While NCIS: Los Angeles features an ensemble cast of characters with their own stories, the romance between Deeks and Kensi is the emotional core of the show. NCIS: Los Angeles is part of the larger NCIS shared universe, taking place in the titular city. The series follows the members of the Office of Special Projects (OSP), an elite task force within the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). This unit is responsible for undercover work in and around the city of Los Angeles and often sees them dealing with crimes happening close to the Mexican border.
NCIS: Los Angeles has a cast of characters ranging from in-the-field agents to office employees, and their relationships with one another are the high points of the series. Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah), junior field agent, and Martin Atticus “Marty” Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen), special agent, appear in all 14 seasons of the show as main characters, save for season 1 when Deeks is a guest character. The relationship between these two operatives is a series-long affair, known as “Densi,” with some key episodes serving as important milestones in their journey from smitten coworkers to loving parents.
10“Hand-to-Hand” (Season 1, Episode 19)
The First Time Deeks And Kensi Meet
Deeks and Kensi’s first meeting comes in season 1, episode 19, “Hand-to-Hand”, which also serves as Olsen’s debut episode. In the episode, a marine and MMA fighter is found dead outside a gym. Deeks, working for the LAPD, is already undercover there and unwittingly engages with OSP undercovers. Deeks and Kensi meet for the first time here and there is clearly chemistry between the two agents, though they are undercover as they do so. They both comment on each other’s attire, which comes up again later in the show.
9“Neighborhood Watch” (Season 3, Episode 22)
Deeks And Kensi Go Undercover As A Married Couple
Deeks and Kensi didn’t have another major episode together until season 3, episode 22 “Neighborhood Watch”. The two agents go undercover as a married couple to uncover a spy ring operating in an affluent LA neighborhood. It’s a bit of a cliché to put the will-they, won’t-they partners in an undercover couple role, but Olsen and Ruah’s chemistry makes it worthwhile. The couple have their first kiss here, though it’s in character, but how they each coyly recall what the other was wearing in their first meeting suggests the kiss had more meaning to it after all.
8“Descent” (Season 4, Episode 24)
Kensi And Deeks Share Their First Real Kiss
In season 4, episode 24, “Descent”, NCIS: Los Angeles sees the true beginning of the relationship fans were waiting for. A cache of stolen nuclear weapons forces the OSP team to split up, with Kensi even going overseas, in the season 4 finale. After a season of Kensi and Deeks unsuccessfully trying to work as partners while pretending they don’t have feelings for one another, the pair finally share their first non-undercover kiss in this episode. Kensi has accused Deeks multiple times of not saying how he truly feels. In “Descent,” he answers the question with a kiss.
7“Impact” (Season 5, Episode 2)
Kensi Looks After Deeks
The previous season saw Sam (LL Cool J) and Deeks tortured by terrorist Isaak Sidorov (Timothy Murphy). Two episodes into season 5, Deeks is still trying to deal with his PTSD. He does find comfort in one person in season 5, episode 2, “Impact”, which is with Kensi. The agent takes care of Deeks and when he falls asleep in her arms, Kensi asks, “What’s next?” Deeks’ reply, “A love story,” is a reassuring and romantic phrase to end the grim episode. Kensi doesn’t respond to Deeks, but her face says she’s curious to find out what that means.
6“The Frozen Lake” (Season 5, Episode 10)
The Morning After Deeks And Kensi’s First Night Together
Deeks and Kensi sleep together for the first time in season 5, episode 10, “The Frozen Lake”. As partners in OSP, their romantic feelings already complicate things, and throwing sex into the mix makes how they are supposed to act toward one another even more confusing. What’s not in question is that Deeks and Kensi have strong feelings for each other. However, things when Kensi is sent to Afghanistan on a months-long assignment, just as the two had gotten close.
5“Humbug” (Season 6, Episode 11)
Deeks And Kensi Begin Dating
Season 6, episode 11, “Humbug”, is a Christmas episode, so romance and warm feelings are in the air, even with a criminal plot. Sure, there is a hostage crisis, but the OSP team also spends a lot of time discussing their Christmas plans. After spending so much time dancing around each other’s feelings, kissing, sleeping together, and depending upon each other, Deeks and Kensi, in plain language, express their feelings for each other and decide to go “all in” on their relationship, revealing it to the rest of the team. This marks a new, official era of “Densi”.
4“Unleashed” (Season 8, Episode 24)
Kensi Proposes To Deeks
After trying three times before, Deeks and Kensi finally go through with a successful marriage proposal in NCIS: LA season 8, episode 24, “Unleashed”. This is a gripping season finale with the OSP team dealing with Michelle’s (Aunjanue Ellis) death. It caps off a season that has seen Kensi go through many personal hardships. So that it’s Kensi who summons the courage to propose to Deeks on one knee, shows incredible strength. Kensi tells Deeks how much she loves him, and in the middle of a crime scene cleanup, Deeks accepts.
3“The Silo” (Season 9, Episode 7)
Kensi Tells Deeks How She Feels
NCIS: LA season 9, episode 7, “The Silo” forces Kensi to confront a figure from her past: an airforce captain she used to date has gained access to nuclear weapons and is threatening to use them. Kensi is the only one who is in position to disarm the bombs, but she has to risk her life in the process. She calls Deeks and in what is essentially a goodbye call, tells him, “I’ll love you ’til the end of time and back“. It’s one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the “Densi” arc and their reunion at the end of the episode is moving and earned.
2“Till Death Do Us Part” (Season 10, Episode 17)
Kensi And Deeks Get Married
1“New Beginnings Part 1 & 2” (Season 14, Episodes 20 & 21)
Kensi And Deeks Start A New Chapter
The finale of NCIS: Los Angeles is a two-parter with season 14, episodes 20 and 21, “New Beginnings Parts 1 and 2”. At this point, Kensi and Deeks are happily married and still running The Squid and Dagger bar, though financial troubles are starting to make their family planning dreams difficult. Though they’ve been trying to have a baby all season, it isn’t until the finale that they discover there’s one on the way. Kensi and Deeks end up selling the bar to afford a home.
By season 14, the major issues in Deeks and Kensi’s relationship have been put to bed, but it’s still important that the show ties up the final thread of their longtime relationship. “Densi” adds another member to their family, and they’re finally in a place in the NCIS: Los Angeles season finale where they can provide a safe home for their child and each other.
