After the Interview: Top 10 Takeaways from Our Chat with Eric Christian Olsen

Or “M. Deeks” as Eric likes to call it. How wonderful to see that this is still a possibility. Eric himself certainly seems more aware of the show’s tradition of naming backstory-heavy episodes after the characters (even if he can’t quite get the name straight) than he was when I asked Shane Brennan about it at the first Paleyfest Q&A. At that time, Eric didn’t seem to know about it at all. Now it appears that Shane always had something planned for Deeks. Eric said, “That was Shane’s kind of storyline and [character] background, which we never got to see before he left, which is – like, what is that episode of the ‘M. Deeks’ or whatever he kept promising? Which hopefully Scott will take over and do at some point. My guess is probably at the end of this season or maybe next season.” At this point I’m inferring that it has at least been discussed, I assume between Eric and the current showrunners. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem likely to happen before 2019 at the earliest.

8. There could be a Season 11

When Eric mentioned the possible timing of a “Deeks, M.” episode, also of interest was the way he tossed out his reference to Season 11 as if it were a foregone conclusion. I wonder if the core four signed multi-year contracts that could make another season more assured than this current one seemed to be, assuming of course that the ratings hold up.

7. Hidoko’s death wasn’t a foregone conclusion

Beyond wanting a dramatic Season 9 finale, the showrunners ended last season with five characters’ lives in jeopardy for a larger reason. As Eric explained, “They honestly didn’t know who was coming back.” It’s awfully hard to imagine an NCIS: Los Angeles without the four stars, and I can’t begin to imagine how a Season 10 premiere would have looked with all that carnage! But it’s definitely easy to imagine that one or two of them might have felt ready to move on. If they had, then Andrea Bordeaux’s Harley Hidoko could easily have slid right into one of the leading roles. She was well-liked by most fans and capable in the field.

To me, this explains, at least in part, the horrible way they handled Hidoko’s demise. They needed a way to leave her fate unknown, so they couldn’t allow her a real hero’s death like she deserved. While there were surely better ways to handle it, knowing that her fate really was up in the air until the rest of the cast was determined makes me feel a little better about her departure.

6. The Prince of Darkness is a family man

Eric complimented Frank Military’s writing, explaining that one of his strengths is his “strong emotional sensibilities through character.” He called the Season 10 premiere “the best version of our show.” This we knew.

What surprised was hearing about Military’s “amazing” family, and how it impacts his writing, particularly around how he writes Densi.  According to Eric, Military’s darkness is “usually some sort of reflection of finding love in those places, or hope, or relationships. It’s not dark for dark’s sake… Frank is searching for beauty in there.” I can totally see that, for I always feel like seeing characters pushed to their limits reveals their true nature in a way we don’t get in a typical banter-filled episode.

We’ve always known that Military has a romantic side. It shines through pretty clearly in scenes like the ends of “Spoils of War,” “The Seventh Child,” “The Silo,” and “To Live and Die in Mexico,” but now we know a little more about where that romance comes from. It makes me wonder if he might be one of the show’s main advocates behind allowing Kensi and Deeks to become a couple, and to get married. We could see how conflicted the showrunners were about moving the couple forward (“Three Hearts” I’m looking at you), seemingly afraid they’d kill off the special “thing” they’d created. Perhaps Military was the one pushing to allow Densi to find true love and real happiness.

5. R. Scott Gemmill is writing the wedding episode

We also got the great news that R. Scott Gemmill is writing/has written the wedding episode. Eric described Gemmill’s strengths perfectly, saying “Nobody’s better at drama, action, comedy, perfectly down the middle of all three of those things, so I’m really excited that he’s writing that episode.” Me too!

While Frank Military, with all his darkness, just might be the most romantic writer on staff, Gemmill can be plenty romantic too. Just look at the “sunshine and gunpowder” end of “Wanted,” Deeks’ coma proposal in “The Queen’s Gambit,” and the “It’s a love story” end of “Impact.” He’s also the most versatile, as Eric described. My total supposition from Eric’s quote is that the wedding episode might still involve a case (the action), along with some shenanigans (perhaps supplied by Roberta), and (fingers crossed) at the end of the day, the Densi romance we all want to see. And it might be happening sooner rather than later.

4. Post-premiere trauma follow-up is likely to be in short supply

Eric talked a bit about how traumatized Deeks had been by the events of the past few seasons, but when it came to whether we’d see it addressed, his response was less than promising. “Well that’s the other part of the show that’s interesting,” he said, “is that there’s always a pretty quick bounce-back. The bounce-back has to be quick, because it’s procedural television, right? So the format doesn’t lend itself to long recoveries emotionally.” So true and so frustrating for those of us who long to see more of the personal side and the impact of the danger and killing.

But his response wasn’t totally negative. He gave a glimmer of hope that they wouldn’t forget the subject entirely, saying, “So we have what is a lot like life, I think, which is traumatic events, and then we have to move forward with our jobs and our relationships and our lives. And then they come back from whatever that is – the trauma, the scarring of those traumatic experiences – come back in really interesting ways.” So I’m not holding my breath, but I am hoping they won’t turn Season 9 into the equivalent of a long dream sequence that never really happened.

3. The development of his character came out of a collaborative process