SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for NCIS Season 23, Episode 7. It also contains discussion of suicide.
NCIS has spent an awful lot of time on Alden Parker’s psyche. Season 23 opened with two parts of a three-part story finishing Parker’s rivalry with Carla Marino. Then there’s been the new mystery about the death of Parker’s mother. NCIS Season 23, Episode 7 is mostly a further probe into Parker’s psyche, with the case of the week feeling secondary until the final act. But when “God Only Knows” gets there, it hits the viewer squarely in the stomach.
The episode starts off awkwardly with an opening that is a complete fake-out, and it spends a little too much time with a Homeland-esque idea of a Naval lieutenant who is suspected of turning sides after his capture overseas. The fact that Homeland (and before that, the show it was based on, Prisoners of War) drilled this concept into TV viewers’ heads is only one reason why NCIS doesn’t land it. The other reason is that “God Only Knows” pivots away from the investigation on a few occasions to use a Naval chaplain as a foil for Parker.
The back and forth between Parker and the chaplain, whether it’s in a botched interrogation or when the chaplain shows up unexpectedly at Parker’s home and references his dad’s burial, means that the viewer’s attention keeps being drawn back to what’s going on in Parker’s head. An added layer of Parker butting heads with NCIS Director Leon Vance over more bad press reinforces that theme. And then on top of that, the subplot in Episode 7 is Jimmy Palmer finally telling Parker his suspicions about what happened to Parker’s mother. While Gary Cole is as reliable as ever, this emphasis on his character means the episode is more of a two-hander than a group effort.
Eventually, NCIS reveals its true narrative and that’s when “God Only Knows” works better. The fact that the suspected turncoat is a would-be whistleblower isn’t the surprise; there have been plenty of conspiracies on this show. But the emotional story definitely packs a wallop, from audiences learning that the now not-suspect Max Winger is terminally ill to Winger disclosing that his teammate’s parachute malfunction was actually his friend choosing to take his own life. The fans are able to see the trail of suffering, and as is pointed out in another conversation between Parker and Vance, they only know about three victims when there are certainly a lot more.
Viewers will have already guessed that the perpetrator is the chaplain’s assistant from his first conspicuous appearance on screen. What NCIS does is similar to what FBI just did: have the real antagonist show up in an early, seemingly irrelevant scene as a bit of foreshadowing. In keeping with the Parker-centric narrative, the true ending is how Parker reacts to the truth. Audiences will also know that he’s going to ask the chaplain why God lets terrible things happen to good people. It’s not a new discussion, but given the story that’s just been told, it’s a scene that makes perfect sense—not only to button Parker’s dialogues with the chaplain, but also because fans might be asking themselves the same question.
“God Only Knows” is, on its own, a little too one-dimensional to be a standout episode. But it serves a purpose in finally moving the whole subplot about Parker’s mother forward, after NCIS has spent plenty of time on how Jimmy was going to break the news. And while viewers may not have any additional perspective on Alden Parker, the episode does give the sense that he might have some extra perspective on himself.
NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Photo Credit: Courtesy of CBS.
