The ‘JAG’ Reunion Will Continue After That ‘NCIS: LA’ Finale Cliffhanger (RECAP)
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Season 10 finale of NCIS: Los Angeles, “False Flag.”]
There’s good news and bad news. The good news is the JAG reunion can’t be over on NCIS: LA. The bad news is that’s because the Season 10 finale ends on a major cliffhanger.
Harm (David James Elliott) is already helping the team when the action begins in “False Flag,” but Hetty (Linda Hunt) calls in a favor from a friend when the intel leads to a man who works for the Russian state department with diplomatic immunity.
You see, Mac (Catherine Bell) is now the Marine liaison to the Secretary of State, and not only does she know Anton, but she has fun blackmailing him, too. All it takes is a threat to send a photo of him in bed with his mistress to his wife, and he’s ordering one of his spies, Olivia, the wife of Episode 23’s victim, to cooperate.
Olivia has been talking to Chechen spies working for Russia — because of plausible deniability — on board Harm’s USS Allegiance through an online game. By the end of the episode, Sam (LL Cool J), Callen (Chris O’Donnell), and Harm have identified at least two of the spies, but that’s just the beginning.
(Bill Inoshita/CBS)
One of them, Vincent, is cooperating with the CIA, and where the CIA is, so is everyone’s favorite Officer, Sabatino (Erik Palladino), who did not receive an invitation to Kensi (Daniela Ruah) and Deeks’ (Eric Christian Olsen) wedding, but surely would’ve been an entertaining addition given everything else that happened.
The other spy, Michael, manages to stay ahead of Sam, Callen, and the SEALs chasing him through the ship, grab two more (unidentified) agents, and take hostages in the control center, where they have access to communications, fire-fighting capabilities, and more.
Meanwhile, Kensi, Deeks, and SEAL Chief Wallace (Don Wallace) join Sabatino in a mobile unit in the desert in Iraq, where the CIA officer informs them that he’s trying to stop World War III. He’s tracking a Chechen defector and French journalist. The defector revealed that ISIS has ballistic missiles and plans to use them in a “false flag” operation to make it look like Iran is firing into Israel and Saudi Arabia — and enough fake news may be able to make Israel and Saudi Arabia fire first. It won’t matter that it was all manufactured once the first shot is fired.
There’s also an ISIS platoon heading their way to take them out — and those men not only find the mobile unit, but use explosives to blast their way in. While Kensi, Deeks, Sabatino, and Wallace are under fire, Harm learns that ISIS has launched those missiles at Israel and Saudi Arabia — and the first one will find its target in seven minutes.
(Bill Inoshita/CBS)
That’s a good place for a To Be Continued, right? Oh, it’s going to be a long summer waiting to see that cliffhanger resolved.
Speaking of unresolved issues, Harm and Mac reunite after not seeing each other in nine years, albeit via video chat, and it is awkward. And they don’t really have time to catch up, given the crisis they’re in the middle of.
As Mac explains to Hetty soon after she first appears, the two were engaged but living separate lives. He passed up a JAG position in London to go with her to San Diego, but he needed to get back in the fight. Her life is good, but some things don’t work out.
“But the final chapter isn’t written yet,” Hetty says. So, there’s hope for them yet, perhaps in the Season 11 premiere?
Elsewhere in the episode, Nell’s (Renee Felice Smith) mother is much worse, and though Eric (Barrett Foa) tries to stay to be there for the team like Nell wants him to, Hetty orders him to go to his girlfriend’s side. Is Nell about to lose her mother? That’s another lingering question for Season 11.
Sound off with your thoughts on the Season 10 finale and the JAG reunion in the comments below.
NCIS: Los Angeles, Season 11, Fall 2019, CBS
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services