Spoiler alert for NCIS season 22, episode 3, “The Trouble with Hal”
The Major Case Response Team solves a case on Halloween night in Episode 3 of NCIS season 22. It’s shaping up to be a huge season for the team, following a shortened 2023-2024 TV cycle due to writers’ strikes. Yet, NCIS season 21 was a success, and the next installment builds on all the exciting developments that emerged in the shortened season. It’s been a fascinating season for Parker (Gary Cole) and Jessica Knight (Katrina Law), who have faced life-changing challenges in the NCIS finale of season 21, but returned for season 22.
Additionally, the team feels cohesive when entering NCIS season 22, proving that the franchise’s flagship series can survive without Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ longtime star Mark Harmon. Essential NCIS Characters like Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) and Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) have already surpassed Harmon’s time on the series and diversified the series with characters who remained from the first season. focus on doing your job.
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MCRT’s Halloween 2024 Case Explained
A Navy SEAL’s home is compromised
In NCIS season 22, episode 3, “The Trouble with Hal”, the team interrupts their Halloween plans to solve a case on Halloween night. Everyone is about to celebrate when they get a call about a fight at a Marine’s house, and when they arrive there is confusion. A Navy SEAL is surprised to arrive home from a mission to a crowd partying at his house. The case becomes even more shocking, however, when they find a dead body. It’s an unusual case for NCIS to respond to a domestic dispute.
The haunting setting inspires candid conversations among crew members that set the stage for the rest of the season.
The team discovers that the Marine comes from a wealthy family and that all of his houses are being searched for treasure. They discover that the person, Hal, who is in the Navy SEAL’s house, is renting it out on a house hopper app that the family butler is secretly profiting from. That being said, he is not behind the murder. Ultimately, the delivery man finds out about the treasure hunt and wants a share, but kills Hal over a disagreement. The frightening scenario inspires candid conversations between team members that set the stage for the rest of the NCIS season 22.
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Knight and Palmer continue to dance around their breakup and reunion talk
The ex-couple needs to talk
In episode 3, Palmer and Knight Law continue to dance around the breakup conversation and their dynamic moving forward. Regardless of what Knight and Palmer decide to do, the important thing is that they address the current situation. Node NCIS At the end of season 21, when Knight was offered a promotion to Chief REACT Training Officer, she and Palmer split because the job would take her to California. Jimmy wanted to end his relationship in “your terms” after suddenly losing a number of colleagues and family.
Node NCIS In the season 22 premiere, Knight decides to turn down another promotion and return to MCRT. The decision puts her back in Palmer’s daily life, so it seems natural for the former couple to resolve their separation. Instead, in episode 3, Palmer and Knight playfully argue about the medical examiner’s Halloween costume, which is innocent enough but makes Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) uncomfortable, and he steps in to play moderator. Palmer and Knight need to properly talk about their spliteven if it’s just for the good of your team so they know how to deal with it.
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The team discusses what to do with Ducky’s office
NCIS Calls Back on Ducky’s Season 21 Exit
In NCIS In season 21, the team said goodbye to Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard. In episode 3 of season 22, the MCRT discusses what to do with their office. Ducky was on the show for 21 years until David McCallum died at 90. NCIS season 21, episode 2, ‘The Stories We Leave Behind,’ paid homage to the former NCIS actor, who played the team’s chief medical examiner for years and then retired and remained an NCIS historian.
When Ducky was given the role of NCIS historian, he was given his own office. That being said, it has been empty since NCIS season 21. For the last time, the team needed access to Ducky’s files. Nick approaches the rest of the team about turning it into a gym because he wants to exercise more. The rest of the team starts thinking about the purpose of using the office. Possibly, Research by Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover) to see what each member wants Ducky’s old office to look like.
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Parker and McGee Bond on Their Love for Haunted Houses (But Knight and Torres Disagree)
The team makes its stance on the paranormal clear
The Halloween episode sees the MCRT characters address their stance on ghosts and the undead, and there’s a clear divide. Parker and McGee discuss their love of haunted houses and all the things that happen at nightt since they don’t believe in ghosts. Knight and Torres, however, are a little more skeptical. Skeptics explain that although they have a lot of courage against bad guys in the real world, the undead are in another category.
Watch all 22 seasons of NCIS on Paramount+.
It’s a good time for Parker and McGee to team up, considering the events of previous episodes. They still haven’t had a face-to-face meeting because of how scattered the team was in the premiere and how frantic the subsequent episode was. All the talk of ghosts NCIS Season 22’s characters are a great continuation of the paranormal episode in NCIS season 21 that teased aliens.
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Knight brings up Lily’s mystery with Parker
Knight knows firsthand about Parker’s Lily mystery
After Parker discovers that Knight believes in ghosts, he challenges her opinion when they have a moment to themselves. The private time to talk and more personal questioning from Parker allows Knight to ask questions about what happened to his boss in the NCIS season 21 finale. Knight was with Parker when he was stranded on a Navy ship and quickly lost blood after a metal beam fell on his leg. She was the one who saved him.
