Directed by Aaron Lipstadt
Written by Lee David Zlotoff, Laurence Walsh, & Christopher Silber
Under Covers
When the bodies of two assassins are delivered to NCIS from overseas, Tony and Ziva go under cover to find the intended targets.Tropes in this episode:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Siazon demonstrates the keenness of his Filipino knife by casually slicing his own finger.
- Actually a Good Idea: While Abby is trying to see which of the guests in the hotel could be the Reyniers' client in disguise, Chip insists on running background checks on the hotel staff as well; Abby initially ridicules the idea, but then agrees it is smart to be thorough. This pays off when one of the bellboys turns out to be an ex-Navy fugitive who's wanted for murder, and a henchman of the killer hired to assassinate the Reyniers.
- Assassin Outclassin': The Reyniers thought they were being hired for One Last Job, but it turns out they were being lured to their deaths by another contract killer. Said killer is himself outclassed when Gibbs flattens him with one punch.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Jean-Paul and Sophie Reynier were assassins for hire, but everything Ducky finds indicates that they were Happily Married, including matching infinity loop tattoos (signifying that they were together forever), and the miniscule chip that Sophie Reynier concealed on her with their "insurance policy" was shaped like a heart.
- Batman Gambit: The Reyniers thought they were being hired for One Last Job, before they retired to live happily ever after. Turns out their former clients were setting them up to be killed.
- Blackmail Backfire: The Reyniers thought that threatening their clients to leave them alone would allow them to retire peacefully. Instead these clients pooled their resources to have them killed.
- Dead Person Impersonation: The Reyniers were hired to kill someone at the Marine Corps Ball, but died in a car crash before they reached D.C. Tony and Ziva go undergover as them to discover the identities of the target and the person(s) who hired them.
- Fanservice: Both ways in this episode. Tony and Ziva pretend to have sex, and Tony has a nice Shirtless Scene.
- Foreshadowing:
- Tony and Ziva discuss having children. Fast-forward to 10 years later, Tony finds out that he fathered a child with Ziva.
- At the end, Gibbs looks at a flask engraved with his wife and daughter's names, and whispers, "I miss you guys." It is not until "Hiatus" that the audience learns what happened to his family.
- Heroic Sacrifice: When Tony and Ziva are being held at gunpoint until one of them talks, Tony quickly comes up with a plan: Ziva will offer to show their captors what they're looking for, by luring them up to their hotel room where McGee is waiting.Ziva: Good plan, with one minor drawback.
Tony: What?
Ziva: When I leave, they'll most likely put a bullet through your head.
Tony: Oh. Well, I didn't say it was a perfect plan. - Hidden in Plain Sight: Played With. The Reyniers kept a file with their clients' names and accounts on a tiny microchip, which Sophie had implanted onto the surface of her eyeball. It's so tiny that Ducky didn't find it until the third or fourth time he went over the body.
- Jurisdiction Friction: Hijinks ensue when it turns out that NCIS and the FBI are on the same stakeout, without telling each other about it.
- Averted when Gibbs and Fornell quickly and easily hammer out an agreement to let NCIS continue the surveillance, but hand over the credit to FBI when they're done, allowing both agencies to save face.
- Loud Sleeper Gag: For such a seemingly elegant woman, Ziva snores like a freight train.
- Mama Bear: Discussed by Tony and Ziva. If Sophie Reynier knew she was pregnant, why would she accept One Last Job and put her unborn child at risk?Ziva: Maybe we needed the money.
Tony: Kids are expensive...
Ziva: And bullets are cheap. - One Last Job: What the Reyniers thought they were being hired for. Turns out it was a ploy to kill them.
- Retired Outlaw: What the Reyniers were planning on being.
- Tempting Fate: Playing the part of Ziva's husband to the hilt, Tony asks his beloved for a nice, relaxing massage:Tony: Wow... and to think my mother said I was too good for you.
[Ziva pinches his nerve, hard.]
Tony: [muffling a scream] Ow... ow! - They Look Just Like Everyone Else!:
- Seeing Sophie Reynier's body in Autopsy, Ducky's first reaction is to remark what a beautiful woman she was. Gibbs informs Ducky that Sophie was a contract killer with a very long list of victims.
- Marcos Siazon, the Filipino killer hired to take out the Reyniers, mentions that he'd much rather be home, celebrating his daughter's sixth birthday.
- Undercover as Lovers: Tony and Ziva go undercover as a married assassin couple.
- Water Wake Up: Ziva pours a small stream of bottled water onto Tony. He wakes up, thinking Gibbs needs his help.
