When we make mistakes, we tend to find out who our real friends are. Yes, we all have made mistakes that hurt or confuse others, but at what point does a mistake become unforgivable? How much forgiveness is necessary to make a relationship continue rather than die? Why are some people gracious enough to excuse an error without calling attention to the mistake, but others make the offender beg for forgiveness?
For some, there is no forgiveness. Ziva (returning guest star Cote de Pablo) killed Ari, and Sarah (recurring guest star Louise Barnes) tried to kill Ziva as retribution. Ziva is trying to work her way back from the perceived betrayal she felt when Gibbs (Mark Harmon) did not look for her after the explosion. Gibbs is trying to recover from the emotional turmoil he felt when he thought he saw Ziva die.
Upon learning that Gibbs shot Sarah to save Ziva, Phineas (Jack Fisher) does what many people do when their friends make a mistake…he disappears. But unlike some, at least he leaves a note. It is good that Gibbs has friends who will go to extremes to help him recover his relationship with Phin. The NCIS team puts the full weight of its resources to support Gibbs in his search for the young man, with Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) going to extremes to make Gibbs accept his help.
Despite their past breaches of trust, Ziva finds enough forgiveness in her heart to forego her return to Paris and her family to help Gibbs in his time of need. Gibbs forgives Ziva and helps her with “the one thing” she said she would need to take care of before returning to her family. Yes, when we make mistakes, we tend to find out who our real friends are. (The other benchmark being if a friend will drive you to LAX during rush hour, but I digress.)
As Gibbs and his team search for Phineas, Jethro clings to hope that the boy can understand that people make mistakes and that he is mature enough to forgive. How much forgiveness is required to repair a relationship? As much as we ask of each other and as much as it takes.
Other guest stars on tonight’s NCIS are Alain Ali Washnevsky, Usman Ally, Jeremy Batiste, Kate Rene Gleason, Karri Turner, Zakary Risinger, Taivon McKinney, Hugo Garcia, John Gloria, Monica Day, Roland Ruiz, Yvette Cason, Hap Lawrence and Phil Idrissi. Tonight’s NCIS episode, “In The Wind,” was written by Scott Williams.
NCIS airs tonight (January 7) at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS in the U.S. and on Global TV in Canada.