Review: NCISLA “The Body Stitchers” (S14E03)

NCIS: Los Angeles writers Frank Military and Adam G. Key are back this week, and they’ve brought the darkness that’s always been a signature element of Military’s work. Ably directed by Suzanne Saltz, the episode provided a ton of gore and even more suspense as the team tried (again) to take down a team of serial killers. Happy Halloween everyone!

What could possibly go wrong?

I hadn’t had a chance to rewatch “The Monster,” part one of this storyline, but the “previously on” clips were more than enough to bring the creepy story back into my head, and enough to make the opening, as the camera slowly wove around a series of hanging curtains, much scarier than a typical cold open where we just wait to see who’s going to get killed to set our story in motion. I did not want to keep moving forward to find out what was happening, to “bear witness” to what was sure to be a horrific crime.

Military is never afraid to go dark, and Key certainly wasn’t afraid to go with him on the “The Monster,” which he also co-wrote. Here, they and Saltz provided a lot of gore, with fleeting close-ups of the Frankenstein bodies and perhaps even more shockingly, poor deceased Mrs. Jeffries slowly dissolving in her bathtub. That shot actually called to mind one of Breaking Bad’s most memorable early sequences and for some reason, made me think of the half-body of “Mother.” It’s amazing I didn’t have nightmares from all this, but I tried to embrace it as Military and Key going all in on the horror genre. It really is too bad it didn’t run next Sunday, the night before Halloween. 

What surprised about the episode was the incredible sense of suspense it evoked right from those opening clips of “The Monster.” Particularly effective was the sequence at the theater. By finding a way to plausibly separate the team, Military and Key made them more vulnerable to falling victim to the killers. The seemingly huge complex, with all its random dark rooms and hallways and places to hide, just made the whole thing feel like a classic horror movie, as we waited to see who the bad guys would hurt next. Don’t they know that rule #1 of horror movies is to not split up?

Among the brilliant notes I took while watching were, “Be careful Deeks!” and “Kensi be careful!” I found myself holding my breath watching Kensi arrest Cindy Ferguson, and watching Deeks off conducting his own search. It was the most scared I’ve been for Deeks since the bomb room of “Mother,” and before that, the incredible cliffhanger of “Descent.” That he was on his own, without working comms, with the criminal mastermind and one of his henchmen nearby, was highly disturbing. They could have so easily decided to kill or kidnap him (and yes, the latter would have made for an even more exciting turn of events). I’d imagine Deeks would be quite shaken by that thought and only wish we’d have had time to see him and Kensi discuss it. Any fan fic writers out there want to help us out?

I did fall for the big twist of FBI Forensic Psychologist Collins being Vincent, the “master” killer. In my defense, he was definitely hinky, but I chalked it up to bad acting. Ironically, I made the same mistake in “The Monster,” where I said: “There was definitely something off about the auto shop owners and employees. They were overly cheery, which I just chalked up to bad acting. I should have known there was more going on than met the eye.” Note to self: remember this if and when we get part three of this story.

The whole episode to this point had me so creeped out that when we transitioned to Sam at home piecing together the clues, I was still terrified the killers were going to show up and hurt him or his dad. These people had definitely gotten into my head. It’s a credit to the script and direction for getting me on the edge of my seat.

While Military has never been afraid to go dark, he has often done so to bring attention to the light. We talked with him about it when we were lucky enough to interview him. Here’s how Eric Christian Olsen summarized Military’s approach in one of the videos he was kind enough to share with us:

He has an inclination of writing dark material, and his rationale for that is that the light is the brightest when coming from the dark. That we find our humanity and the best version of ourselves sometimes in the darkest of times for characters. Which I think is true.

I think what has been missing from this storyline to date is that balancing sense of emerging humanity. We’ve seen our team react in horror at the acts of these depraved individuals, but we haven’t yet seen them pushed to overcome the challenge of bringing them to justice. We haven’t seen them come away from the darkness having gained something or saved something. “Spoils of War” was great because Deeks went to a very dark place but then saw the error of his ways and retreated from the darkness. “Descent” was great because Deeks was pushed into an incredibly dark place but then overcame it to save his team, and over the course of many episodes, overcame the consequences of his trauma. “The Seventh Child” was great because in saving the boy and the other would-be suicide bomber children from villains capable of such dark acts, Deeks and Kensi emerged with a clear desire to move their relationship forward. I’d love to think that in part three of this storyline, Military and Key might provide that element of our team (of course I’d vote for it to be Deeks) triumphing in some way through the darkness.

Memorable moments

• It was a tough transition from creepy cold open to the hilarious Raymond Hanna (played by Richard Gant). Still, his sarcasm was laugh out loud funny, pretending to call G Callen to “start an investigation” over the cigar butts in the backyard and mocking the pleasantness of his early morning conversation with his son. These two together are enjoyable for the same reason Sam and Deeks together are- their differing sensibilities and senses of humor make for interesting friction. Also, can we please get a scene with Arkady, Raymond and Roberta together? Better yet, how about a spin-off?
• Speaking of Callen, he is going to be very happy to have missed this case. (Did they ever say what he was up to?)
• Once again, Kilbride came off as more of a jerk than he needed to, uncharacteristically unwilling to help the FBI solve the case and bring to justice people who’d murdered a Navy officer. His demand that the team be available if something more important came up did provide a reason to give LL Cool J more time off, but it was unnecessary- they could have simply reacted when the other case popped up and kept Sam out of the field. But way to go Deeks and Kensi for standing up for the dead officer.
• Deeks helped me prove a point from last week – that he’s rubbed off on Kensi – by repeating his signature line (uttered by her last week): “What could possibly go wrong?”
• Deeks and Sam working together to interrogate Michael Jeffries was another episode highlight. They played off one another so beautifully. What a great bookend with Deeks’ similar scene with Callen last episode. Both showed how truly part of the team Deeks is, even if sometimes he and the others joke about his status. I’m hoping for more of Deeks with either one of these two.
• Even though Callen was missing, the fluid mixing of team members during the theater sequence showed them all working together like a well-oiled machine. 
• I appreciated the conviction Teya Patt brought to her role as Cindy Ferguson, a role played by a different actress in “The Monster.” But yes, Cindy, I kinda think you are in a cult, evidenced by your fellow member slitting his own throat rather than be captured, and your buying into such crazy lines about art transcending death as an excuse to commit murder.

Come back later this week for new editions of Deeks’ Surf Log, Kensi’s Journal, and the Drabble of the Week. This weekend we’ll have the preview for “Dead Stick” along with a new video from Eric Christian Olsen. In the meantime, tell us what you thought of “The Body Stitchers.” Were you turned off by the gore, or did the horror aspect intrigue you? Were you as on the edge of your seat as I was? What do you want to see in a conclusion to this story? (Or are you done with all things body stitching-related?) Let us know in the Comments!