Question #1: What happened to Deeks after he shot his father?
In our quest to provide the type of questions we would like to see answered for “Deeks, M”, we present to you Question #1: What happened to Deeks after he shot his father?
What We Know
In Deeks lore, we know that Deeks shot his father in self-defense after he pointed a gun at Deeks and his mother. We can assume that Deeks was arrested and had his day in juvenile court. But imagine what it was like for a young boy to be incarcerated for such an emotionally charged event. This trauma had to have an immediate as well as a long term effect on someone so young. It’s possible that another person could have used this traumatic event as a jumping stone to a life of violence and brutality but somehow Deeks overcame this possible future and instead changed his life around. This was a huge turning point in his life because Deeks eventually decided to take the road less traveled and dedicate his life to fighting evil and injustice. If he had any regrets in shooting his father, going straight allowed him to ease his conscience and seek forgiveness for an act that didn’t come naturally to him.
What We Don’t
Was Deeks’ legal team able to prove he shot his father in self-defense? If not, was he convicted and did he serve any time in the juvenile system? What was the real reason he finally decided to fight fire with fire? This was probably not the first time he had to step up to protect himself and his mother and there was no love lost between father and son. But did the young Deeks decide finally he had had enough and decide to shoot his father out of pure hatred? Who knows? We would like to think that Deeks’ base instincts were probably to protect someone or something. Whether it was his mother, human traffic victims or abused prostitutes, Deeks was born with the gene to protect the underdog, particularly women. But the main question is did he spend any time in juvie and for how long? Up until the time Mama Deeks came back into his life, Deeks never talked about her. Was he removed from his parents’ custody and put into a foster home? If so, I would hope he found a mentor to get him through the next period of his life including secondary education and college.
Why It’s Important
Only Hetty could get sealed juvenile court documents when she was researching Deeks’ history prior to offering him his liaison job. But does having sealed documents imply that 11-year-old Deeks was arrested for shooting his dad or did he become a ward of the court? This leads me to a conspiracy theory that I have promoted since Deeks’ arrival to NCIS which is how long has Hetty been following Deeks? I’d like to think he was one of her lost boys much like Callen. I think a case like this would have drawn her attention particularly if he was removed from his parents’ custody. Of course she would have remained a secret benefactor but with help from the system, she could have been directing the course of his life from behind the scenes. When the time was right she brought him into the fold and the rest is history. Crazy theory, you say? Maybe not.
Let us know what you think happened after Deeks shot his dad. Leave your comments below.
wikiDeeks | Marty Deeks | NCISLA 
Hmmmm. nice article. I like to think Deeks didn’t have to go to jail. and as crazy as that theory is. I doubt Deeks is one of Hetty’s ‘kids’.
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I also like to think that Deeks had some kind of mentor back then. and, maybe Hetty WAS a secret benefactor at some point as well, but I dunno.
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In the scene where his mother visited him after he had been arrested he indicated that things had been good between them after his father was gone, and he told her she had done a good job. This always gave me the impression he grew up with his mother. She tried to be a good mom even though she didn’t get everything right like the Stones tickets she had bought for him that turned out not to be what she thought they were. Another time he said he was raised by wolves. I get the impression that maybe Bertie wasn’t the greatest, but she tried and Deeks appreciated it and in turn tried to take care of her. I thought maybe they had lost contact when he joined LAPD. She probably was upset when he changed careers, and he didn’t really want her to know how dangerous his job was.
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Interesting theories Diane. I maybe leaning towards one Hetty’s lost boys. Who knows maybe he crossed paths with Callen and that’s when Hetty saw him. BUT the other big gap is where was Roberta? When he was shot, Siderov, when Kensi was sent away. The current time shows a very close relationship. That just doesn’t happen in a short amount of time.
Compare it to when Kensi reunited with her Mom. I don’t see the same closeness. Solve the mother/son mystery, I think other pieces fall into place.
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Gostei da sua linha de pensamento. Acho que esse lado do Deeks deveria ser mais explorado, talvez um episódio em que ele se depare com uma situação semelhante ao que ele vivenciou e fale mais abertamente sobre o que sentiu e as consequências disso tudo em sua vida. Gosto quando focam nesse lado mais emotivo do Deeks.
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Vivian’s comment per Google Translate: I liked your line of thought. I think this side of Deeks should be explored more, perhaps an episode in which he is faced with a situation similar to what he experienced and talk more openly about what he felt and the consequences of it all on his life. I like it when you focus on that more emotional side of Deeks.
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Great post Di. For me this is a key question. The moment when he shot his dad was so pivotal in his life and I’d love to learn more about the aftermath of that action.
And your theory about Hetty is awesome. It seems entirely plausible. After all, she was probably watching Kensi since she was a girl, given Tuhon’s links to Kensi’s father, and Hetty’s to Tuhon (and Kensi’s dad to Granger). Why wouldn’t the story of an 11-year-old boy saving his mom’s life have caught her attention?
