Good evening, NCIS aficionados.
I know expectations are high after my suggestive ‘teases’ in last weeks’ comments, so let’s get right to it.
Many, many words spring to mind.
Winsome, willowy, wily; lithe, limber, lean; seductive, sexy, sultry, slinky and sly; athletic, powerful, sweet, energetic, fierce, gentle — and violent if need be, but as cuddly as a kitten when not.
But no.
No, again the cruel and merciless Dr. Mercury has decided to hold off on his Ducky tribute in favor of some lesser star. Quiet, shy, unbecoming; you’d barely notice her if she wasn’t about to slit your throat with a pencil eraser.
Ziva.
And, in a grave departure from our normal routine, rather than focus on her mental prowess and athletic abilities, we’re going to focus on her softer, gentler side.
I love using code language.
Okay, let’s get down to brass tacks:
Who doesn’t want to date a cute, slinky, ex-Mossad assassin who can kill you sixteen different ways with a paper clip? If that doesn’t have "fun date" written all over it, I don’t know what does.
Heck, just ask Tony after his first encounter with her:
Snap! And, to her great credit, she’s never let up.
Or has she? We’ll get to that in a sec.
For now, here’s what I’d consider her ‘coming out’ moment as a true NCIS field agent. Up to this point, the rest of the team had been taking pains to point out that being an ex-Mossad assassin is kind of the opposite of gathering forensic evidence to put murderers in jail, and that she lacked some necessary field skills. But this was the moment when they never questioned her again.
(note to self: female Iranian spies sure are hot!)
Speaking of which, I was going to put a different clip next, but I can already hear the stirring in the crowd as the hungry mob clamors for one thing, and one thing alone:
Raw naked flesh.
Be forewarned, however, that only two scenes actually qualify as fleshridden, as the show simply has too much class to resort to such banal, cheap, mundane enticements. I mean, if they did, unquestionably some unscrupulous blogger out there would write a lurid, sordid post on the subject.
And we wouldn’t want that.
Well, now that we’ve got that sordid little subject out of the way, I suppose I should post some of that "softer, gentler" crap I was talking about earlier lest we be shut down by the FCC for ‘false advertising’. Or, in Ziva’s case, I guess that would be falsie advertising.
(thu-dump!)
Thankyew…thankyew…I’ll be here all week…try the veal.
Okay, so we’ve established she’s smart, sexy, a good fighter and a good field agent — but what about the important question that everyone’s asking?
Will Tony and Ziva ever do it?
Now, one thing that’s cool about the show is the way it’s not in any particular hurry when it comes to imparting information. The whole team, including Ducky, never even knew about Gibbs’ first wife and kid until it came out during an investigation years later.
Now check this scene out:
That was four years ago. And since then?
Nothing.
No flirtatious pecks on the cheek or rubbing of knees, just the same fun guy-girl battle they’ve had since "page 57". For the ensuing four years.
But, ah.
Then there was the end of the show a few weeks ago. I haven’t dared to look, but "Tony & Ziva" being one of their pet subjects, I’m sure the fan forums are just rife with speculation as to the meaning of the final few seconds of this episode:
Okay, to scientifically analyze this, we know one thing for certain:
Somebody was trying to say something.
We won’t just outright assume it was a writer — it might have been at some higher-up’s directive.
But what?
Well, since life is simple and easy in TV Land, I suppose she’s thinking one of two things:
1. "Crap, I wasted my Friday night on this meshugeh? Just look at him! What a friggin’ schlemiel!"
2. "Sigh! What a dreamboat! And I’ve got him all to myself! Sigh!"
You’re more than welcome to theorize. I honestly don’t get what somebody is trying to convey — but they’re sure trying to convey something. If it’s #2 and is supposed to be a prelude to Ziva ‘falling for him’ (cringe) can only be answered down the road.
As for tonight’s main attraction, it was a tough call. There are a few episodes where Ziva’s the centerpiece, but let’s just say they’re not very cheery episodes. I figure as long as we’ve touched on the Ziva-Tony connection, the rollicking episode where they get locked in a storage container fits the bill perfectly.
Presenting: Boxed In