Review: NCIS: New Orleans ‘The River Styx, Part II’

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Warning: Post contains minor spoilers

“NCIS: New Orleans” season 5 episode 23 “The River Styx, Part I” clocked in a tense episode with a cliffhanger setting up an explosive season finale in “The River Styx, Part II.” Apollyon head Avery Walker kidnapped NCIS Special Agent (SAC) Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula) awakens with the Angel (Amy Rutberg) tending to his wounds. “Am I dead?” Pride wonders. “Oh no Dwayne, it’s much worse than that,” the Angel replies. Flash to reality, and Walker interrogates Pride through a combination of physical coercion and mental torture with psychoactives.
Meanwhile, Special Agent Hannah Khoury (Necar Zadegan), Special Agent Chris LaSalle (Lucas Black), and Special Agent Tammy Gregorio (Vanessa Ferlito) spearhead a mission to locate Pride. “Avery Walker went through a lot of trouble to lure Pride,” LaSalle notes. “If all he wanted to do was kill him, he could have just sent a hit team here.” Khoury agrees, “Walker wants Pride alive.” The NCIS NOLA team’s main objective is clear: Find out why Avery Walker wants Dwayne Pride, and locate Pride.

As the hunt for Walker continues, it’s a true team effort. Agent Sebastian Lund (Rob Kerkovich) and Patton “Triple P” Plame (Daryl “Chill” Mitchell) collaborate to locate Walker, a task which proves frustratingly difficult. Unfortunately, the revelation of a double agent in intelligence or law enforcement complicates the investigation. The mole tipped off Walker about FBI Agent Raymond Isler’s (Derek Webster) raid. Special Agent Parker of Homeland Security arrives at the NCIS New Orleans headquarters. “We’ve got a real crap storm on our hands. D.C. sent me in to clean it up,” Parker reveals. “Pride’s our family. We will get him back,” LaSalle rebuts. “But you’re failing,” Parker retorts. “NCIS is under my purview now.”

Observations:

From the onset, “NCIS: New Orleans” S05E24 “The River Styx, Part II,” remains taut with a quick yet not frenetic pacing. Pleasantly, the “NCIS: NOLA” season 5 finale incorporates the majority of its characters. Medical examiner Loretta Wade (CCH Pounder) provides a much-needed deception to draw out the double agent. In a refreshing twist, Pride’s half-brother Jimmy Boyd (Jason Alan Carvell) lends valuable insight into uncovering hidden intel on Apollyon through clues left by Dwayne. Pride’s love interest and New Orleans District Attorney Rita Deveraux (Chelsea Field) swoops in during an advantageous moment.
At the beginning, it appears that Raymond Isler may be dead, the first of many twists throughout “The River Styx, Part II.” While it’s obvious Walker wants Pride to reveal some intel, it’s unclear exactly what information he seeks and why. That revelation arrives at the end of the show.

Throughout “NCIS: New Orleans” season 5, the Angel provided guidance and obtuse hints to Pride. Occasionally, it felt a bit esoteric, as is the case in “The River Styx, Part II.” Almost half of the episode is Pride hallucinating, and wandering through his mind palace talking to his loved ones including LaSalle, Gregorio, Khoury, Loretta, Sebastian, and his daughter, Laurel (Shanley Caswell). While I did appreciate seeing certain characters such as Laurel return, even if briefly, the dream sequences were a bit over-the-top sometimes.

Still, “NCIS: New Orleans” season finale “The River Styx, Part II” successfully wraps up a solid run of the hit CBS show. It’s enjoyable to finally end the Apollyon subplot, making way for a new storyarc. Joanna Cassidy puts in a brief appearance as Pride’s mom, a character we may see more of in “NCIS: New Orleans” season 6. Pride’s mother would be a much-appreciated change of pace, especially with Cassius Pride (Stacy Keach) dead.