With 22 seasons and counting, several episodes of NCIS stand out for their importance to the show, but it’s fair to argue that there’s one season 7 episode that set the show up for the future. With NCIS originally debuting as a spinoff of JAG more than 20 years ago, it has long since eclipsed its predecessor to become one of the longest-running network procedurals of all time.
While NCIS season 23 has its work cut out for it, as ratings have declined a bit in recent years, the show is still well-loved and the franchise is going strong. So strong, in fact, that a year after the latest spinoff and first prequel, NCIS: Origins, started the story of a young NIS agent Gibbs, the season-long arc format of the upcoming NCIS: Tony & Ziva is set to reinvent the franchise once again.
NCIS Season 7’s “Truth Or Consequences” Is One Of The Highest-Rated Episodes Ever
It’s One Of Only A Handful With An IMDb Rating Of 9.0 Or Higher
For a show heading into its 23rd season, there are naturally some episodes that come highly rated, and others that are universally agreed upon to be the weakest episodes across the series. The highest-rated NCIS episode ever is actually a recent one: season 21, episode 2, “The Stories We Leave Behind.”
That episode was when the team says goodbye to their beloved colleague, Ducky, after the passing of actor David McCallum. The story was good on its own, as the team finishes one of Ducky’s unsolved cases, but it was extra-special and heartfelt thanks to the old footage and flashback scenes sprinkled throughout.
That’s not the only standout episode of the series, though. NCIS season 7, episode 1, “Truth or Consequences,” is also one of the best-rated episodes in the show’s entire run. Only a handful of episodes are rated 9.0 or higher on IMDb, and “Truth or Consequences,” at 9.1, is one of them, tied for third place in the rating rankings of NCIS episodes. While “Truth or Consequences” is an excellent episode overall, it’s especially important to the franchise as a whole.
Truth Or Consequences Is Considered A Turning Point For NCIS
The Team Truly Gelled
To many longtime fans, the season 7 opener is considered NCIS’ true turning point. While it was already going strong with seven seasons, “Truth or Consequences” is arguably where the long-running procedural really hit its stride and found itself tonally and in terms of the makeup of the team.
The episode is layered and tense, as Tony and McGee track down the missing Ziva in Somalia, where she’s been kidnapped and tortured, and stage a rescue mission. The return of Ziva was a huge moment, but the episode also did a fantastic job of ratcheting up the suspense as one of the few NCIS episodes where it really felt like the characters may not make it all out alive.
More than that, though, the episode really showed the team at its best and laid out what a truly formidable group they are. As the team struggles to continue as usual in Ziva’s mysterious absence, each of their strengths and skills is highlighted throughout the episode, both in the present day and through flashbacks.
“Truth or Consequences” is one of the most emotional NCIS episodes ever aired, as it lays out just how far the team will go to save one another. More than just work colleagues, the installment cements their genuine love and undying loyalty for one another, even being willing to die for each other.
So many of the character relationships that became the emotional core of the show and that fans grew to love were well and truly established in the season 7 premiere. While those elements were always there, this episode marked a turning point for NCIS, transforming it from a successful procedural into a series that has now lasted for well over two decades.
