NCIS Los Angeles review: If the Fates Allow

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Here’s my review of NCIS Los Angeles season twelve episode “If the Fates Allow.” Please note that this isn’t a recap of what happens. I’m assuming that you’ve already seen the episode. There are spoilers in this review.

I’m of the opinion that Christmas episodes should be fun. If we’re going to take a moment to celebrate a holiday, we might as well have a good time with it. I thought “If the Fates Allow” was a great example of a decent Christmas episode. It was mostly lighthearted and had a happy ending. That’s all I ask for in a momentary break from the regular episodes, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Like the previous episode, this case has a personal connection to the team. Unlike the last episode, however, this connection is not with a scumbag psychopath but with one of Callen’s former foster brothers who was unfortunately framed for drug smuggling. It’s a pretty simple case, but it’s much more interesting to see more of Callen’s past revealed in the flashbacks.

I enjoy whenever the audience gets to uncover bits and pieces of the team’s life before joining NCIS. And Callen, of course, has a particularly interesting life beforehand. So, to me, this episode felt like a Christmas treat, getting to see young Callen in flashbacks and compare him to his current self. His conversations with Raymond, his old foster brother, were meaningful. Even though Callen blames himself for Raymond’s stint in prison, Raymond doesn’t blame him at all. He’s moved past all that and has a pretty optimistic outlook on life. Perhaps that’s an attitude Callen can learn something from.

As with many of the episodes this season, the rest of the screentime outside of the case is focused on developing season-long stories for the team. We’ve seen Deeks and Kensi plan for buying a house while Deeks struggles with what he’s doing with his career. His liasion position has been cut and he’s been told that he’s too old to go through NCIS training. The loss of income is putting a strain on him. But, since this is the holiday episode, Hetty appears at the end of the episode to bring a Christmas miracle. She’s pulled some strings to get him the training he needs to become a full-fledged federal agent.

I’m glad they didn’t stretch that plot point out too long this season because it was no fun to see sad Deeks. (Just like how Nell’s previous storyline about her sick mother was very heartbreaking to watch.) It looks like Deeks will be back on track soon enough, getting back to where he’s most comfortable: working side-by-side with Kensi.

Eric returns here to make his first appearance of the season, and he’s as eccentric as ever. It seems like he won’t be around as much this season since he’ll be working on his company and his new nonprofit. I’m not really sure how to feel about all this yet, but I don’t hate it. Eric has spent a LOT of time in Ops over the years and so it would be nice to see him in a different role for a while.

Meanwhile, Sam hasn’t had a lot of focus yet this season. But this episode briefly brings back his daughter Kam for a visit and introduces some potential friction between her and Sam’s girlfriend Katherine. I don’t feel like Sam has had a meaningful storyline since Michelle died, so I’m hopeful that this stuff with his daughter might give him some character work this season.

“If the Fates Allow” was simply a generally positive episode. It wasn’t full of crazy explosions or any undercover work, but it almost felt like a normal episode of NCISLA again. We don’t need every episode to be full of doom and gloom, especially not in a year where television is our escapism from real life. So I give it a pass for being full of holiday cheer.

Notes from the Boat Shed

• I cannot even describe how much anxiety I had watching that opening scene with the cop. I’m glad no one got shot
• Nice to see Otis the sea lion make a cameo 🤣
• I still do not know why Deeks and Kensi are randomly buying a house right now. What’s wrong with where you live??
• Conveniently it seems like Kessler and his associate hightailed it out of the country, so I’m guessing we won’t have to worry about him until later this season. (Fine with me)
• Let us not acknowledge Eric’s terrible mustache and hope it’s gone next time he appears
• Even Raymond is telling Callen to get with Anna! Dang, as a single person, I almost feel sorry for Callen for everyone constantly telling him to settle down
• I still don’t like Katherine but her line about cutting the brakes of her mom’s boyfriend’s car got the biggest laugh out of me this episode. Maybe she’s better to me in small doses.
• Callen knocking those bad guys out with giant candy cane decorations was the other thing that really cracked me up
• If Deeks sells the bar, where is Callen going to live?? (Good thing Hetty pulled off that miracle to get Deeks his training, so presumably, he won’t have to sell the bar)
• Hetty is magic, isn’t she?

So what did you think? Like it or hate it? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.