This season of NCIS: Los Angeles has been the toughest yet, with one small change to the narrative. Unlike its predecessor, Los Angeles hasn’t made the move to kill fan favorite characters. The decision to kill off Owen Granger was unavoidable due to Miguel Ferrer’s death earlier this year. The show made a beautiful tribute to Ferrer, writing off his character in a way that gave Granger a purposeful ending. Death from illness is cruel, but not as cruel as the murder of Michelle Hanna, which will follow Sam Hanna for the rest of his life.
It wasn’t enough to kill Michelle, Tahir decided to twist the knife by stealing her body. Sam didn’t even know this when he decided to take a page out of Callen’s book, with a twist. Of all people, Sam trusts Sabatino to back him up. It seems crazy, but it actually makes sense. Sam’s protective instinct has only been heightened by Michelle’s death. There’s no chance he would risk the lives of his teammates on his own personal vendetta, but he has no loyalty to Sabatino. Sabatino’s tenuous trust with NCIS and his own grief over Michelle are his only selling points. At the very least they keep him useful to Sam.
Unfortunately, Sam’s mentality will always be that of a team member. He is not equipped to going it alone like Callen because he never lived that mentality the way his partner did from birth. Tahir counted on this in a way, which is why he craved Sam’s reactions to knowing he had Michelle’s body and could do whatever he wanted with it. A man who doesn’t know what love is can’t understand the lengths Sam will go to on an emotional level. Tahir can laugh all he wants as long as it’s with his blood and guts all over the tour bus he hijacked. He wasn’t even smart enough to try to hide Michelle’s body properly.
The one thing you can say is that Sam and Michelle did not waste time. They made the most of their time together personally and professionally. I’ve said before that they were a great example for Kensi and Deeks. Except Kensi is twice as impatient as Michelle, which is how she ends up proposing to Deeks. Finally, we can have our NCIS: Los Angeles wedding! Before we do, Sam needs to get into the proper headspace for such an occasion. For now, he’ll be taking care of his children, and dealing with the day-to-day realities of living without his love.
That wraps Season 7 of NCIS: Los Angeles. Come back when the show returns in the fall for Season 8.
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