NCIS: Los Angeles Review: Will an Old Face Become A Member of the Team?

In this week’s NCIS: Los Angeles, Anna Kolcheck returns to stir up trouble. The daughter of the NCIS OSP office’s sometimes friend and informant, Anna’s time with the team is never boring. This week she becomes involved in an NCIS case. While her motives during the episode remain vague until the end, the path she is headed down seems to lead in one clear direction.

The team assists the US Marshalls with recapturing Ricardo Pena, a Cuban spy who was supposed to apart of a prisoner exchange. Brett Seymore. Pena was convicted of entering the country without registering as a foreign agent, but there was speculation that he was about to commit violent acts against an anti-Castro group. The team is shocked when they find out that the person who helped Pena break out of custody was none other than Anna Kolcheck. Sam and Callen pay a visit to Arkady, hoping that he might know where his daughter is. He deflects in his usual Arkady-like way (honestly I don’t know how to explain Arkady to anyone who’s never met him). To make matters worse, no one can find Hetty.

Deeks and Kensi try to work another angle on the case by taking another look at the case which got Pena arrested. Curiously, he never caused any trouble for the anti-Castro group he was accused of threatening. After talking to the federal prosecutor again, they discover that she was told to put Pena behind bars by any means necessary.

At this point the team finally catches up with Anna after Arkady tries to help her escape. At the boat shed Anna explains to the team that she was just doing a job, but she does have a meet with Pena later in the day. Callen agrees to go with her, and everyone can see that it doesn’t take that much convincing for him to say yes. During the meet, Pena slips up and says something very subtle which gives him away. Pena says a word in Russian that has no English or Spanish translation, which means only a Russian would know it. When he gives himself away to Callen, Pena realizes he’s been made so he grabs Anna as a shield and runs. It turns out Anna was actually working for Hetty, who was the first to realize Pena was Russian. His real name is Roman Nilushkin, who according to Arkady really came to the United States to be an aeronautic engineer. When Cuba and Russia began healing relations, Russia tried to do so by having Cuba smuggle their former KGB agent out of the US since he could bring his knowledge of American engineering with him. The team rescues Anna and sends Nilushkin back to jail for good this time. Hetty then apologizes for putting Anna in danger, and if her tone was any indication, she’s pushing hard for Anna to join NCIS.

Elsewhere in this week’s Densi storyline, Kensi finds out that Deeks’s playful banter about her cleanliness is not actually a joking matter. Since moving in together, Deeks hasn’t had the heart to tell Kensi he hates how messy she is. Nell and Eric observe Densi’s argument as a teaching moment for their relationship/friendship. Though their problems start when Eric tries to be gallant, which only makes Nell upset. They work it out, though it will take them a long time if they want to reach Densi’s level of seriousness. Given their chemistry, Anna and Callen might actually beat them out as well. Sam really shouldn’t have been surprised that Callen would fall for someone exactly like himself, though the idea of Christmases at Arkady’s house would be hilarious.

Should Anna become apart of NCIS? Could she be Callen’s perfect match?