User Reviews

An okay storyline of the week here with a dead marine on the side of the road and some high school students being potential suspects, something that quickly unraveled some deeper things.

This review is not a madeleine to the old days of NCIS though. The stuff with Vance and his daughter was fine, but I wish we got a twist and Kayla DID in fact steal the item. We knew along she was covering, TV is predictable that way.

After the first half of 15th season felt quite average ("Skeleton crew", "Dark secrets" and especially "Burden of proof" were pretty good ones), I hoped the season to get back on track...again. "Family ties" is not an awful episode, but in terms of other stories of this season, it's pretty forgettable.

There are some good things here.

. The story has some entertainment and subplot about Vance' daughter caught stealing was at first interesting. The direction is competent and acting mostly good as well.

But...

Agree with Mason Henderson (an awesome youtuber, who I like to quote) that "Family ties" has a very simple story. One which doesn't need much focus to be honest. The main plot about marine officer getting killed by a car is kind of dull really. I've never thought: hit and run cases are compelling.

2 subplots, one with a family going missing and another about Vance, take very easy way out. There is not a single sense of risk or danger throughout this entire episode, which I find sad given the fact that my ties with NCIS go a while back.

Overall, pretty formulaic episode.

5/10 HK

So one thing that really annoyed me about this episode... Starts off as just a marine hit and run before weaving its way into a tale about "kidnapping" and adoption. Turns out the girl who stole the car and ran over the marine was taken by her "parents" who bypassed the adoption process because when she was a baby, her mother overdosed and her father was a felon deadbeat, and so she would've had to have been fostered. Until she was kidnapped of course.

Everything gets sorted, child is reunited with her "parents" and that's the end.

But in the end I have to ask... What of the dead marine?! Why didn't they handcuff the girl after sorting the whole adoption mess from 15 years ago? I mean, she did steal a car and kill a guy...