NCIS Season 22 Episodes 3 Recap: 10 Biggest Moments & Reveals

Spoiler Alert for NCIS season 22, episode 3, "The Trouble with Hal"

The Major Case Response Team solves a case on Halloween night in episode 3 of NCIS season 22. It's turning out to be a massive season for the team, following a shortened 2023-2024 TV cycle due to writers' strikes. Still, NCIS season 21 packed a punch, and the next installment builds on all the exciting developments that reared their heads in the shortened season. It's been a riveting season for Parker (Gary Cole) and Jessica Knight (Katrina Law), who faced life-altering challenges in the NCIS season 21 finale but returned for season 22.

Moreover, the team feels cohesive heading into NCIS season 22, proving that the franchise's flagship series can survive without longtime Leroy Jethro Gibbs star Mark Harmon. Essential NCIS characters like Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) and Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) have now surpassed Harmon's time on the series and diversify the show with characters that have stuck around since season 1. Despite these changes, the team continues to move forward with the main focus on doing their job.

10 MCRT's Halloween 2024 Case Explained

A Navy SEAL's House Is Compromised

In NCIS season 22, episode 3, "The Trouble with Hal," the team interrupts their Halloween plans to solve a case on Halloween night. Everyone is about to celebrate when they get a call about a fight at a Marine's house, and when they arrive, there is confusion. A Navy SEAL is surprised when he gets home from a deployment with a crowd partying in his home. The case gets even more shocking, however, when they find a dead body. It is an unusual case for NCIS to respond to a house fight.

The team figures out that the Marine is from a wealthy family and that all their homes are being searched for treasure. They find out that the person, Hal, who is in the Navy SEAL's home, is renting it from a house hopper app that the family's butler is secretly profiting from. That said, he isn't behind the murder. Ultimately, the delivery person finds out about the treasure-seeking and wants a cut, but he murders Hal over a disagreement. The spooky setting inspires candid conversations between team members that set the stage for the remainder of NCIS season 22.

9 Knight & Palmer Continue To Dance Around Their Break-Up & Reunion Conversation

The Former Couple Needs To Talk It Out

In episode 3, Palmer and Knight Law continue to dance around the conversation about breaking up and their dynamic moving forward. Regardless of what Knight and Palmer decide to do, the important part is that they address their current situation. In the NCIS season 21 finale, when Knight was offered the promotion to Chief REACT Training Officer, she and Palmer split because the job would take her to California. Jimmy wanted to end their relationship on "his terms" after suddenly losing a series of colleagues and family members.

In the NCIS season 22 premiere, Knight decides to decline another promotion and return to MCRT. The decision puts her back in Palmer's daily life, so it feels natural that the former couple would address their split. Instead, in episode 3, Palmer and Knight playfully bicker about the Medical Examiner's Halloween costume, which is innocent enough but makes Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) uncomfortable, and he steps in to play moderator. Palmer and Knight need to properly talk about their break-up, if just for the sake of their team, so they know how to address it.

8 The Team Discusses What To Do With Ducky's Office

NCIS Calls Back To Ducky's Season 21 Exit

In NCIS season 21, the team bid Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard goodbye. By season 22, episode 3, the MCRT discusses what to do with his office. Ducky was on the show for 21 years until David McCallum died at 90. NCIS season 21, episode 2, "The Stories We Leave Behind," paid tribute to the longtime NCIS actor, who played the team's Chief Medical Examiner for years and then retired and stuck around as their NCIS Historian.

When Ducky was granted the role of NCIS Historian, he was given his own office. That said, it has just sat empty since NCIS season 21. It last saw the team needed access to Ducky's files. Nick approaches the rest of the team about making it a gym because he wants to work out more. The rest of the team begins to think about what they want to use the office for. Eventually, Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover) surveys to see what each member wants Ducky's old office to be.

7 Parker & McGee Bond Over Their Love Of Haunted Houses (But Knight & Torres Disagree)

The Team Makes Their Stances On The Paranormal Clear

The Halloween episode has the MCRT characters address their stance on ghosts and the undead, and there is a clear divide. Parker and McGee discuss their love for haunted houses and all things that go bump in the night since they don't believe in ghosts. Knight and Torres, however, are a little more skeptical. The skeptics explain that while they have plenty of bravery against bad guys in the real world, the undead are in another category.

It's a good moment for Parker and McGee to team up, considering the events of earlier episodes. They have yet to have a one-on-one time because of how scattered the team was in the premiere and how frantic the subsequent episode was. All the ghost talk from the NCIS season 22 characters is a great follow-up to the paranormal episode in NCIS season 21 that teased aliens.

