NCIS recap: Helpers keep going
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NCIS has cracked the code: the fastest way to make the audience weep is by giving Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) an uplifting speech in a desperate moment.
"The Helpers" opens with Palmer in a peaceful meadow with his dead wife Breena (Michelle Pierce), who urges him to open his eyes. Cut to Palmer and Kasie (Diona Reasonover), sweaty and near death and sprawled on the lab floor after being exposed to a mystery toxin earlier that day.
The liquid entered NCIS HQ in a flask found on a body that had been crushed under a truck wheel at Quantico. The dead man is Phillip Hanch, dishonorably discharged from the Army and a loser in the cryptocurrency scene. The reason Hanch snuck onto the base becomes clear when the team pays a visit to his utterly disgusting trailer and finds that he's part of an extremist group led by the Raven, who's promising righteous vengeance in the form of a plague.
When Knight discovers a half-full container of Russian poison, Parker (Gary Cole) calls to warn Kasie not to open the flask, but it's too late. The mass spec machine identifies a biohazard and goes into automatic lockdown with Kasie and Palmer inside her lab. Unfortunately, today was the day that Palmer brought his daughter with him to work with him, so Victoria parks herself on the other side of the big glass wall to stay close to her dad.
She's there under the surprisingly paternal eye of Torres (Wilmer Valderrama), who's been staying with Victoria while Palmer visits his wife's grave and generally adjusts to single-parenting. Nick Torres contains multitudes, y'all.
Familiar face time: It's Carol Wilson (Meredith Eaton)! The CDC biotoxin expert played by Meredith Eaton and last seen in season 11's "Homesick" arrives to take control of the situation (and to be smoldered at by Torres and fangirled at by Kasie). Although she plays it cool in front of Victoria, Carol's deeply concerned that this VX-type gas was created by Russian defector Yuri Pastov, who came to the U.S. and started making antidotes.
Distressingly, the civilian lab where Pastov's been working hasn't seen him in two days, and the team believes he's been kidnapped by the Raven and his Unkindess of followers. Carol demands access to Pastov's research while the agents head off in search of a dimbulb suspect, who tries to flee and is captured by a broken broomstick-wielding Knight.
The Raven convinced this dummy that the plan was to put laxatives in the water at a Marine base, but the team discovers Plan B in his apartment: three public places where the terrorists will release the toxin. And folks, this is a bad, bad toxin. It's 100 percent lethal, and it's contagious in the hours before symptoms show up. It also makes Kasie and Palmer shout at each other as it revs their adrenaline
Kasie sees this as strike three against signing a new contract with NCIS, having previously been shot at and held hostage, and she doesn't want any of Palmer's glass-half-full nonsense. The fight escalate until Carol Skypes in to tell them to calm down. Racing hearts and high blood pressure will speed the toxin's progression.
As she tries to calm them down, Palmer's nose starts to spurt blood, and Kasie tries to keep him calm as he (rightfully!) worries about his daughter losing both of her parents.
Torres plays videos games with Victoria to keep her occupied, and she confides that she was suspended from school for punching a boy who grabbed her even though she told him no. Knight advises Victoria to hit his nose at an upward angle next time because no means no. (Teach kids about consent early!)
Thanks to Kasie's sneaky tech, Palmer's listening in to these conversations, and he hears Victoria say that she misses the way her dad used to be, before he closed himself off and stopped telling her the truth about things. Torres gives her a good pep talk, assuring her that Jimmy's stuck right now, but he'll keep going.
This is about when Kasie coughs blood into her palm, and before long they're both unconscious on the floor and dreaming about dead loved ones while Torres and Victoria pound on the glass wall and scream until they wake up.
Sonja Flemming/CBS
On the video screen, Carole tells them to call people to make their goodbyes. And… yes. They should. They're upsettingly near death.
Kasie leaves a farewell on her mom's voicemail, and Palmer says goodbye to Victoria through the glass. He's honest with her when she asks if he's dying, but he tells her that everyone dies. What matters is how you lived.
Then he reminds her of Mr. Rogers' advice to look for the helpers, and we cut between this father/daughter goodbye and the agents in the field racing to apprehend the domestic terrorists.
Palmer assures Victoria that the helpers in the world will look out for her for the rest of her life. As he says this, he and Torres exchange small nods and OH MY HEART. Palmer then says helpers have to make tough decisions, and we watch McGee shoot a terrorist to rescue Pastov and the antidote.
With his last strength, Palmer assures his daughter she's going to be an amazing helper someday, and they do the Kirk/Spock hands against the glass move, which is fine. I'm fine. I'm also fine as Kasie and Palmer hold hands and wait for the end together. But Carole rushes in and injects them both with the antidote, saving the day.
As they recuperate in the hospital, Palmer cuddles with a sleeping Victoria, and Kasie says this third strike convinced her to sign her contract so she's ready for strikes four, five, and six. She also noticed that Palmer's taken off his wedding ring. He's ready to keep going forward.
Stray shots
It cannot be a coincidence that week's episode contains the words "keep going," the title and theme of the outstanding season 14 episode that featured Jimmy Palmer at his most brave and compassionate. He's the beating heart of NCIS, and these episode that put Brian Dietzen's warm humanity front and center are a treasure.
This isn't the last we'll hear of the Raven. As Vance tells the agents gathered at the hospital, the terrorist escaped their net this time and left Parker a note that simply says, "Nevermore."
If you haven't seen the original Mr. Rogers "helpers" video, do yourself a favor and watch it here. Massive credit goes to NCIS for understanding that Fred Rogers' message was for children dealing with scary and confusing situations. Jimmy Palmer is one the helpers, and he's both comforting his child and encouraging her to grow into one of the helpers as well. It's a good reminder for us as we navigate scary times: don't just look for the helpers. Be a helper.
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