Contains spoilers for “NCIS” Season 23, Episode 8 — “Stolen Moments”
Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) has a rule for everything under the sun, and in “Stolen Moments” a fresh regulation is revealed. Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) brings up Gibbs rule 24, which is “there’s no such thing as perfect timing.” It’s a proclamation that Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) contemplates bittersweetly when his too-intense entanglement with the team’s new AI assistant makes him realize how lonely he is — and how much he wants to fix his aborted relationship with Jessica Knight (Katrina Law). But as Gibbs’ rule hints, he might have waited too long to approach her.
While Jimmy manages to make friends with the team’s new Data Assisted Workflow Navigator, which he shortens to DAWN, she’s pretty harsh as she analyzes his life and the problems therein. Jimmy should be using her for professional reasons, but their time together forces him to realize there’s no better time to say how you feel about someone than the present — and that Knight’s percolating attraction to Nick might keep them apart for good.
Jimmy and Jessica or Jimmy, Jessica, and Nick?
A strong contingent of “NCIS” fans have been saying for years that Torres and Knight are the new Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo) and ought to get together. But there’s another group who think she should revisit her romance with Jimmy. “Stolen Moments” seems to hint that a triangle might be brewing between the three. DAWN — with permission from Jimmy, who later swears he didn’t afford it — allows Jimmy to eavesdrop on Jessica and Nick in their car as they investigate a case. He becomes frantic and jealous as she talks about going out on a date with someone else.
Later, Nick and Jimmy talk and Nick suggests Jimmy misses Jess. But Jimmy insists the relationship is in the past and that he realizes the timing wasn’t right. Much later, thanks to the case of the week, Jimmy changes his mind and approaches Jess after hours. Unfortunately, before he can get to her, he watches from afar as Nick and Jessica get into an elevator together. Heartache is definitely on the horizon for Jimmy — but it remains up in the air as to which guy, if any, Jessica will settle down with.
