NCIS took us for a ride with a case that brought the Army Criminal Investigative Division to their door. NCIS season 23, episode 11 focused on Agent Jessica Knight and how a call from a former informant almost got her in hot water.
Years ago, Knight had taken part in taking down a notorious drug dealer thanks to Ryan Harper, who had almost gotten into the business before realizing this was the wrong path. He had built a relationship of trust with Knight, so when he needed help and barricaded himself inside a warehouse full of munitions, the Army Criminal Investigative Division called her for help.
Knight's job is on the line as she attempts to come to someone's aid
Major Matthew Malone took charge of the case, only allowing Knight to talk to Harper since he called her but not willing to work with her. The CID was also battling rumors of a shutdown, so they were determined to make this case end quickly. Harper seemed paranoid, and then when a body was discovered in his house, they were ready to take him out.
Knight was able to get McGee and Torres to go to his mother’s home at Harper’s request, only for them to find a pinball machine and expensive vehicles that Harper claimed did not belong to him. What they were able to find out was Harper had been running a charity with a friend of his, Sergeant Joseph Yates, who was the one found murdered.
CID didn’t wait and claiming they saw him making a weapon, shot him with a sniper’s rifle. Harper did survive, but Knight was understandably angry about how far they went and not allowing her to help him. Because the case was under CID jurisdiction, they couldn’t do much, but she wanted to clear Harper’s name.
Knight met Harper’s girlfriend, Amanda, who told them money had gone missing from the charity. Harper had been investigating this oddity, and at first, they thought he was suspicious of Yates. However, McGee managed to find a video that showed the two men in the background discussing the charity. Lip-reading software McGee created proved Harper had gone to Yates for help, not to accuse him, and that Yates planned on talking to Matthew Malone.
Before they could do anything, CID apparently decided to investigate Knight’s connection to Harper. Agent Alden Parker didn’t take too kindly to this and he had words with Director Vance, who was trying to both play nice with CID per his job while also protecting Knight in his own way.
When Malone came to question Knight, he had evidence that appeared to show Harper had built a drug empire. Knight really appeared to believe she had been taken for a ride, and this led her to quit to protect NCIS from being taken down so CID could stay afloat.
However, there was actually a twist, as Kasie discovered that the bags of cocaine found in Harper’s home were not at the grade that would sell for profit and they came from an old batch seized from the Roland Massi case. It really did appear someone was framing Harper.
The actual culprit was a surprise twist for NCIS
As it turned out, at some point, Malone and Knight began working together to take down Amanda, who was actually Roland Massi’s daughter. She wanted revenge on the person who put her father in prison, so she got close to Harper in order to frame him.
This was a twist I truly did not see coming, and it felt like a classic mystery for NCIS. Malone did a convincing job of being a smug jerk, but in the end, he did come around to Knight’s side and admit he got too ahead of himself.
It was also a nice touch to show us a side of Knight and how her previous job still impacted her role as an NCIS agent, so we’re glad we got a bit of a personal touch along with the case for the week.
NCIS airs Tuesdays on CBS at 8/7c.