While losing blood, Parker hallucinated a little girl named Lily in the NCIS season 21 finale. However, Parker has been reluctant to talk about the hallucination ever since. When Vance questioned Parker about the incident in episode 2, he said he was still sorting it out. Parker gives Knight a similar answer in episode 3. Parker can see a flashback of Lily when he thinks of her. However, he may not know who the girl is or why he knows her.
Parker Addresses McGee’s Stay at MCRT
In “The Trouble with Hal”, Parker talks to McGee about how he wasn’t promoted to deputy director of NCIS. Node NCIS In the Season 22 premiere, it looked like McGee would be promoted. It was an exciting prospect, as McGee has been with MCRT for two decades and is more than qualified to advance through the ranks of NCIS. However, to McGee’s dismay, the position of deputy director of NCIS went to Gabriel LaRoche (Seamus Dever).
Not getting the promotion is a disappointment to McGee because he knows he is more than qualified for the job. Still, Parker is happy to have McGee on the field, and MCRT Senior Field agrees, albeit hesitantly. However, there is an unresolved tension about the snub, which means this wouldn’t be the end of this story, especially since there is reason to suspect that LaRoche is a mole after the NCIS opening of the 22nd season.
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Torres has a heart-to-heart with Knight about his role in her split with Palmer
Nick is friends with Jess and Jimmy
While Knight and Palmer avoid discussing the breakup, she clears things up with Torres. At the beginning of the same episode, Torres feels the need to interrupt a conversation between Knight and Palmer because he thinks they are fighting. Later, when Knight and Nick are staking out the haunted hunting lodge, waiting for their guest to arrive so they can arrest whoever is looking for treasure, Knight addresses the role Nick plays in their relationship.
Knight acknowledges that Nick is her and Jimmy’s best friend, but that doesn’t mean he needs to tone it down or worry about their relationship.
Knight acknowledges that Nick is her and Jimmy’s best friend, but that doesn’t mean he needs to tone it down or worry about their relationship. Knight echoes Jimmy’s sentiment at the beginning of the episode, saying they are fine and does not need others to interfere. It’s a difficult conversation since Nick encouraged Jimmy’s breakup with Jess in the NCIS season 21 finale.
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Nick reveals he’s trying to date again
Love is on the horizon for Nick Torres
When Torres and Knight have a heart-to-heart at the hunting lodge in NCIS season 22, episode 3, he reveals that he wants to put himself back out there. When Knight asks him to explain, Nick clarifies that he wants to put himself back “the game of love.” Torres adds that this is why he wants to turn Ducky’s old office into a gym: he’s trying to get his mind right by getting his body right to put the best version of himself out there in the dating pool.
Knight tells Nick she supports him with a big smile. Nick suggesting he wants to date again is big news for NCIS season 22 because, as he notes in his conversation with Knight, Nick hasn’t had anyone special in his life for years. His last relationship of note on the series was a will-they-won’t-they romance with Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham), but it was cut short. A romantic storyline for Nick could lead to exponential developments for his character.
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Director Leon Vance transforms Ducky’s old office into a multipurpose room
Everyone’s niche is taken into account in the multifunctional room
In NCIS season 22, episode 3, the team completes how to use Ducky’s old office. When Nick comes up with the idea of converting the office into a more useful space, everyone starts thinking about what they need and the conversation becomes broader about what MCRT needs. Kasie polls everyone for their opinions and sends the results to Vance, who ultimately creates a room that takes into account what everyone needs.
Nick wants a gym, so he has a rack of weights in the corner. Karen wants to preserve Ducky’s office as a meditative space, and there’s room for that in the multipurpose room, too. Parker, tired of eating lunch in the bullpen, wants to make the room a proper break room, and the supervising agent also gets what he needs from the deal. Ultimately, Ducky’s old office will meet everyone’s needs and make a great common meeting space all season long.
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McGee is secretly investigating Gabriel LaRoche, the new deputy director of NCIS
McGee’s mind is on other things
While the rest of the team enjoys the new Dr. Donald Mallard Memorial Multipurpose Room, McGee stays behind because his mind is on other matters. Although McGee claims to have put NCIS Deputy Director Gabriel LaRoche and his failed promotion out of his mind, he investigates the former Department of Defense employee at the end of the episode. The development shows a greater plot construction for McGee.
McGee’s side mission reveals that at least one member of the team will investigate the potential NCIS mole. It’s good that episode 3 resumes the investigation, since NCIS Season 22, Episode 2 wrongly ignored its most dangerous case. McGee is arguably the most skilled and qualified agent on the team, so he’ll no doubt discover something about LaRoche that’s worth investigating, setting the team up for a thrilling, wide-ranging investigation in Season 22.
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