‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ Episode 8 Recap: The CBS Spin-Off’s Most Unhinged Action-Packed Episode Finally Nails the Show’s Tone

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for NCIS: Tony & Ziva Episode 8.The central espionage storyline in NCIS: Tony & Ziva is back in full swing during Episode 8, “Fire Sale,” and it is exactly the adrenaline pump the show needed this close to its finale. Upon discovering the real motivations of the villains in the previous episode, Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo) are back in the midst of hatching intricate plans and wearing hilarious disguises. They had just planted a seed of doubt in Martine’s (Nassima Benchicou) mind against her partner Jonah (Julian Ovenden) by showing her the footage of Tali (Isla Gie) being attacked, something Martine urged him not to do. But now, Tony and Ziva needed to find concrete proof to take Jonah down and clear their names.

‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ Episode 8 Begins With a Wedding Guest List and Panic Attack

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But before we jump into the present timeline, let’s go over the heartfelt flashbacks that pervaded this week’s episode. It kicks off with Tony and Ziva preparing for their wedding five years ago, and the discussion of the guest list arises. Tony wants all his loved ones to attend, while Ziva, who is still uncomfortable with large crowds due to her PTSD, only wants them and Tali. This leads to an unexpected and ear-ringing flashback that Pablo performs with an eloquent vulnerability. She later discusses this with her therapist, Dr. Lance (Terence Maynard), concerned that her body is going into fight-or-flight mode over a guest list. As usual, the discussions about mental health in the show are delivered delicately and sensitively, as we’re reminded that in these flashbacks, Ziva is still in the early stages of the healing process.

Meanwhile, Tony has a couple of drinks with his best friend Henry, who we find out was also supposed to be his best man — it would’ve been nice to know how close they were before Henry died. Tony reveals what Ziva wants for the wedding, and Henry questions whether Tony is simply latching onto the marriage without taking care of himself first. As such, by the end of both their respective conversations, Tony and Ziva start questioning if they are ready to get married, considering their personal situations.

‘Tony & Ziva’ Worry About Tali’s Reaction to Their Relationship in Episode 8

Image via Paramount+

Back in the present timeline, Martine is questioning Jonah about his decision to attack Tali and not inform her. Even though Jonah manages to manipulate his way out of her interrogation, the seeds of doubt are planted. Concerns also arise in Tony and Ziva’s current (official) relationship as they wonder how to break the news to Tali, who had previously voiced her concerns about them being together. But this time, the couple is a united front and doesn’t let the worries disrupt their relationship. In fact, they suddenly now have the ability to compassionately share their fears about the future together, which is jarring but a pleasant change.

When the plan goes into action, it is Tony who flexes his skills first as he smooth-talks the security and waves away any suspicion around their disguises. Inside, Claudette and Boris break away to make a copy of an access card by talking to her frenemy, who worked at the center, Freda (Noeme Nakai). As Claudette and Freda exchange passive-aggressive remarks, Claudette tries to get closer to Freda to scan the card. It leads to a hilarious and awkward interaction where Boris stands up for Claudette in his strange way. The unlikely friendship between these two opposite characters always elicits chuckles and adds light-hearted emotional texture to the show.

When Plans Fail, Tony is Forced To Use Technology in Episode 8

Meanwhile, Tony and Ziva create a diversion by using the animosity between the Reigning Fire soldiers and the center’s security guards, allowing Ziva and Boris to get access to the server room. However, Martine and Dejan (Velibor Topić), the former Reigning Fire hacker they freed from prison, reach the server room first to enact their own plan to take down the company and Aaron Graves (Sean Pertwee). As such, the team has to change tactics, and Claudette realizes they could hack the physical drone itself instead of the servers.

Tony uses the same diversion to distract the security guards and bonds with them by referencing all the many times Gibbs (Mark Harmon) used to smack the back of his head — a wonderful Gibbs reference. But after Claudette manages to hack into the drone programming, Freda happens to come along and wants to make amends. So, Tony is forced to take control of the tablet and sits in a corner while urging Claudette to give him instructions through an earpiece, where his discomfort with advanced technology is once again reminiscent of Gibbs. It leads to a hilarious scene of Claudette trying to hide instructions to Tony within the casual conversation with Freda, but soon enough, they have the footage and audio to implicate Jonah.

‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ Ends With a Bang and a Mechanical Jaguar Attack

Just as the plan seems to be working, Graves begins the main event of the convention: the introduction of his newest weapon, a robotic jaguar that can lock onto targets and kill. Back in the server room, Ziva and Boris manage to successfully knock Dejan out and hold Martine at gunpoint. The villains had already managed to breach the Reigning Fire servers, and Boris realizes that Jonah had also identified that the group was in the building. Even worse, he had overridden the robotic jaguar’s system and instructed it to kill them. The plan promptly collapses as Martine overpowers a distracted Ziva and leaves with 9.4, while Tony is hiding behind an overturned table, and the jaguar causes chaos in the center.

When Ziva runs out to the main hall to protect Tony, the running crowd and sounds of gunshots trigger a panic attack, where she is mentally sent right back to the days of danger and paranoia. But by using the technique of box breathing Dr. Lance taught her, Ziva slowly regains composure, and it’s a proud moment for us all. Meanwhile, Graves eventually realizes the major threat the jaguar imposed and uses an emergency override button that shuts down the power and emits an EMP wave, shutting down the jaguar. Unfortunately, that wave meant that the evidence Tony extracted was lost, leaving the team back to square one.

In the final scenes, Martine runs after Jonah and implores him to take a step back from his reckless and violent ways. But he inevitably betrays her, stealing 9.4 from her pocket and instructing the security guards to escort her while he left with Graves, the man he had been dreaming about taking down for years. Martine returns to Dejan, who has just regained consciousness and admitted that he was right about Jonah’s character. But that also means she doesn’t trust anyone now, and points a gun at Dejan, though we don’t know if she pulled the trigger. On the other hand, Tony runs after Jonah while Ziva and Claudette are forced to leave the building. Ziva’s last promise to us was that she would find Tony again — she always does.