Review: NCIS New Orleans ‘The Terminator Conundrum’

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Warning: Post contains spoilers

“NCIS: New Orleans” episode “The Terminator Conundrum” opens with a Navy pilot admits to witnessing an unidentified object just before the crash of a civilian aircraft. After retrieving the downed plane, Agent Sebastian Lund (Rob Kerkovich) finds a strange piece of metal. This in turn leads the team to otherworldly drone technology.
After Special Agent Hannah Khoury (Necar Zadegan) made a split-second judgement call during a joint FBI-NCIS investigation, she was replaced as the leader of the NCIS New Orleans outfit. Former Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Dwayne “King” Pride (Scott Bakula) resumes field work. Granted, Pride rarely remained in the office. Instead, he mostly joined the NCIS NOLA team during investigations in spite of his assignment as SAC. Still, the team dynamic adjusts accordingly. “I’m really happy Pride’s back but you being demoted sucks, even he thinks it sucks,” Special Agent Tammy Gregorio (Vanessa Ferlito) rants while Hannah clears off her desk. “I’m probably way out of line here, my feelings aren’t important. You’re ok, I’m ok,” Gregorio continues. “I’m not ok, I’m pissed,” Khoury admits.

Earlier in the season, Pride confided in Jefferson Parish coroner Loretta Wade (CCH Pounder) that he hasn’t been sleeping. Moreover, Dwayne suffers from vivid nightmares. There’s a man in a red suit that keeps popping up where he shouldn’t be, with Pride chasing him. Most recently, a little girl who was killed during a hostage situation when Pride was a young sheriff appears in one of his nightmares. Loretta postulates that high amounts of LSD forced upon King while he was captured and tortured by Apollyon are to blame.

While Pride battles with his insomnia and night terrors, Special Agent Chris LaSalle (Lucas Black) goes on a side quest to Alabama in search of his brother, Cade. The bipolar Cade disappeared, and LaSalle suspects Cade may be off his meds.

Observations:

“NCIS: New Orleans” S06E02 is an out-of-this-world episode. The UFO storyline is fun, and really lends resident geek Sebastian a few moments to shine. After explaining the plane crash case, LaSalle wonders aloud, “Isn’t that an NTSB issue?” Pride admits, “Should be, except the lieutenant says that she saw something that she can’t explain.”  Excitedly, Sebastian clarifies “Hold on a second, is can’t explain code for uh…” Pride interrupts, “Nope.” Sebastian continues, “cuz there’s been a lot of sightings recently.” Once again, Pride shuts him down. “How do you even know what I’m going to say?” Dwayne aptly replies, “You’re going to say ‘aliens.'” At the crash site, when Sebastian locates a strange piece of metal, he parodies “Ancient Aliens” quipping “I’m not saying it was aliens, but I’m not saying it wasn’t.”

After discovering that the UFO was in fact a swarm of drones, Sebastian asks Gregorio if she saw “The Terminator.” Tammy bitterly replies, “Yes dear, all five of them. Movie night. And I will never get those 14 hours back. What does this have to do with our drones?” Lund warns, “Well the ‘Terminator conundrum’ means that you don’t create a thinking weapon that can turn on you.” It’s a hilarious conversation, especially for pop culture buffs, and quite on-brand for Sebastian’s character.

Since its debut, the family dynamic on “NCIS: Orleans” has made it endearing. That’s especially apparent in “The Terminator Conundrum.” Pride discusses his night terrors with coroner Loretta Wade. Upon hearing that Cade is missing, Pride encourages LaSalle to visit Alamaba to check on Cade. “The trouble with being bipolar is that if folks do ok long enough, they may start to think they’re actually ok. You should go to Alabama.” Chris protests, “We’ve got a case.” King replies, “I can order you to go.” While LaSalle doesn’t find Cade, he does meet Cade’s girlfriend and her teenage son. After returning from Bama, LaSalle visits Pride who’s sitting down to dinner with Loretta. The ever-caring King invites Chris to join them. Meanwhile, Tammy takes Hannah out for drinks at a gay bar. Though Khoury argues that she’s not a lesbian, she strikes up a conversation with a bar patron that, chances are, we may see again. While there have been a few roster changes, including the departure of Special Agents Meredith Brody (Zoe McLellan) and Sonja Percy (Shalita Grant), the familial bond between the NCIS New Orleans outfit remains strong.

Oddly, the plane crash storyline feels secondary, or even tertiary, to the outside drama. There’s quite a lot of story arc advancement, including Pride’s nightmares, Hannah’s demotion, and Cade’s disappearance. There’s a lot that happens during “Terminator Conundrum,” but the episode never feels busy. After thwarting a black market weapons sale, an entourage of vehicles rolls up, and a gaggle of men in dark suits gets out. “Special Agent Khoury,” a mysterious man greets Hannah. “What’s going on Winchester?” she asks. It’s yet unclear who this Winchester character is or how he knows Hannah, but he’ll likely be back. Perhaps he’s connected to whatever happened before Khoury’s tenure at  NCIS that ultimately got her demoted. When Pride queries “Who’s that guy?” Khoury replies “Super secret ass,” of Winchester. Overall, “The Terminator Conundrum” is a solid, drama-filled “NCIS: New Orleans” episode that concentrates mainly on its core cast, continuing existing plotlines and setting up a fresh one in Cade’s disappearance.