Fans of NCIS‘ Jimmy/Jess romance were put through the wronger this week, when the latter’s father paid a visit to D.C.
Special Agent in Charge Feng Zhao (played by Russell Wong) aka “the Gibbs of the Far East” arrived in town after one of the agents from the Yokosuka office that he oversees was seemingly involved in a deadly shooting after escaping a ship explosion.
Getting wind of the VIP’s visit, Jimmy (Brian Dietzen) of course was excited to meet his girlfriend’s father. But when Jimmy arrived in the squad room with coffee for both Jess and her lactose-intolerant dad, Feng was slightly confused and yet impressed by the eager “probie.” Jimmy then tried to make clear that he is, you know, “Jimmy!” — only to slowly and agonizingly realize that Jess’ dad has been told exactly nothing about the very special medical examiner in her life. Ouch.
When father and daughter peeled off to work the case at hand, Feng told Jessica that he picked up on the fact that Jimmy means something, maybe a lot, to her — and vice versa. Jess acknowledged as much, but then started alluding to how that truth would in her dad’s eyes run counter to “the plan.” The chasing of a POI, capped by a kickass father-daughter apprehension of same, cut short any elaboration on The Plan.
Later at HQ, when Jess clocked that Jimmy was crestfallen, she pulled him aside to explain why she hadn’t spoken of him/their relationship to her dad. The Plan, she shared, involved her rising to the position of team leader, then SAC, then Deputy Director, and then Director of NCIS — an important trajectory, she said, after the years-ago setback of losing her REACT team. But what’s important, Jess assured Jimmy, is that she is personally happy for now, though the “for now” really stuck with Dr. Palmer for the rest of the episode.
Once the Case of the Week was cracked, Feng commended his daughter on her work as an agent (while also suggesting her hand-to-hand combat skills could use polishing). He then shared that his bike accident last year got him considering retirement, and he has already put in a good word for Jessica to be his successor as SAC for the Yokosuka office.
Jess shared that news with Jimmy, who offered his whole-hearted support — to a degree that she felt like he was maybe breaking things off with her…? Jess is happy where she is, she made clear to her beau, and has no intentions of taking the promotion. “For now,” Jimmy suggested. And while Dr. Palmer claimed that things are OK between the two of them, you have to figure that this tiny bump in their relationship will lead somewhere.
Me, I don’t see NCIS chronicling the actual break-up moment, if there is one coming, for Jess and Jimmy. That’d be too awkward, too sad, too soapy. Instead, I’d predict that an upcoming episode will quietly reveal that the two stopped dating, in the wake of this hiccup. And then we see how things go from there. But truly, I’m just spitballing based on ominous-y things Dietzen told TVLine in the video above.
