NCIS Review: Head of the Snake (Season 18 Episode 5)

After weeks of slow playing the investigation, the case of the counterfeit opioids finally concludes on NCIS Season 18 Episode 5, “Head of the Snake.”

Gibbs leads the team in on the Merriweather case, and within hours they discover he’s not just a drug dealer, he’s planning a terrorist attack on a military base.

It’s no secret we’re not fans of the way this storyline has been handled. If there were plans all along to make this a bigger deal, there should’ve been a few more hints earlier in the season.

Back in the season premiere, we see Gibbs shoot McGee while they were chasing a plane. Then, to the dismay of many fans, the show cutaway and hasn’t revealed why for five episodes.

Everything becomes clear when Vance and Jack discover a bomb on the plane from MTAC. With McGee’s comms out, Gibbs shot him to save him.

The one highlight of this all taking place in the past is that we never had to worry about McGee since we already know he’s ok.

All season the show has built up Merriweather as this super dangerous and extremely careful drug kingpin. However, when it comes down to it, his arrest is very anti-climatic.

Yes, he kidnaps Bishop but she fights her way free of his men pretty easily, so even that doesn’t concern us too much.

An interesting development comes in the form of Torres’ reaction to Bishop’s kidnapping. He understandably loses it and blames Fornell.

With McGee injured, we don’t get to see them express their emotions, but the show has been teasing fans with this for a while. It’s basically Tony and Ziva all over again.

I am trying not to get sucked in again, but Emily Wickersham and Wilmer Valderrama have portrayed such a grown-up, genuine relationship, it’s hard not to get invested.

Kensi and Deeks being married is a highlight of NCIS: LA, and I think Bishop and Torres navigating a romance could be the same for the mothership.

The show really shouldn’t waste chemistry that good. After a while, the reason for keeping them apart gets progressively more ridiculous.

Once everyone is safe, the team traces a bad guy’s phone to Merriweather’s daughter, then arrests them both. Like I said, anti-climatic. Other than some vague mentions of foreign powers and Russian oligarchs, we don’t even find out who paid him to attack the military.

After weeks of this overpowering everything else on the show, it’s all wrapped up in the usual way. There’s absolutely no reason this has had to take up the entire first part of the season.

The crazy thing is, taken separate from the larger storyline, this is actually a good, action-packed episode. However, the conclusion does not equal the build-up.

Now that that’s over, I would really like to see Kasie, Vance, and even Jimmy get a chance to shine in future episodes.

I’m particularly interested in Vance. Rocky Carroll has always been an underrated part of the show, and the franchise as a whole. It would be great to see him get a story he can really sink his teeth into.

What did you think of this episode of NCIS? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8/9c on CBS.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Amanda’s Top 10 Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror TV Characters of 2020