NCIS delivered an entertaining tale with love letters

Every now and then, NCIS likes to shake things up. That happened in Season 17, Episode 16, with the use of love letters to tell the story.

After 16 years on our screens, we can end up in a slump with the same old stories. NCIS doesn’t want that to happen, though. Every now and then, we get a different form of storytelling. That was the case in Season 17, Episode 16 through the use of love letters.

The actors took on different roles that had some similarities to their own characters. Torres was able to connect with the retired Naval officer, while Ellie was able to connect to his long-lost love. We got to see Gibbs in a fatherly role and Jack as the aunt. And, of course, McGee played the brother who turned out to be holding something back.

A different murder to solve

The episode all started with the death of the retired Naval officer. This wasn’t anything suspicious, though. As he said goodbye to his beloved dog, he chose to kill himself in his car holding onto a picture of his beloved. The reason for NCIS to be pulled in was the letter he left with a coin that was to be left with the Naval Museum.

That kick-started the case. It turned out the coin could have been stolen. While it would help to keep the man’s favorite wing open, it turned out to be evidence in the case.

It wasn’t until the middle of the episode that we realized there was even a murder to solve. We’d believed that his long-lost love had died of natural causes, of a disease that had killed her mother. In the end, she’d been poisoned.

“Ephemera” — While investigating the suicide of a retired Navy officer who left a rare, valuable — and possibly stolen — coin to the National Museum of the Navy, the team imagines themselves in his life story in order to piece together how the coin ended up in his possession, on NCIS, Tuesday, Feb. 18 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Wilmer Valderrama as NCIS Special Agent Nicholas “Nick” Torres, David McCallum as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, Emily Wickersham as NCIS Special Agent Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop. Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS ©2020 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. /

Keeping NCIS around for reasons other than a murder was ingenious. We don’t usually get to see them connect with the victims in this way, wish that a love story had a better ending. The episodes consistently revolve around the whodunit mystery.

“Ephemera” added a level of emotion and heart that we don’t tend to get all that much. It gave us a new view of our favorite characters, and it certainly continued the idea that Bishop and Torres are just right for each other.

Of course, these types of episodes wouldn’t work if they were used all the time. As a one-off, it was a beautiful insight into the characters, their feelings, and how they can connect to the victims. At the same time, it gave us multiple mysteries to solve without all being about murder.

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What did you think of NCIS Season 17, Episode 16? Would you like more storytelling like this? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

NCIS Season 16 returns with all-new episodes on Mar. 10 at 8/7c on CBS.

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