NCIS Season 22, Episode 11, “For Better or Worse,” is the prime example of a TV procedural. It revolves around one of the oldest TV crime drama tropes — a fake marriage — and the plotting is very predictable, up to and including the reveal that really isn’t one. But the episode works in spite of all that, because it’s both fun and efficient.
“For Better or Worse” revolves around Nick Torres and Jessica Knight being thrust into a fictitious relationship in order to preserve Torres’ cover with a criminal organization. The entire plot is just a lead-up to the ceremony and the hijinks that occur therein. Yet fans knowing exactly what’s happening (or not happening) doesn’t hamper the episode as much as it could, because of the actors clearly leaning into the humor.
NCIS Season 22, Episode 11 Doesn’t Have Much Originality
The Show Is Pulling From the History Books in Every Way
At first glance, NCIS Season 22, Episode 11 looks like the writers just cobbled together a plot out of spare parts. The fake marriage or fake dating plotline has been used countless times on numerous TV shows, including this one. In Season 3, Episode 8, “Under Covers,” Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo went undercover as a pretend couple. It’s hard to believe it’s been two decades since that episode aired, but this kind of story is not new to the genre by any means.
On top of that, the show goes back to the “Torres is deceiving his teammates” idea for the second time this season. Season 22, Episode 7, “Hardboiled” likewise involved Torres acting suspect before the team realized what he was actually doing. “For Better or Worse” even calls out the similarity, as Torres is shown meeting Director Leon Vance at a diner before Alden Parker shows up and makes a comment about this not being the first time Torres has kept information from him. Combining two already-used concepts together feels like lazy writing, but the script finds a way to get something out of it.
Some of the weakest moments in Season 22 have come when NCIS tries to be funny at times or in places where it doesn’t need to be. In contrast, “For Better or Worse” leans into the humor — both in terms of the characters and in terms of the writers themselves being aware of the absurdity they’re asking the audience to buy into. Because the episode is just unashamedly fun and doesn’t expect viewers to take it seriously, it’s much easier to play along.
NCIS Makes a TV Trope Entertaining Again
Season 22, Episode 11 Has a Certain Self-Awareness
It’s that sense of self-awareness that makes “For Better or Worse” work. The characters know that what they’re doing is ridiculous and not very plausible, but they commit to the charade anyway, giving the fans some expected but giggle-worthy moments like Knight and Torres having to greet all their wedding guests after the faux ceremony. But the actors throw themselves into the bit just as much, with Katrina Law in particular hamming things up just a little bit more to make every joke land. Rocky Carroll also scores big with his deadpan humor as Vance complains about the cost of a fake wedding.
Even the writing just goes for it, although that does lead to some weaknesses. The entire episode is clearly constructed around just getting to the wedding, so everything else leading up to it is fairly predictable, such as Knight enlisting her sister Robin as a sort of wedding planner. And the guest characters are underwritten — though that doesn’t matter as much, since the point of the episode is getting Knight and Torres to resolve their differences. The case of the week and everyone in it is an afterthought. The bad guys feel like NCIS is taking after Tulsa King again, as Torres’ main rival is the jealous son of the crime boss. And Jimmy Palmer’s subplot may as well not exist; no one cares if he can dance, and it barely comes up anyway.
Robin Knight (to Jessica): You’re trying to parent me again, like you always do.
It’s Robin’s already-spoiled return that creates the most buzz, as well as a few hurdles. NCIS tries to create suspense in its all too short pre-credits scene by not revealing the identity of Torres’ bride, but viewers already know it can’t be Robin, given Torres’ comments in Episode 10 about their relationship and CBS’ marketing for the episode revealing that the wedding is between “two of their own.” Plus, Knight’s toast at the wedding is actually a speech directed at Robin and Torres, but it’s so obvious that it feels like she’s telling the audience what’s she learned from the episode. Yet these awkward bits are worth it just to enjoy the interplay between Knight and her sister again.
NCIS Season 22 Settles the Robin & Torres Storyline
Will the Happy Couple Last Until Season’s End?
Since the B-story of NCIS Season 22, Episode 10, “Baker’s Man” was the reveal of Torres dating Robin, and how Knight reacted to that information, it’s no surprise that the writers immediately throw Knight and Torres together to capitalize on that awkwardness. Sticking them together in a relationship-based situation is just particularly on the nose. But “For Better or Worse” accomplishes its clear goal of getting Knight to accept her sister dating her partner. If anything, the episode could have benefited from some scenes solely between Robin and Torres so that fans could see the growing chemistry between them. Perhaps the writers could’ve invented an excuse for Torres to sneak back to the office and see Robin there; it wouldn’t have been plausible, but it would’ve been permissible since this storyline isn’t meant to be that serious.
The question for fans now becomes if Torres and Robin will continue to be a couple through the remainder of Season 22, or fizzle out now that the series has gotten all the suspense and laughs possible from the idea. Are the writers seriously committed to the pairing, or was it just here to throw a wrench into Knight and Torres’ partnership? Will it be pushed off-screen, or could Robin make another guest appearance or two in the remaining episodes? There are plenty of possibilities moving forward — and they don’t necessarily have to be comedic. “For Better or Worse” shows that NCIS can be very good at comedy when it allows the humor to come naturally.
Yet it’s also a success because it doesn’t open up giant plot holes to get there. When Robin first shows up at the NCIS office, it makes sense because Knight has reached out to her looking for Torres, and so she now has reason to worry. The writers don’t just have her appear because they can. The same goes for her role as fictional wedding planner; it meshes with her history of multiple engagements. NCIS Season 22, Episode 11 may be a little cheesy and a little outlandish, but it’s fun and it never loses sight of the characters in the middle of the spectacle.