I have to say that when I rewatched “Personal” recently and she smiles at being his next of kin as she walks out of his hospital room, it actually gave me the creeps a little (sorry Maria!). I found myself interpreting it as Hetty happy to have one more orphan to look after, one more to add to her collection. I know she means well, and has probably been more a force for good in these people’s lives than not, but I couldn’t believe how drastically my interpretation had shifted. But of course, that’s what makes Hetty a great character. Everyone sees her differently.
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Oh, and your theory would be such a fantastic twist to throw out to the fans. I don’t think most people would have seen it coming. Definitely a great option for “Brandel, M.”
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I get it. I and a few other great LA fans on Tumblr see her as this sweet (and badass!) protective Mama Hen who’ll risk everything to protect her family. Not everyone can have the same view. (otherwise things would be boring.) (and ridiculous)
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Holy Hetty, Karen! The idea that their fearless leader had her eye on Kensi since childhood never occurred to me! As you noted, Hetty has more connections to people in Kensi’s past (her father via Tuhan and Granger, and even Jack through who-knows-who) than anyone else on the team (that we know of), so it really makes perfect sense!
Kensi, for all intents and purposes an orphan after her father died, fits the profile perfectly of someone Hetty would watch over in hopes of one day “collecting” for her team or putting to some other use perhaps. Much like what Diane wonders about Deeks, now I’m curious to know how much of an impact Hetty may have had on Kensi’s path along the way.
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This is really interesting. We know that Hetty was involved with Callen’s life early on, but I admit I never really thought about her earlier involvement in the lives of the rest of the team. How did they come under her radar? It is conceivable to me that she had her eye on troubled teens Deeks and Kensi for a while and saw potential in them. I am wondering now how Sam became part of the team. What was it about him that made her choose him for the team. If memory serves, Sam is the one who came from a “stable” environment. And what about Nell and Eric; will we discover that she also hand-picked them for the team too? The more I think about it, the more intriguing it becomes. Although we have already had a Lange, H episode, it might be time for another one.
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I agree!! (along with 1 where her absences these past 2 seasons are explained)
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@reebelle4 you are right to ask about Nell and Eric. Especially Eric, I think, because do we know anything about his background and family? We know that Nell comes from a big, stable family of tacky Christmas sweater-wearers, but I can’t think of a thing we know about Eric (although I may not have been paying good attention). He seems like a prime candidate to be another of Hetty’s adoptees. And he’s arguably more due for a “Beale, E.” episode than Deeks is for “Deeks, M.” (but don’t tell the showrunners that!).
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I doubt Eric is 1 of Hetty’s ‘kids’. WOULD be nice to have a ‘Beale E’ episode. (1 of my 49 and counting wishes for S12)
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Hello everybody, this is my first comment so please be gentle with me. I live in England and haven’t seen Season 11 yet. I pretty much agree with what everybody is saying and yes, the mother/son relationship is crucial.
I’m still undecided whether I think Deeks went to jail, but certainly somebody, maybe Hetty but I’m more inclined to a lawyer or policeman, came to his rescue. This unknown person being in trouble would make an excellent entry into ‘Deeks M’. I think Deeks was separated from his mother. Did Mama Deeks have a drug problem? Dancing with Deeks just before the wedding in ‘Into The Breach’ she said she was a ‘good hippy’. When the team were under attack in the microwave episode ‘Sound of Silence’ Deeks made some reference to how his mother spent the sixties. Alcoholic father and drug addict mother would make an idyllic childhood. She evidently functioned well enough to support the family. Could she have gone into rehab and looked after Deeks once she was clean?
They obviously had a good relationship so I think the distance between them was geographic rather than emotional. Roberta was staying with Deeks when she was introduced to Kensi in ‘Citadel’. I got the impression she was living out of town. My theory is that she remarried and moved away when Deeks went to college. Perhaps the marriage failed and she moved back to LA.
We definitely need to know the backstory of this complex character
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Welcome to wikiDeeks! You make some great observations and points! We look for hearing more from you.
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Good to have you aboard, Patricia! I didn’t see your comment until after I posted my own (believe it or not it took me that long to write), otherwise I would have agreed with you too about the importance of where Mama was for so long. Love some of your ideas about that!
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Great start to this series, Diane! I too am intrigued by the idea of Hetty having had her eye on Deeks since childhood. My personal headcanon is that child protective services became involved immediately after the shooting (not that Deeks was arrested) and during their investigation into Deeks’ safety/welfare, he was temporarily a ward of the court/state. Thus the creation of a “record” in juvenile court. But none of that would be in opposition to your theory that Hetty could be an unknown benefactor/orchestrator of his life.
And I agree with you, Catherine Betham, where WAS Roberta for all this time?
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I got the feeling kensi got on Hetty radar when kensi was living on the streets.Have no ideal why I think that.But would love to see a Deeks,M. ep.But would also like Kensi to tell Deeks about her time on the streets,She always tell Deeks no secrets when she herself keeps them.I believe some bad things happened to Kensi when she live on the streets and I like to think Hetty directly or indirectly help her.
