NCIS Season 21 Episode 6 Review: Strange Invaders

Let’s give points for this attempt to be topical.

Both artificial intelligence and UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomenon) were at the heart of NCIS Season 21 Episode 6.

But some series show that “the truth is out there” better than others. Again, let’s give credit for the effort.

Of course, much of the team was skeptical of where the evidence pointed them.

Vance, Parker, Nick, and Jessica just weren’t going to imagine the possibilities.

However, McGee, Jimmy, and Kasie were true believers and should have been more excited about what they might be experiencing.

No, instead, the team had to keep digging for a more earthbound answer. This isn’t The X-Files, after all.

They quickly exceeded the limit for UAP versus UFO (unidentified flying object) jokes. Those never get old.

But indeed, the investigation could have been done with a little less eye-rolling, couldn’t it?

The one thing everyone agreed on was that aliens didn’t kill Greene, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Greene was shooting off his mouth about his UAP encounter, and a decorated Navy pilot has credibility, whatever he’s saying.

So the squad logically concluded that somebody earthbound wanted to shut him up.

Why would aliens care about what he was telling everybody who would listen? Their decades-long record proves they’re good at not being seen.

Unfortunately, the crime scene and Jimmy’s autopsy revealed precious little. No one could figure out how Greene was shot and with what. Palmer couldn’t even determine what made the odd wounds on Greene’s body.

Then there was the whole Atomic Element 116 angle. Analysis of the substance in Greene’s wounds caused Kasie’s machines to break down only after discovering an element that doesn’t occur naturally on Earth. Yup, another glance to the sky.

Fortunately, the alien jokes only held up for the first half of the episode, which turned into something more “ripped from the headlines” — artificial intelligence.

The suspects were brightly flagged all the way through. The congresswoman was up to something because, well, she’s a sneaky politician.

Why does Congress even hold hearings on UAPs? Just to appease the UAP believers? It’s not like the politicians are truly looking for answers on the subject.

It was also evident that Silcott, who worked for that company to create AI profiles of the deceased, had something more to contribute because that was one loser of an idea.

No, Silcott was the man with most of the answers and the transitional character that put the team on the right path when he explained that Greene had seen an autonomous drone operated by an AI he had created.

It was too bad that he had received funding from a dark web weapon developer with less idealistic plans for his AI.

And how naive was Silcott to believe that this secretive corporation had good intentions for the AI they had ripped away from him?

At least he tried his best to warn Greene about those working to discredit him. Too bad he gave little thought to the possibility of an AI-operated killer drone.

The funniest part of the storyline was when Nick, the most cynical about aliens, was the one who got abducted and lost six hours of his life.

Aliens didn’t need drugs to knock him out, which proved someone human had moved him and his car.

The sad part came when it was revealed that Silcott modeled the AI on his young, late son, even calling it Little K.

It took the bond of father and son to bring the case to an eventual close after Silcott made the difficult decision to use the kill code on the AI to prevent a new weapon of mass destruction.

There was still the mysterious weapon developer to locate, although viewers likely will never hear them mentioned again.

But they couldn’t leave the alien angle alone. Kasie declared she was wrong, and Element 116 wasn’t being synthesized on Earth. So, where did it come from?

Let’s talk about a couple of minor storylines that started and then dropped with a thud.

First would be Nick’s idea for an ’80s-themed party, which Doctor Grace suggested because she feels Torres needs more fun in his life.

The whole concept of whether Nick needed a more joyful personal life was abandoned, as has been his romantic life since Ellie left.

It’s little wonder that he seems so tightly wound at times. Doctor Grace was right to prescribe more fun for him.

Then there was McGee, for whom the question is, what’s left?

He learned he was Danish and had a half-sister on NCIS Season 21 Episode 5. That, at least, was a semi-legitimate development.

The exciting question in this episode was whether Tim should shave off his goatee, as requested by his wife. That devolved into an office poll controlling the fate of his beard, using the term loosely.

Remember tap-dancing Tim or mystery writer McGee? Those were enjoyable discoveries about the character. But have we run out of intriguing McGee stories now that Probie has become an aging dad? Let’s hope not.

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Were you shocked that aliens weren’t behind Greene’s death?

Was the AI storyline believable?

Did you feel bad about Silcott’s difficult decision?

Are there still McGee stories to be told?

Comment below.

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Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.