NCIS had a case in "Hardboiled" that had so many twists and involved a vacuum cleaner, all of which made for a confusing investigation for viewers and for the agents. How exactly did everything pan out, especially for Nick who got a little too close to someone in the case?
The episode began with a PI named Harry and his intern, a Waverly University student named Danny, who was following a woman named Amber Carnahan at the request of her husband. It turned out she was meeting with Agent Nick Torres, so it was assumed they were sleeping together.
Things came to a head when Amber’s husband, Roger, was found deceased. It looked like a suicide until Palmer determined the downward trajectory of the bullet wound meant that he didn’t kill himself.
Roger worked for the Office of Naval Research and according to his wife, she only sought Nick out because her husband had stolen plans for a missile known as the MAD Falcon. According to a colleague, Dr. Wendy Lythcott, the missile would have been a powerful nuclear tool for the Navy.
The case got more confusing as they tried to determine if Amber herself had stolen the plans for the Falcon. She had been a television infochannel host and had worked with suppliers in China for her job.
When Amber was abducted after going to get food with Knight, the team partnered with the PI to figure out if anything in his surveillance could be used to locate her. Eventually, he admitted to putting a tracker on her vehicle, so this was used to locate Amber.
Surprisingly, they found Dr. Lythcott, who was found dead while Amber was in the van that was used to abduct her. The team also discovered that whoever took her had downloaded plans for a vacuum cleaner.
Yes, you read that right. The Falcon that started all of this was a vacuum cleaner. It turned out Amber and Wendy were friendly and that the actual Falcon had been shelved when Carnahan began working at ONR and discovered it was useless. Because Wendy described it in terms that Amber used to sell vacuums, she decided to use the plans to create a vacuum.
Unfortunately, someone found out about the Falcon and assumed that it was worth more than what it actually was. It was Danny who overheard Amber talking about the Falcon and assumed it was a missile. He had killed Roger beforehand, then murdered Dr. Lythcott, and took the plans for the missile.
Harry confronted Danny, who tried to shoot him before NCIS intervened. He wouldn’t lower his weapon, however, and Nick shot and killed him after being shot at. Luckily Nick had on a bulletproof vest.
All in all, this episode was a little confusing at first, but it was still fun to watch the team determine what was happening. Plus, we also got a side plot with Palmer and McGee working as referees.
We’re just a few episodes away from the holiday break and we’re looking forward to what the upcoming Christmas episode will bring when it airs on Dec. 16.
NCIS airs Mondays on CBS at 9/8c. Stay tuned to Americans Undercover for coverage. Follow us on X for more content!