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Wow, these questioms are very good to a Deeks,M episode. I would love to have it on the serie. Let’s hope the writers embrace the ideas.
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(Finally signing up and commenting because I love this article so much! I’ve only been watching the show for about 3 months and adore it- especially Deeks!) I love, love, love the idea that Hetty may have been responsible for stepping in at points in Deeks’ childhood. I’ve only seen Roberta in one episode so far, but from my impression of her from fanfiction is that she may have been well-intentioned, but possibly neglectful and more concerned with her own happiness than with her son’s. I wonder if she felt so liberated by Brandel’s death that she just kind of tried to leave her old life behind, including Deeks.
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Welcome to wikiDeeks! I love seeing all these new people for this series. I love thinking Hetty may have been Deeks’ fairy godmother even if from afar. We have 9 more questions to go. So enjoy!!
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As I do not have an idea about the US legislation in case of minors I do not have any knowledge about the procedure Marty went through after he shot his father but I do not think that he spent any time in foster care. I think that he spent all his childhood with his mother. I think he is who he is now, only due to their connection and relation. Roberta was perhaps not a conventional mother but she surely provided him with good education (private high school, violin lessons, college. law school…) and was there for him. Deeks himself said to her several times that she “did good with him”. He took care of her too and maybe he needed to be a parent to her sometimes, but that was their relationship. And whatever we think about their relationship, it was (and still is) strong and loving. My question to where was Roberta for the first 5 seasons was answered rather clearly with Roberta’s behavior when Deks was in the prison during “Internal Affairs” (she was panicking about his dry skin in prison, imagine what will the scale of her worry if she would find out he was shot or beaten or tortured).
What we learned pretty early about Deeks is his need to protect and since he knew his mother he kept her away from his police business either trying to protect her from being possible collateral damage or to keep her ignorant to the possible toll his job posed on him (the reason why she was not his next of kin in “Personal”).
I also think that Deeks came under Hetty’ s radar once he joined police forces and start working undercover and not before.
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I totally agree with you , Maria. I think that with the little scraps of information they’ve given us this is the most logical scenario.
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Me too Maria, (and Elaine). I couldn’t have put it better. I think they may have been separated while the legal stuff was happening, but together for the rest of his childhood.Your theory totally works for me.
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Thanks, Patricia, Elaine! I also agree with your statement that the distance (in his older age) between Marty and Roberta was geographical and not emotional and I am sure that they were in touch all the time and visiting each other and I think Kensi new about her (especially after Personal).
But I do not think that Roberta was a drug addict. Maybe she had her wild and crazy “hippy period” but life with good old Gordo quickly sobered her and made her forget about those days. And I also think that she was overprotective of Marty as he was of her during his bringing up.
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I don’t think that Kensi knew about Roberta before Personal. The surgeon asked her about his next of kin and she didn’t know. Then she asked Callen if he knew. Then she specifically asked Deeks if he wanted her to “contact friends, family, girlfriend, next of kin”?
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Wow! So many interesting theories and comments. I am enjoying this so much. Here’s my two cents. I am of the opinion that after shooting Brandel, Marty remained with his mother, probably under the supervision of child services. I believe this to be true because he spoke of a news clipping about him that his mother kept taped to the fridge (something to do with a snake and his friend Daryl Denkins), his taking violin lessons, playing little league, buying Christmas trees with his mom back behind a Stop N Go, etc. Didn’t he once mention getting his knuckles slapped by a nun? Did he go to a parochial school? A “sparkling clean one” where he was given a hygiene award, lol. I think he was with his mother, who was probably working long hours to provide a home for him and not always available to him. I think he always loved his mama, look what he did to protect her. I personally don’t think he was ever in foster care. If he was, certainly that would have come up in a conversation with Callen at least once, don’t you think?
Perhaps after the shooting, Roberta became overprotective, and that is why he didn’t list her as next of kin; perhaps to protect her from knowing the dangers he faced daily in his line of work. (That bothers me a bit. What if had died after being shot? How would she have known?)
As for Roberta’s name/names, I think it was just not planned out by the writers. When Deeks was shot, it was still pretty early in the series, and I don’t think the writers anticipated the phenomenon that would become Deeks thanks to the wonderful, talented ECO. He lit a fire with the fans that still burns hot. When that happened, the writers had to scramble to quickly come up with a backstory, which they still haven’t fleshed out to our satisfaction. I really hope that they do. Maybe Deeks will suffer some sort of injury or near death experience where his life flashes through his brain……….I have thoughts on his Hetty connection too, but I have already gone on too long.
Thanks Wikideeks for always coming up with such wonderful thought provoking content. Can’t wait for the next nine questions!☮️☮️
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I love the idea that Deeks has some sort of injury or near death experience and his life passes before him, that would be so perfect and allow us to see so much of his past.
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I agree with all of the points made here. However, if they don’t do a Deeks, M or a Brandel, M. or both someone needs to write it in fan fic!
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