SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for NCIS Season 23, Episode 9.
Despite its festive backdrop, NCIS Season 23, Episode 9 does not really feel like a Christmas episode. It might have a subplot about stolen toys and there are plenty of decorations, but it’s not until late that the hour has any kind of holiday vibe. Some fans might not mind (especially since the episode finally answers some questions), while others might miss the usual holiday-themed experience.
The real meat of the story is finally finishing up the mysteries around Parker’s mother and the woman who was with his father before Roman’s murder. “Heaven and Nature” spells everything out for fans: Lily was Parker’s childhood friend, whose mother Judy was abused by her husband, Illinois state trooper Lester Burm. Parker’s mother Eleanor tried to help Judy and Lily escape Lester, but Lester ran the ladies’ vehicle off the road. Judy was killed and Eleanor escaped—only to be murdered when Lester tracked her and Lily down in a hotel in Toledo. Parker’s mom didn’t abandon her family; she was saving what was left of another one. A now much-older Lily subsequently visited Roman, who had intended to tell Parker the truth but died first.
It’s a pretty complicated story, but by the end of the hour, viewers have all of their questions answered. That ends the plotlines that stretched out over multiple seasons, and gives the show a clean slate—which is good, because writer Scott Williams ends things on another surprise cameo. Former series regular Emily Wickersham returns as Ellie Bishop, who is watching Eleanor Parker’s memorial service, while Jessica Knight learns that Bishop is now on NCIS ELITE’s wanted list. Clearly, Bishop is back from the CIA mission that led her to resign in Season 18.
This will definitely have viewers buzzing over the winter hiatus. Bishop’s exit was one of the more convoluted farewell storylines, and of course her romantic tension with Nick Torres never culminated in anything. So there’s a lot to resolve (too bad Jamie Bamber has moved on to other roles like Beyond Paradise, or this would also be a clever way to bring his character back). On the other hand, what makes it exciting is also what makes it jarring: it absolutely doesn’t fit with the rest of the episode.
The Christmas component, which would be front and center under different circumstances, is a B-story at best. It feels as if the plot exists because there has to be some kind of holiday tie-in. Torres and Timothy McGee investigate the theft of a truck containing all the toys donated to TAPS (it’s nice that CBS has a promo for the charity after the episode ends). This story just gets handwaved at the end, with the never-seen bad guys choosing to return the toys. The best part of it is the return of actor and comedian Adam Ferrara as Sammy Craig. He provides spark and personality to a plot that just doesn’t have the screen time to really get off the ground.
That’s because Williams devoted so much to the Parker plot, and he kind of has to. NCIS has put so much effort into the Parker mysteries that it must deliver a payoff worthy of all that waiting. “Heaven and Nature” isn’t just giving closure to Parker; it’s doing that for viewers as well, save the absence of Nancy Travis as Parker’s sister Harriet. Given the importance of all this, it feels off to just say that she’s “on a carrier in Guam.” Perhaps the show didn’t want to take away from the Bishop reveal by making that last scene about the Parker siblings—it’s also noticeable that Eleanor’s memorial service isn’t shown. Mourning her is much shorter than the effort put into Roman’s passing. But emotionally, this is supposed to be Parker’s story. In a perfect world, this episode would have found enough for Harriet to do in order to include her in the proceedings.
“Heaven and Nature,” truthfully, is not a Christmas episode. It’s a regular NCIS episode that happens to have a Christmas subplot, and that creates a certain disjointed feel. For example, audiences get just a taste of the final showdown between Parker and Lester (played by X-Men alum Bruce Davison). This is the moment everything has been building toward, with two veteran actors on opposite sides of the table; it could be huge. But it’s not fully played out, possibly because Williams has to leave screen time for the stolen-toy story. This might have been an even stronger ending if it had been Episode 8, when NCIS could use the whole hour for Parker—and then Episode 9 could be a lighter hour about Christmas thieves and duplicate gifts, serving as a palate cleanser before dropping that Bishop bombshell. “Heaven and Nature” is still satisfying because it answers so much, yet it does leave something under the tree.
