NCIS: Los Angeles Season 6 Review

With the 2014-15 TV season coming to a close, TVOvermind is taking a closer look and reviewing the most recent seasons of some of network TV’s biggest shows. We last examined The CW’s “The Flash.” Next up: CBS’ “NCIS: Los Angeles.”

Season 6 of NCIS: Los Angeles was very well put together and brought several important storylines to fruition. Let’s take an inventory of what went right, what went wrong, and where the NCIS OSP team should go from here.

What went right:

Callen got a girlfriend, a real substantial relationship. What’s more, Joelle found out about his real day-to-day life and made peace with it. Callen’s finally stopped being a hermit! We’d like to see him stay in this zone, whether or not it’s with Joelle. Callen’s family storyline also heated up again in the final episodes of the season. Callen discovered the possibility that his father, who helped refugees escape the Soviet Union in the ’70s, could still be alive and well in Russia. Viewers got to see that that is, in fact, the case, while Callen now believes his father is dead, meaning he is officially an orphan (except not really).

Other highlights include Sam’s kids finally making their debut and the Hanna family finally being seen together. Apparently, Arkady has a daughter, and some sources theorize we may see more of her in the future. Eric and Nell continued to be adorable, with some (vague) progress made in their relationship.

A big highlight of the season was Nell finally taking a life for the first time. It’s been in the works for awhile, in order for Nell to follow in Hetty’s footsteps. She has the technical skill, the IQ, and the aptitude to be an agent in the field. Facing the difficult position of taking a life in order to save her own was a crucial step Nell needed to take to see if she was really up to the reality of what being an NCIS agent means. It was also great to see Nate come back and help her through this process.

The writers were kind to Densi fans, who saw the NCIS partners take even bigger steps in their relationship this year. After finally admitting their feelings towards each other last year, Deeks and Kensi stopped dancing around the subject and officially became a couple in the middle of the season. What’s more, they were deliberately shown working through the common couple problem of the “honeymoon stage,” where couples want to be together all of the time. It’s a nice thought, but despite the fact that these two are partners, it was important for them to figure out who they are as a romantic pair. Hopefully, their strength as partners, both personally and professionally, will be enough to withstand the IA investigation the LAPD has launched against Deeks. It’s worrisome to think that Deeks thinks IA may find something, but I don’t anticipate Deeks having anything extremely serious in his past that could hurt him. There are only two things that really could: his relationship with Kensi, and his torture of a man in Afghanistan (though the likelihood of anyone, even Hetty, finding out about this is slim to none).

In order for any procedural show to succeed, it can’t always think of storylines in the land of “what if.” The best art is what imitates reality, and NCIS: Los Angeles continued to do that this year with social messages about the California drought and introducing a storyline in the season finale which involved the terror group ISIS. We all love procedurals, but it’s important that they shed light on what’s going on in the world so that we don’t forget how important it is to stay informed.

What went wrong:

The season started strong with a conspiracy against NCIS, which revealed that the team not only had a leak in the department, but that the conspiracy went high up the food chain. The seriousness of the situation was solidified by the fact that NCIS Director Vance made a guest appearance revealing that he had to step in to remove Hetty from a dangerous situation in order to help. And then…nothing. The NCIS mole was caught, but no more progress was made regarding the people he answered to, and it was barely talked about. Don’t get me wrong, I understand it is completely unrealistic to think something of this magnitude could be wrapped up in a nice neat bow, but was progress too much to hope for?

What needs to happen next season:

It took years for Kensi and Deeks to become a couple, and they need to stay that way. Tearing apart fan favorite couples is a sure-fire way to lose viewers. What should happen, though, is a closer examination of Deeks’ past. We know this is going to happen no matter what given the Internal Affairs investigation the LAPD has launched against him. It would be interesting to see if the investigation shed light on how Deeks became a cop in the first place, especially after transitioning out of being a public defender.

What would also be a good way to shape the Deeks investigation is if it was just one part of the conspiracy introduced in the beginning of Season 6 against NCIS. Deeks, for better or worse, is the weak link in the team because he is not technically an NCIS agent, and he could still be pulled from the team under LAPD authority. If this investigation is just a way to get to NCIS, but reveals parts of Deeks’s past that he has kept under wraps, and/or pushes Deeks to finally become an NCIS agent, this storyline would solidify Season 7 as one of the best. It would also add layers to the Densi relationship for die-hard shippers to revel in.

It’s taken six years to finally tie up Callen’s family storyline. While he does not necessarily need to know that his father is alive yet, it would be nice if at some point we at least found out if Hetty knows the truth and lied to Callen, or if she was duped as well.

Nell should be offered up more opportunities in the field; she’s Hetty’s protegee for a reason. We should also see more of the Hanna family. Now that Sam’s son has made his first appearance, and we see that he is following in his father’s footsteps, perhaps it would be a nice idea to see if he wants to go all the way and become an agent like his dad.

All in all, one of the best seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles. I am greatly looking forward to Season 7.

[Photo via CBS]