User Reviews

A revenge and action-driven Ziva with no depth to her character isn't what fans wanted, but it is still Ziva back and she instantly made the show better.

I just hope this story goes somewhere because this was fine for one episode, but if this is all we get for a few more shows before she is gone for good that doesn't help anyone.

I have been waiting for this episode all summer. And it did not disappoint!

Things literally start with a bang as Gibbs--still kind of dazed by Ziva's sudden return to the Land of the Living--finds himself being shot at through the windows of his basement. There follows a game of cat-and-mouse in which Ziva and Gibbs are the mice. And with the cat being a mystery woman named Sahar, who apparently had some kind of involvement with Ari. The late, renegade half-brother of Ziva's own renegade half-brother!

Naturally, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the team finds out about Ziva's status. First, from Bishop reluctantly telling McGee. Then, from the both of them telling Torres (and quite by amusing accident, poor Jimmy Palmer). And the emotional reactions of each is oh-so magnificently authentic! McGee's, especially.

He's done a lot of maturing, over the last few seasons, between becoming a father and losing his own. So, his moral indignation over Bishop keeping Ziva's secret is highly understandable. After all, he's second-in-command of the team! So, why didn't Bishop trust him? And Bishop's reply is oh-so ironic, given how distrustful she was of Torres' innocence, in that jewelry case, last year.

To be fair, maybe Bishop was being a tad over-compensatory in keeping Ziva's secret. Showing that at least one person could have some blind faith in her and not regret it! But, if there's one lesson I've learned, from years of watching Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, it's that--sooner or later, whether we like it or not--all buried truths inevitably get exhumed.

As to Ziva's accusation that Gibbs essentially abandoned her by accepting news of her death at face-value? Not entirely true. It's Tony DiNozzo's report of what he _didn't_ find, upon going to Israel, that he accepted at face-value. Tony didn't find a body! And, while that might've given Tony, himself, a sliver of hope that Little Tali's mom might still be alive, it's Gibbs (the battle-hardened former marine) who knew what that more likely meant. Namely; that Ziva's body was obliterated beyond all hope of forensic recovery by that mortar barrage!

Needless to say, this episode ended with "To Be Continued." And, needless to say, I will be tuning in next week's episode to the exclusion of all other counter-programming.

So glad this is gonna be the best season yet!!! And I know as generations of our family has spend years watching them all:-)

A lot of people were excited to see the 17th season, because of the return of Cote De Pablo as Ziva, and I was one of those excited people. Ziva David is one of the best characters of the show, so complex and riveting.

The finale of the 16th season was ok, but it did set up the 17th season quite well. "Out of the Darkness" is a solid episode in my opinion, but it is not an amazing one.

Let's start with the good aspects, shall we?

. The production values of the episode are great. It's a well- directed episode, the music fits the scenery and the acting's superb. Mark Harmon has such a good chemistry with Cote De Pablo, who gives a terrific performance once again as Ziva.

. The action sequences are exciting. The narrative is compelling for the most part and I'm interested, where the story is going next. For me it was believable that Ziva is an addict and she is not as moral as she was years ago.

But....

. Parts of the humor (especially regarding Casey) is a bit cringe-worthy. Not all of the dialogue is thought-provoking and can come off melodramatic (particularly towards the end). Also, did find McGee to be a bit out of character here.

Overall, a good episode.

7/10 HK.

After waiting for four months and hearing all of the hype about Ziva's return, I couldn't wait for this episode. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed with it. Two of my issues with it are that none of the characters acted as they normally do, except for Kasie, and part of this storyline has already been done before. I think the writers missed a golden opportunity to reignite the passion of the fans for this series. They had the potential to make this the best episode of the entire series and they blew it.

How many times are they going to rehash the old "somebody is out for revenge because Ari got killed" storyline? Enough already! He got killed off 14 years ago! And throw in the hint that Ziva is now a drug addict. And the team running around like they have no idea what to do. This was definitely not the NCIS that I have known and loved since the original pilot on JAG.

Overall, I thought it was just a poorly written, poorly executed episode. I hope the second part is much better.

I didn't know that the producers turned this show into a comedy. But they must have, because at several points during the episode I found myself laughing out loud. Not because what happened on screen was in any way funny, but because I could not believe the characters were actually doing and saying what I saw and heard them do and say. First McGee rips Bishop a new one, when he finds out she has known about Ziva being alive for ages and hasn't told him. And seconds later he turns around and does exactly the same to Torres. And as if that is not unlikely enough, they then go to Vance and lie to his face. You know what happens in an organisation with a strict hierarchy like (navy oriented, police oriented) NCIS when you lie to the boss? Short answer: you get fired...on the spot. That is what Vance should have done. All through the episode it's "Gibbs would move mountains" and then when Ziva warns McGee with a look not to follow them, he obeys like a puppy and returns to the base. Moving mountains would have meant following Gibbs and Ziva whether they liked it or not, so they could be around when the sh.t hit the fan. Like some other reviewer said: it's like these stories are written by 10 year olds.

Ziva, killer and investigator extraordinaire is on the run for years from a single woman (who has a crew) and she has no idea why this woman wants her dead. What BS. Ziva had/has the resources of NCIS and Mossad and contacts all around the world and she decides not to put those trained killers/hunters/investigators to work going on the offense after one person and, instead, hides for years? The "I'm Ziva, mysterious, dramatic, living in my own head at the expense of all else, is old and tired." And how many times are the writers going to drag out the old "this person must die because it's revenge for Ari being killed plot???" And, if all that wasn't bad enough, the characters, all of them, go totally off the rails, acting nothing like years of character development should lead them to act. If this was a pilot there would be no season 1 to follow.

I'm not sure what happened. NCIS was a fantastic show starting in 2003. The last 2 season are so bad I can barely watch. In fact, I'm not sure why I'm still watching. S17 is worse than S16. Too much drama.

Man, they bring back Ziva and it's a snooze fest. And plain stupid. I mean, Ziva suddenly has anxiety? And Ziva is angry at Gibbs for not looking for her. How about a phone call? And Ziva says she's been looking for the bad lady for years and nothing? And Bishop makes one phone call and figures it out? And Ziva and Gibbs yell at each other - repeating their same thing over and over!?

Humorless and boring. Unbelievable how disappointing the return of Ziva could be.