NCIS "Spinning Wheel" Episode Review

Now this is what I call a Ducky episode! The last one they had didn't do his character justice. They've redeemed themselves. Even if it was a Ducky episode, they still seemed to focus on other characters and resolve somethings that needed to be resolved. I actually was pleasantly surprised at how this episode turned out. 

Finally, shows are getting back on the happy ending wagon again. Even if it is just for a little while. I don't mind the real life type stuff every now and then, but for a while there, it was just starting to get to me. So for the fact of them actually letting this episode end on a light happy note, was just plain awesome. 

It also made me wonder if Gibbs is treating Ellie a bit differently because, first off, he doesn't wanna lose another member of his team (since he feels like it has been his fault in the past) and he also knows what she's going through. Maybe not quite an affair route, but he knows that she's going through a difficult time. Sure, it bugged me that he asked if Ellie needed to go home after her talking with Jake and that she almost accepted it, but didn't. Gibbs wouldn't normally do that. But like I said, I think Gibbs knows what Ellie is going through. She just needs time to herself to think it through and if it gets in the way of her performance at work, then he needs to think about that as a boss stand point as well. Now, I'm not totally defending Ellie in any way. I'm just looking at her story at a different view right now. 

I don't know why I should be surprised by this, but I am. I'm surprised that McGee didn't go straight to Tony or Abby to lay down what he had just over heard Ellie and Jake talking about. Bravo to him for not doing that! I guess in the past I can see that, but maybe since it was so private, he felt that it wasn't his place. Which it wasn't at all, but still, I liked that nice little touch they threw in there. I wonder if McGee will ever confront Ellie on the fact that he over heard or if he'll just keep it as a secret to himself? 

Is that really how Gibbs hears everything that's going on? For some reason, I feel like they've had this conversation before. That they figured out some sort of sweet spot, but I could be wrong. I could totally see Gibbs lurking behind them and waiting for just the right moment to pop up and embarrass or discipline the group. 

First off, I didn't even know that Ducky had a brother, so that was news. Secondly, I didn't realize how much of an age difference there was between them. So much so he really could have been a father to the kid. It took me a few minutes to realize that was Ducky in the flashbacks. The flashbacks were very powerful and the actors did an amazing job. But man, that scene where Ducky couldn't rescue his brother in time was just heartbreaking. Thank goodness they were finally able to have a happy ending. Even if it took several years for that to happen.

Their new case, is someone who's after Ducky's brother who he believed to have been dead. I was so hoping for a happy ending for Ducky, so I was pretty let down when the first person they found at the end, ended up not being the brother. I was thinking "Great, he really did die". 

That's when the Christmas miracle (if that's what you wanna call it or really good friends, you decide) happened. With enough research at the NCIS, they were able to track down his brother. A name change is what stopped Ducky's search the first time. He didn't know that happened. Their reunion was the best at the end. It was made even better when Nicholas remembered who Ducky was, even if the nurses said he didn't remember a thing after all these years.