‘NCIS: Hawai’i’: Yasmine Al-Bustami on Lucy Going From Picnic With Kate to Agent Mode

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What Lucy (Yasmine Al-Bustami) thought would be a relaxing evening turns out to be the exact opposite in the May 8 episode of NCIS: Hawai’i.

Lucy’s the one on night watch this time (we previously saw Alex Tarrant’s Kai on duty for it), and when she receives a strange call from a man admitting to murder, the team sets out to find him. So much for her plans with Kate (Tori Anderson)!

Al-Bustami previews what happens next.

How does the call affect Lucy?

Yasmine Al-Bustami: I feel like usually everything kind of goes not too crazy. We’re never really expecting anything wild. Usually whenever we’re doing these night watches — I know for instance, Alex did a night watch a previous episode as well — we’re just expecting an easygoing night. So, when there’s a call, we’re not thinking too much of it and the fact that it’s a very distressed call and so abrupt and so alarming, obviously Lucy just instantly has her guard up. She’s already ready to go and just trying to figure out what to do. She just goes into NCIS agent mode.

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Yeah, there’s the moment where she just reaches into the drawer for snacks. She’s ready to sit there all night.

Oh, yeah. Then Kate comes by, and obviously it was going to be a nice little picnic, so they weren’t thinking anything of it at all. Usually they’re just easy nights, and the fact that this happened and the rest of the team were all doing their own little thing… To have everyone come together and be involved, anytime the storyline involves one of the team getting into a bit of the pickle and everyone kind of has to get involved and help save them and rescue ’em, I think those are my favorite types of storylines to play.

What is it about the caller that leads Lucy to being so determined to find and help him?

I feel like she can tell that it’s not just a regular call. He does give information that would lead you to believe that he’s probably a bad guy. There’s just something about him that Lucy can just kind of pinpoint. It’s a combination of things. It’s either the way that he is talking, the way that he’s trying to describe what’s happening, the fact that he’s even calling. Once viewers listen to the call, they’ll realize that at first it may seem like one thing, but there’s just something about it that [makes it seem like] there’s more to the story. She just wants to figure it out and wants to give him a chance, too.

Do you think she handles this or night watch in general in any way that’s different post her stint as agent afloat?

I think so. I can’t imagine that having an experience like the agent afloat program doesn’t affect her in a way where she’s grown up now and having to go through the whole experience of doing something independent of the team. And figuring things out on her own, I think, gives her a level of confidence that she probably didn’t know that she had in her until she was put into that situation. This, too, it’s kind of seeing what she does under a situation where you’re expecting something that’s just, you’re about to have some snacks and chill with your girlfriend and then this happens and you get to see her do her thing.

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The episode also offers a look into the different ways that Lucy and Kate handle milestones in their relationship. What does that say about how Lucy feels about their relationship this season, especially considering how messy things were in the past?

I think Lucy’s been so happy that they’re finally out in the open, that there are no secrets, that it just feels like a relationship now with its regular ups and downs, because I know that was the whole thing with Season 1 — Lucy just trying to do things Kate’s way and being respectful of it because she understands obviously that Kate was in a different place and mindset then. And to see where it’s progressed now into Season 2 is just so refreshing and it just feels more —lighthearted isn’t the word — free, I guess. It doesn’t feel as heavy in regards to — there are so many issues besides regular relationship, day-to-day things that every couple goes through.

NCIS: Hawai’i, Mondays, 10/9c, CBS