NCIS: LAfans have been waiting seven-plus seasons for Kensi (Daniela Ruah) and Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) to put a ring on it, and now they’re getting rewarded with not one proposal, but multiple.
On Sunday’s episode, Deeks pops the question for the second time this season, getting down on one knee in the courtyard of Kensi’s recovery facility, after she admits to not remembering him asking the first time around, when she was in a medically induced coma.
Unfortunately for Deeks, the outcome this time around leaves much to be desired. Kensi tears up, insists that she doesn’t want them to get engaged like this, and demands that Deeks take her back to her room. So, yeah, comatose silence is probably a preferable response, if this is the alternative.
Props to NCIS: LA for not glossing over Kensi’s recovery in a way that would be typical of a procedural to do. This week’s episode only reinforced the idea posited in last week’s installment, that this is going to be the toughest test Kensi and Deeks have faced together — and that their relationship might not be strong enough to withstand it.
For Deeks, it’s clear that Kensi’s recuperation is taking a toll on him, both physically and mentally. He’s spending most nights at the hospital and dividing his daytime attention between supporting Kensi and doing his job, meaning he’s not giving either the attention it fully needs. As a result, Hetty (Linda Hunt) and Sam (LL Cool J) have a sit-down with Deeks, giving him the option to take some time off until Kensi is out of the woods. Of course, because he’s Deeks, he declines the offer, but it’s clear that the higher-ups are noticing that his head’s not totally in the game.
On Kensi’s side, she’s in caught in the toughest of “mind willing/flesh weak” dilemmas — a difficult place for anyone to be in, but especially someone whose daily routine includes putting her body into death-defying situations. In physical therapy, Kensi’s taking baby steps (literally), but wants to push herself to do more even as she’s incapable of supporting her own weight. The therapist cautions her against trying to do too much too fast, since she could risk setting herself back even further, but Kensi ignores this advice, natch, and ends up toppling out of her wheelchair onto the ground in the courtyard. And because her legs are still numb, it’s not until Deeks arrives and points out the nasty gash on her leg that she even realizes she’s been injured.
All of this is lending itself to not only great scenes between Olsen and Ruah, but also a new minefield for Densi to navigate that feels authentic, and not just a contrived plot device to create drama for the couple. Both Kensi and Deeks are completely empathetic as they struggle with the situation, but you can’t help but wonder how much Deeks can put up with Kensi’s (totally understandable) moodiness before he explodes, or whether Kensi’s stubbornness will cause irreparable harm to herself, her relationship, or both. Here’s hoping that, if we do get to see another engagement scene between them, the third time will be a charm.
