How Marty Deeks Got Me To Give NCISLA a Second Chance: A Decade of Deeks Re-Post

This year, as we celebrate a decade of following the best character on TV, we’re revisiting some of our favorite posts. Come along as we look back at early features, fan fics and fan art. Today’s feature from Bridget dates all the way back to 2013, and it captures one fan’s journey to becoming part of Team Deeks.

 

OK you got me.

I’ll admit it. Before this past summer, I had seen very few episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles. I actually began watching the show when it first started. I was a big fan of the original NCIS, but I found I could never really get into its spinoff. There was nothing on the new one that seemed to really grab me and stay with me, and unfortunately it seemed to fall by the wayside as I had so many other shows to watch.

Then, this summer, when news of Cote de Pablo’s departure on NCIS broke, I, like many other fans, feared the worst for Tiva, a couple I had faithfully shipped for many, many seasons. I worried there was no way that NCIS was going to be able to hold my interest when so many other shows were making power plays for it. I mean, without Tiva, did I really care about NCIS all that much? After all, ultimately I’m a girl who always needs/wants a romance on the shows I watch and a couple I can really root for to succeed.

I knew without Ziva, NCIS just wasn’t going to have that key element, and I sought to fill the Tiva sized hole her exit left in its wake. I noticed that USA was showing re-runs of NCIS: Los Angeles on a more regular basis over the summer, and I had heard rumors and read many a TV article talking about a great couple to root for: Deeks and Kensi. I decided that the summer hiatus was the perfect time to check this couple out for myself. So, I started DVR-ing episodes on USA to catch up along with the weekly re-runs shown by CBS throughout the summer, and I found myself getting completely sucked into the L.A. world by Deeks and Kensi.

They definitely share some traits with Tiva, and it’s easy to recognize the similarities: they are partners, he’s the goofy one, she is more straight-laced and let’s face it, badass. But I didn’t feel like I was watching Tiva 2.0 or a Tiva clone by any means. To this I credit Daniela Ruah and Eric Christian Olsen. These two completely make the characters their own and have a wonderful dynamic (on and off screen) that really comes through to the viewer, which adds a special touch.

I by no means want to downplay the role Kensi has had in my interest in NCIS: Los Angeles or Ruah’s portrayal of her. I really enjoy her character and Ruah, as an actress, does a wonderful job with the character each week. But alas, this is a Deeks fan site, and so I must stress how his character was the one to really send things over the top for me and really brought me over, wholeheartedly, into the NCIS: Los Angeles world.

I have enjoyed ECO’s work in the past, especially during his several guest episodes on NBC’s Community where he hilariously portrayed Vaughn in the show’s first season. It’s clear that he is a great comedic actor and highly skilled in that area. When looking for TV shows to watch, especially when it comes to procedurals, I find I tend to enjoy ones that bring an element of comedy into the fold and balance out the seriousness of the cases at hand. This is exactly what Deeks does for NCIS: Los Angeles.

It’s a very fine line to walk for a character on such a show. You cannot have them be too much of a goof or the viewer isn’t going to take them seriously as a cop or field agent. It’s not an easy feat to make the viewer believe a guy is capable of making us laugh one minute and then totally switching gears and being all badass agent the next. Not only that, Kensi is a tough woman and stellar agent. For her to accept someone as her partner and trust that guy, he’s got to be top notch. So, while you want to see the comedy element, it can’t be too over the top. It’s a fine line indeed, but one that Deeks walks perfectly.

I found that in no time I was catching up with episodes and completely hooked! The Densi kiss at the end of the Season 4 finale sealed my fate (along with Densi’s)… I was a full out NCIS: Los Angeles fan and complete Densi shipper! I found myself eagerly awaiting Season 5 and how they were going to have this all play out. I think it’s safe to say that they have not disappointed!

As a Densi fan, their relationship has been great to watch unfold and progress, and it’s completely fulfilling and exceeding any hole I thought I may have had from Tiva being done. It seems that the NCIS powers-that-be have definitely learned their lessons and saw the mistakes made with Tiva (i.e. dragging things out way too long and expecting fans to just keep being patient and satisfied with a look here, a hug there…) and Densi is reaping all the benefits!

What I was even more excited to see in Season 5, though, was another side of Deeks. The torture he endured at the end of season four was bound to leave him with some lasting effects. I was excited that the show didn’t just gloss over it all and we got to see Deeks deal with his PTSD and work to get back to “normal.” It added another layer to the Deeks “onion” and gave ECO a chance to really show his range and depth as an actor. It was a challenge I think we can all say he seemingly met with great ease.

At the end of the day, I just want to say a big thank you to Deeks. I like to think that since I watch a lot of TV, I can pretty easily tell whether or not I’m going to like a show after one or two, but definitely three viewings. Once I’ve deemed it as a “thumbs down” I’m not usually coming back to it and trying again a couple seasons down the road. As it turns out, NCIS: Los Angeles was an exception to this rule.

I really tried to like it in the beginning. I really did, I swear. Being an NCIS fan, I figured this would just be ‘NCIS – Take 2’ but found myself running away as fast as I could and not thinking twice. However, that was BD, Before Deeks. Enter Marty Deeks in Season 2 and all has changed for me. He forced me to take a much deserved second look at this show and I fell for him hook, line and sinker! Now I can’t imagine my weekly lineup without Deeks, Densi and the rest of the NCIS: Los Angeles gang! I can’t wait to see how the second half of Season 5 shapes up and for that, in the words of Hetty: “Thank you Mr. Deeks, that’ll be all.”

Bridget Liszewski is a staff writer for Show Ratings TV. You can check out her NCISLA reviews HERE.