NCIS Season 22, Episode 9, “Humbug” is the quintessential Christmas episode of a TV show, and that’s a compliment. TV Christmas episodes tend to follow a specific mold. Audiences want a feel-good story, and then there’s usually a subplot about somebody’s plans for the holiday, and a lot of awkward Christmas-related humor. “Humbug” checks off all the boxes — but does it in such a way that viewers are charmed regardless.
“Humbug” focuses on a Marine who’s determined to play Scrooge, writing a tell-all book to discredit his former commanding officer. The NCIS team originally thinks Merritt Hastings is the target of a political campaign to destroy his credibility as a veterans’ advocate, but the real story is much more personal. The episode is mostly carried by its guest cast, including the return of Seamus Dever as Deputy Director Laroche, yet that doesn’t affect the audience’s enjoyment of a solid plot.
NCIS Season 22, Episode 9 Is a Low-Key Crime Story
The Episode Is Calm Compared to Other NCIS Stories
Relatively speaking, “Humbug” is a quiet episode of NCIS. It doesn’t involve any car chases, nobody gets abducted and thrown into a van, and the biggest action happens in the flashback before the opening credits. There’s one scene in which a group of angry veterans starts a skirmish in an apartment building, but that’s about it for physical action. And that might be boring if this wasn’t a Christmas episode. Audiences are used to Christmas episodes being more emotional and contemplative, in keeping with the spirit of the holiday season. It would actually be somewhat jarring if there was a massive action setpiece.
There is an investigation, as the agents have to identify the author of the tell-all book, and then disprove Samuel Cross’s allegations. But that really feels more like a framework to move the emotional story along than a mystery to be unraveled. As soon as it comes out that Samuel’s brother Evan Cross was one of the Marines killed in the ambush, the audience can put the pieces together and know where the whole rest of the episode is going. The story starting with a reading from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol suddenly makes perfect sense.
And yet, even being well aware of what the end of the plot will be, audiences come along for the ride specifically because they know where they’re going. They want to see Samuel get closure, they want to see him and Hastings make up, and they want to see the past laid to rest. This script hits every emotional beat necessary to leave fans with a smile on their face.
Season 22, Episode 9 Belongs to NCIS’ Guest Stars
Demetrius Grosse Stands Out as Merritt Hastings
Because the plot of “Humbug” is more about the emotional journeys of the guest characters, it’s no surprise that the main NCIS cast largely takes a back seat. Sean Murray gets some moments as Timothy McGee continues to doubt the Deputy Director, and later resurrects his pen name of “Thom E. Gemcity” to make contact with Samuel Cross’s literary agent. And the obligatory holiday-themed subplot is about who Nick Torres plans to spend Christmas Day with. Some fans may be disappointed that most of the heavy lifting is done by the guests, but it’s because of that, that the episode succeeds. It allows the fans to invest in their characters and want them to take that journey.
The star of the show is actor Demetrius Grosse, whom audiences will recognize from his starring role as Deputy Emmett Yawners in Cinemax’s Banshee opposite Antony Starr, and a guest appearance in the NCIS: Los Angeles Christmas episode “If the Fates Allow” back in 2020. Grosse plays Merritt Hastings, who now runs a motorcycle shop staffed entirely by wounded veterans. He’s every bit the quiet, strong paternal figure that Hastings is made out to be — and that he needs to be in order for the audience to care. The viewer winds up looking up at Hastings just as much as Brian Zanella, one of his former subordinates who now works for him at the bike shop.
Gabriel Laroche (to Alden Parker): Observing your team up close will be a gift.
Castle fans will appreciate how Laroche is used in the episode, as he goes out into the field with Alden Parker. While Laroche is nowhere near as capable as Seamus Dever’s Castle character Kevin Ryan, it’s still fun to see him back in those kinds of scenes. “Humbug” gives Dever the predictable arc of Laroche’s “help” just making everything more awkward and problematic for the NCIS team, including getting them in trouble for not accepting Hastings’ questionable confession, before using the case to get himself some public attention. Dever clearly has a lot of fun being the guy who thinks he’s more charming than he actually is, and he perfectly positions Laroche for the inevitable showdown with McGee when NCIS Season 22 picks up after the holidays.
NCIS Invites More Speculation About Deputy Director Laroche
Torres’ Personal Life Also Gets Teased at the End
NCIS has prompted viewers to side-eye Laroche since he was introduced in the Season 22 premiere. The character is very clearly the kind of bureaucratic antagonist seen in so many TV crime dramas. While he hasn’t been in every episode so far, the fact that the idea was presented in the premiere means that the show needs to pay it off sooner rather than later. It’s now stretched for half a season without any clear answer as to what Laroche is really up to. “Humbug” sees McGee express his concerns to his colleagues, and between that and the shady behavior that Laroche exhibits during the case, the stage is wonderfully set for the two characters to butt heads before the audience gets bored. Whatever happens next should be a heck of a lot of fun.
There’s also the Torres of it all; the episode ends with Torres receiving a text from a mysterious person, who asks if they’re “still on” for the holiday, and whom he affectionatly refers to as “babe.” The strong implication is that he’s now got a secret love interest, after his failed attempt at using a dating app earlier in the season. But this doesn’t gin up as much excitement as the writers intended. Worrying about a possibly evil NCIS deputy director is more important than Torres’ love life — and there’s already been so much back and forth with Jessica Knight and Jimmy Palmer that viewers already have their fair share of romantic drama. It’s more interesting, and more affecting, to watch Cross apologize to Hastings and admit that he still misses his brother.
Brian Zanella: Sam was a good Marine. Still is. He’s just lost his way.
“Humbug” doesn’t have fact-paced action or jaw-dropping plot twists. It doesn’t even have any big moments for the NCIS characters. It’s a good, solid, emotionally moving story about grief, acceptance and loyalty that just happens to involve the agents that viewers know and love. And because it’s so well-told and well-acted, knowing what it needs and also what it doesn’t need, the audience can’t help but walk away from it feeling the Christmas spirit — just like Torres.