6 Knight Brings Up The Mystery Of Lily With Parker

Knight Knows About Parker's Lily Mystery First-Hand

After Parker learns that Knight believes in ghosts, he challenges her opinion when they have a moment to themselves. The private time to talk and Parker's more personal questioning allow Knight to ask her questions about what happened to her boss in the NCIS season 21 finale. Knight was with Parker when he was trapped on a Navy ship and rapidly lost blood after a metal beam fell on his leg. She was the one who saved him.

As he lost blood, Parker hallucinated a little girl named Lily in the NCIS season 21 finale. However, Parker has been reluctant to talk about the hallucination since. When Vance questioned Parker about the incident in episode 2, he said that he was still working it out. Parker gives Knight a similar answer in episode 3. Parker can see a flashback of Lily when he thinks about her. However, he may not know who the little girl is or why he knows her.

Parker Addresses McGee's Staying With The MCRT

In "The Trouble with Hal", Parker talks to McGee about how he didn't get promoted to NCIS Deputy Director. In the NCIS season 22 premiere, it looked like McGee would get a promotion. It was an exciting prospect since McGee has been on the MCRT for two decades and is more than qualified to advance in the NCIS ranks. However, to McGee's dismay, the NCIS Deputy Director position went to Gabriel LaRoche (Seamus Dever).

Failing to secure the promotion is a letdown for McGee because he knows that he is more than qualified for the job. Still, Parker is happy to have McGee on the field, and MCRT's Senior Field agrees, albeit hesitantly. There is unresolved tension about the snub, however, meaning this would not be the end of this storyline, especially since there's reason to suspect that LaRoche is a mole after the NCIS season 22 opener.

4 Torres Has A Heart-To-Heart With Knight About His Role In Her Split With Palmer

Nick Is Friends With Jess And Jimmy

While Knight and Palmer avoid discussing their break-up, she clears the air with Torres. Earlier in the same episode, Torres feels the need to break up a conversation between Knight and Palmer because he thinks they are fighting. When Knight and Nick are staking out the haunted hunting lodge later, waiting for their guest to arrive so they can apprehend whoever is looking for treasure, Knight addresses the role Nick plays in their relationship.

Knight acknowledges that Nick is best friends with her and Jimmy, but that doesn't mean he has to moderate or worry about their relationship. Knight echoes Jimmy's sentiment earlier in the episode, saying they are fine and don't need others to interfere. It's a difficult conversation since Nick encouraged Jimmy's break-up with Jess in the NCIS season 21 finale.

3 Nick Reveals He's Trying To Date Again

Love Is On The Horizon For Nick Torres

When Torres and Knight have their heart-to-heart in the hunting lodge in NCIS season 22, episode 3, he reveals that he wants to put himself back out there. When Knight asks for him to explain, Nick clarifies that he wants to put himself back in "the love game." Torres adds that this is why he wants to turn Ducky's old office into a gym: he's trying to get his mind right by getting his body right to put the best version of himself into the dating pool.

Knight tells Nick she supports him with a big smile. Nick suggesting he wants to date again is massive news for NCIS season 22 because, as he notes in his conversation with Knight, Nick hasn't had anyone special in his life for years. His last noteworthy relationship in the series was a will-they-won't-they romance with Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham), but it was cut short. A romantic storyline for Nick could lead to exponential developments for his character.

2 Director Leon Vance Turns Ducky’s Old Office Into A Multi-Purpose Room

Everyone's Niche Is Accounted For In The Multi-Purpose Room

In NCIS season 22, episode 3, the team concludes how to use Ducky's former office. When Nick comes up with the idea of converting the office into a more useful space, everyone starts to think about what they need, and it becomes a larger conversation about what the MCRT needs. Kasie surveys everyone to get their opinions and sends the results to Vance, who ultimately makes a room that accounts for what everyone needs.

Nick wants a gym, so he has a rack of weights in the corner. Kasie wants to preserve Ducky's office as a meditative space, and there is room for that in the multi-purpose room, too. Parker, sick of eating his lunch in the bullpen, wants to make the room a proper break room, and the supervisory agent gets what he needs from the deal, too. Ultimately, Ducky's old office will account for everyone's needs and be a great communal space for gathering throughout the season.

1 McGee Is Secretly Investigating Gabriel LaRoche, The New NCIS Deputy Director

McGee's Mind Is On Other Things

As the rest of the team enjoys the new Dr. Donald Mallard Memorial Multi-Purpose Room, McGee hangs back because his mind is on other matters. While McGee claims that he has put NCIS Deputy Director Gabriel LaRoche and his failed promotion out of his mind, he investigates the former Department of Defense employee at the end of the episode. The development shows a larger storyline building for McGee.

McGee's side quest reveals that at least one team member will investigate the potential NCIS mole. It's good that episode 3 picks up the investigation since NCIS season 22, episode 2 wrongly ignored its most dangerous case. McGee is arguably the team's most skilled and qualified agent, so he will undoubtedly uncover something about LaRoche worth looking into, setting the team up for an exciting overarching investigation in season 22.

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