NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 4, “All’s Not Lost” is a solid example of the TV procedural. Its plot is easy to digest and fit into the 42 minute run time, and the story is clearly constructed to fit around a main character’s arc. But even knowing that this is as paint by numbers as an episode can be, the emotional payoff still happens, because of the performances the actors bring to the table.
“All’s Not Lost” opens with young Gibbs being informed of the deaths of his wife Shannon and daughter Kelly, moments before the ambush that strikes his military base. The case of the week centers around a young girl named Mildred Jones, and it’s obvious that through helping Mildred, Gibbs can help himself with his own losses. Every beat is checked off efficiently, leaving audiences feeling satisfied even if this is a story they’ve seen before.
NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 6 Has an Underdeveloped Case
The Mystery Is Easy to Solve and Not That Intense
Season 1, Episode 4 wants to seem more complicated than it actually is. When schoolteacher Briana Davis is found shot and her boyfriend’s daughter Mildred is missing, everyone believes that the killer must have been targeting Mildred or her father, Staff Sergeant Derek Jones. But anybody who’s watched enough TV crime dramas knows that there’s always a third or fourth-act twist; the initial theory is almost never right. So when “All’s Not Lost” reveals in its fourth act that Briana was the intended target, it’s not the surprise NCIS: Origins wants it to be.
And that would be fine… if the story was better developed, too. There’s nothing wrong with a predictable story in any TV show as long as it’s executed well. Unfortunately, “All’s Not Lost” runs out of time to flesh out what actually happened. The reveal that the person who paid to have Briana killed is a member of the community isn’t a surprise, because that’s how these plot twists normally go; it’s someone that the audience has already met and assumed is a “good guy.” But the mastermind being the dairy owner falls flat because the viewer has no idea of who she is beyond the scene in which she first appears. She’s out of sight and out of mind, and so it feels like the NCIS spinoff trying to create its own Mr. Burns, without time to actually do so.
There’s a better case for it to be Briana’s overly helpful neighbor; his admission that he wanted to matter to the investigation is rife for a different kind of story. It’s not uncommon for people helping an investigation to be suspects — or there’s a whole other idea here where he could have just kidnapped Mildred for attention, to make himself look like a hero when he “finds” or “rescues” her. But because Episode 4 needs screen time for Gibbs to brawl the hitman and actually rescue Mildred, any development of its other villains or their motives goes out the window. The audience is expected just to say “all’s well that ends well,” and they do. There’s just a better storyline that could’ve unfolded.
NCIS: Origins Gives Gibbs Some On the Job Therapy
Season 1, Episode 4 Is About His Emotional Development
From the moment that NCIS: Origins establishes that Mildred won’t talk, the viewer knows it will be Gibbs who gets through to her. A young child being the sole witness to a crime and the hero making an emotional connection with them is a fairly common crime show plot. It makes even more sense when the proverbial theme of the episode is Gibbs finding out about losing his own daughter and his wife. The path forward is clear: Gibbs connects with Mildred, comes to care about her, and through helping her takes another step forward for himself. Yet thanks to the work Austin Stowell continues to do in the role, it’s still rewarding for him to get to that end. When Gibbs watches Mildred running to her father at the end of the episode, everyone knows exactly what he’s thinking.
Mike Franks: Gibbs might’ve been a little overzealous. This case ain’t exactly easy on him.
One of the hurdles in NCIS: Origins Season 1, Episode 3, “Bend, Don’t Break” was the lack of similar development for anyone else. “All’s Not Lost” takes a step to rectify that, in an awkward way. Mike Franks assumes that Mary Jo Hayes will be able to get Mildred to open up because she’s Black. Franks quickly realizes he’s put his foot in his mouth on that one, but there’s still some good screen time for Mary Jo as she does have genuinely heartwarming scenes with Mildred anyway. She’s absolutely right that the young girl deserves a real bed and a home-cooked dinner, even as fans know that just means the killer is going to wind up on Mary Jo’s doorstep. That foresight doesn’t make what Mary Jo does for Mildred any less admirable.
But this episode is really the Gibbs show, and Stowell is well aware of that, making sure that he delivers the moments when his character has to crack. The exchange between Gibbs and Mary Jo, in which Gibbs shows up with one of Kelly’s toys to give to Mildred yet can’t bring himself to go into the house, is relatively brief but speaks to the depth of pain that Gibbs is still carrying around. One unfortunate bit of the episode is that the aforementioned fight takes place in the darkness of Mary Jo’s basement (presumably to keep viewers in suspense). Being able to see the expressions on Stowell’s face for more than a few seconds would have further helped with Gibbs’ development — to literally see that sadness turn to anger and determination.
NCIS: Origins Episode 4 Stumbles With Its Subplots
Some Elements of the Hour Work Better Than Others
With NCIS: Origins still finding its footing, it’s no surprise that there are still rough edges to the episode. There’s a comedic subplot in which audiences realize that Franks’ most trusted associate Gary is actually the office’s canine — and that Franks has even given him a last name. But the humor there is short-lived, although it’s great to see Gary “sleeping over” at Franks’ house in the end. Perhaps NCIS: Origins is trying to do what FBI: International has done with Tank.
And the episode is heavy-handed in reminding Franks (and the audience) that this is a sensitive case for Gibbs. One conversation would have sufficed, but there are repeated mentions of how Gibbs probably shouldn’t be working it or how hard it must be for him. A large part of Lala Dominguez’s screen time is devoted to worrying about him in some way. “All’s Not Lost” hammers that point home too much. The viewer knows exactly what the stakes are because they know the character of Leroy Jethro Gibbs already. And if they somehow don’t, the opening flashback makes the emotional connection very clear, and then Stowell’s performance keeps it top of mind.
There’s also a missed opportunity that falls through the cracks because of the episode’s structure. After having to shoot the hitman, Gibbs wants to be the one to tell the man’s father that his son is deceased. It’s a noble gesture on his part, even without taking his backstory into consideration. Yet when that moment comes, the camera pulls out of the room. The viewers don’t hear anything that’s said and are given just the visuals. That accomplishes the general point — but the scene could have been so much more impactful if given the time to play out. And it should have been, since space was devoted to establishing the hitman’s family in the first place. NCIS: Origins sets up this idea, and then just turns away from it. Season 1, Episode 6 moves Gibbs forward and it’s rewarding in that sense, but it could’ve been so much more.