NCIS: Los Angeles - Season 14
After fourteen years, it is time for the Offices of Special Projects to finally close its doors. Getting over 300 episodes is no small feat for a spin-off of a spin-off. After all these years, you would almost forget that NCIS: Los Angeles is a spin-off of the ever-going NCIS, itself a spin-off of JAG. But after fourteen years, the network behind all these shows (CBS) has decided to close this chapter and therefore close the book for the Office of Special Projects. Is it for the better?
This last season was, in many ways a bit of a shadow of what it had been in the past. It was clear that the main actors had become too expensive, so most of the episodes miss one or multiple of the (sort of) original cast, meaning Callen, Hanna, Blye and Deeks. Besides that, the actress playing Hetty was not in good enough health to play her role to close off some stories properly. Most storylines have been weak for years and the writers have started producing more and more far-fetched reasons as to why the team gets involved in ever crazier cases; the N stands for Navy, but there is little navy.
On the other hand, the final season is not necessarily ‘bad’ or worse than previous seasons. If you enjoyed those, you will enjoy this last one. The main cast, when they appear, still enjoy playing their roles and that fun translates to the screen. The relatively new faces introduced over the past few seasons such as agents Roundtree and Namazi, and admiral Killbride are nice additions. Many people (good and bad) from the previous seasons make an appearance. Besides that, there is some room for the personal lives of our agents; we get to know Sam’s dad bit better and learn how Kensi and Deeks parent Rosa, not to mention, there is ever more mystery surrounding agent Callen.
There are also some highlights from this season: the crossover with the two other NCISs (nice to see everyone together), a treasure-hunting episode (fun filler episode), and seeing some familiar faces in the final episode (some of which we have not seen in a while). Speaking of, the final episode is clearly meant as a favor to the fans. As the writers knew of the cancellation a few episodes ahead and they tried to tie up as many loose ends as they could. This has been done a bit hastily at times, but overall it is nice to have some closure. The series goes out with a bang and tells us that deep down, we all know that the Office of Special Projects is never truly done.
This last season was, in many ways a bit of a shadow of what it had been in the past. It was clear that the main actors had become too expensive, so most of the episodes miss one or multiple of the (sort of) original cast, meaning Callen, Hanna, Blye and Deeks. Besides that, the actress playing Hetty was not in good enough health to play her role to close off some stories properly. Most storylines have been weak for years and the writers have started producing more and more far-fetched reasons as to why the team gets involved in ever crazier cases; the N stands for Navy, but there is little navy.
© CBS
On the other hand, the final season is not necessarily ‘bad’ or worse than previous seasons. If you enjoyed those, you will enjoy this last one. The main cast, when they appear, still enjoy playing their roles and that fun translates to the screen. The relatively new faces introduced over the past few seasons such as agents Roundtree and Namazi, and admiral Killbride are nice additions. Many people (good and bad) from the previous seasons make an appearance. Besides that, there is some room for the personal lives of our agents; we get to know Sam’s dad bit better and learn how Kensi and Deeks parent Rosa, not to mention, there is ever more mystery surrounding agent Callen.
I have always seen NCIS: Los Angeles as an action movie compressed to forty minutes and it still does that well, with an abundance of explosions, shootouts and espionage plots. On that note, remember that airtight plots have never been the show’s strong suit and that is still not the case. Do not think too long about what you are watching, for it will often not make too much sense. But enjoyable it was.It is an action movie compressed to forty minutes and the show does that well
There are also some highlights from this season: the crossover with the two other NCISs (nice to see everyone together), a treasure-hunting episode (fun filler episode), and seeing some familiar faces in the final episode (some of which we have not seen in a while). Speaking of, the final episode is clearly meant as a favor to the fans. As the writers knew of the cancellation a few episodes ahead and they tried to tie up as many loose ends as they could. This has been done a bit hastily at times, but overall it is nice to have some closure. The series goes out with a bang and tells us that deep down, we all know that the Office of Special Projects is never truly done.
About the writer, Nienke de Boode
She started with watching NCIS, CSI and Bones, but over time her passion for TV shows has grown to what it is today, with dozens of shows that need to be watched. You can always wake her up for a good crime show, but she is also open to different things. Comedy and fantasy are on her list of favourites as well. Since October 2014, she also writes for MySeries to combine her love for TV shows and writing.
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