NCIS Season 22, Episode 6, “Knight and Day” vacillates between light comedy and family drama — and never quite succeeds at either one. The plot of the Jessica Knight-centric episode actually has much in common with the hit Paramount+ series Tulsa King, because like that show, this story combines the mob with a parent-child relationship. Socialite Melinda Martin is miles away from Tulsa King protagonist Dwight Manfredi but the two would have something to talk about.
“Knight and Day” is so called because Agent Knight is reluctantly pressed into protecting Melinda when she is targeted. NCIS reveals that the bad guys aren’t trying to get into her charitable foundation, or target her high-profile but philandering husband. They want Melinda personally, as she has a past in Kansas City. The result is an episode that largely plays by the rules, leaves a few blanks to fill in, and stumbles when it comes to its comic relief.
NCIS Season 22, Episode 6 Plays With a Tired Archetype
Melinda’s Character Never Completely Connects With the Audience
From the moment that Melinda Martin is introduced, NCIS viewers know who her character is and what her relationship with Knight is going to be. The character has an over-the-top entrance, swanning in to insult her husband and his mistress. before making life difficult for the team, including Assistant Director Leon Vance. Vance has a limited role as actor Rocky Carroll directs this episode but it’s a small beat in which the character shares the viewer’s exasperation. Melinda is the “arrogant, materialistic rich person” stereotype. And of course, Knight will dislike her before they inevitably find common ground and admit to each other that they were wrong.
It’s a tired storyline revolving around someone who never stops feeling like a character type, rather than a fully fleshed-out character. Even at her lowest and most serious point — when it’s been revealed that her real name is April and she gave up a child for adoption so many years ago to protect the kid from a ruthless mob boss — Melinda never wins back the audience she annoyed with her earlier behavior. Perhaps if the script had spent less time on the early jokes and more time developing her real character arc, that might have helped, but then it would have had to give away its big plot twist much earlier on.
Melinda Martin: What would make you think that there’s bad blood?
Leon Vance: Literally every word out of your mouth.
Knight has had stronger episodes, too. The NCIS Season 22 premiere was a better use of the character’s wit, and there was more action for her, too. Escaping from the back of a kidnapper’s van is a short-lived fight sequence and Knight winds up getting an assist from Melinda, which is meant to reinforce that the characters can be friends now. And it seems that Knight’s personal life is going to continue to be a subplot, even though speculation about it has more than run its course. There’s just not enough going on with any one character to really make this episode stand out.
NCIS Season 22 Leaves Some Big Holes for Parker
His History With Carla Marino Is Frustratingly Vague
NCIS Season 22, Episode 6 sets up another ongoing storyline for Alden Parker, explaining that the mob boss Melinda / April is on the run from has a past with the team’s fearless leader. Carla Marino is played by Rebecca De Mornay, in her first TV role since 2021, when she portrayed Penelope Decker in the FOX turned Netflix cult hit Lucifer. References are made about Parker knowing how dangerous she is, but the scene in which they finally are in the same room together is surprisingly anticlimactic. It’s too casual, with Carla telling Parker that her henchmen will be confessing to the crimes of the week, so that NCIS can obviously bring her back for a future episode. Yet there’s nothing about her appearance in this episode that drums up any excitement for that.
There have been plenty of recurring villains on not just this show, but countless other crime dramas. They’re a fun way to give the heroes some kind of challenge that isn’t wrapped up in 42 minutes. But all of the best TV drama villains have personality and strike genuine concern or fear in the hearts of the audience. There has to be a reason they keep getting away. Parker just vouching for Carla’s reputation and then her smarmily getting out of one interview isn’t enough to make her intimidating. “Knight and Day” could have ratcheted up the tension in their meeting, given the talents of De Mornay and Gary Cole, or at least told more than one story about Carla’s murderous misdeeds. Make the audience feel why Parker is so frustrated by her and therefore they share in his frustration when NCIS has to let Carla go.
NCIS Falls Short When It Comes to Comic Relief
Season 22, Episode 6 Isn’t That Funny
While audiences will see it coming, Melinda / April finally being reunited with the child she gave up for adoption is at least heartwarming. What is less successful is the comedic subplot in “Knight and Day.” Knight shows up to work with a jacket that she believes belongs to Nick Torres, but it doesn’t and so everyone is determined to find out whose coat she has. There are comments about Torres’ fashion sense along the way, as well as another reference to Knight’s breakup with Jimmy Palmer. But Knight and Palmer pretty well addressed their breakup and their feelings for one another in NCIS Season 22, Episode 4, “Sticks & Stones.” One more reminder that Palmer isn’t over her is just repeating what that and the whole rest of the season alrleady established.
Plus, as Parker points out in one scene, there’s a better use of McGee and Torres’ time and effort than this random goose chase. That’s also true of the audience in their own way — which is where Tulsa King Season 2 succeeded where this episode doesn’t. Both shows try to ground their mob drama by making it about family. But in Tulsa King, Dwight has actual scenes with his daughter Tina as he tries to fix things between them. NCIS can’t give viewers that first-hand experience because the whole plot is about finding Melinda / April’s daughter Lauren. That means the viewer has to rely solely on Melinda / April’s version of events, which mostly comes out through one monologue in the back of a van. And if Carla’s whole drive is being reunited with her granddaughter, it would likewise be nice to feel genuine care for Lauren in her talk with Parker. That would humanize her character and add an extra layer. Dwight does some terrible things in Tulsa King, but audiences also know the love he has for Tina.
Jessica Knight: Isn’t kidnapping and assaulting a federal agent enough felonies for one day?
NCIS Season 22, Episode 4 is centered on an able performance by Katrina Law; it might not be Knight’s best episode, but she’s still reliable in both action and frustrated exasperation. The plot isn’t difficult to unravel, and these Kansas City mobsters don’t come close to Bill Bevilaqua and his crew. Yet it’s an entertaining diversion — more a light procedural than a serious TV crime drama. Fans will have fun with it, even though the guest characters and story have plenty of room to grow. If and when Carla Marino returns, perhaps viewers will get more insight into her world.