in Season12, we need to see the show return to more intriguing cases. There’s only so many times we can pretend that we don’t know who the killer is while the team catches up.
What did you think of this episode of NCIS: LA? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
NCIS: LA airs Sunday at 8:30 pm ET/8 pm PT on CBS.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Stephanie Holland
Stephanie Holland is a nerdy lover of Star Wars, Disney, Doctor Who, Arrowverse, Star Trek and WWE. Is living the dream of turning a lifelong obsession with TV into an actual job. Still waiting for a reboot of the '80s classic Small Wonder.