NCIS 22x05 sees the team looking for a former Soviet spy and a mysterious file

NCIS took us back a few decades in Monday, Nov. 11's episode, "In from the Cold," and introduced us to a former Soviet spy who had some memory issues. The man, Captain Thomas Butler (John Getz), had begun speaking in a foreign language and when his son took him to the doctor, he took the doctor hostage before being unable to remember what happened. He had dementia and didn’t seem to know what he said.

When McGee tried to look for information on him at the computer station, the power went out at the hospital, leading us to meet CIA Officer Conrad (Tom Schanley), who had not informed NCIS that a potential Soviet spy was on Russian soil. He had originally been an intelligence asset during the Cold War, although there was a claim that the CIA didn’t know he was the spy that was tasked with being a mole at the Pentagon.

In trying to find him, the team also met his son Danny (Matthew Lawrence), who didn’t know about his father’s past. But the team didn't learn that Butler may have someone trying to find him and get information on a file called Project Laurel, which he had taken from the Navy Archives and hidden somewhere.

To draw him out, they needed to try and look the part of a spy, so McGee was set up to wear '70s style clothing, down to sideburns that turned out to be super glued on. He was playing the part of a dirty CIA agent Thomas knew, but didn’t remember had died in the ‘80s. If only Tony DiNozzo had been there to see it.

However, it turned out to be a ruse as Thomas remembered in time that the file contained information on crimes involving the CIA, which also included intel on Conrad, who was the real villain all along.  Plus, we also learned that Thomas was not actually a Russian spy, but he was working as a double agent at the CIA.

All in all, this was a classic episode of NCIS that focused on the case at hand while also providing us with some funny moments throughout the episode. Plus, who doesn’t love to see McGee with sideburns, even if he’ll have to figure out how to remove them.

Unfortunately, even though we loved watching the new episode, there won’t be a new one to air until Monday, Nov. 25. Until then, you can catch up on previous episodes of the season on Paramount+.