TL;DR – This is the first episode where everything came together to make a profoundly entertaining episode.
Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this series.
NCIS: Sydney Review –
As we have gone through this first season, it has been interesting to see the strengths and weaknesses of bringing a media brand like NCIS and transporting it to Australia. On the whole, we have gotten a lot of fish-out-of-water comedy around Australian animals and locations around Sydney. However, we have yet to get an episode that worked entirely as a whole, well, that is until today.
So to set the scene, one day, a cleaner is doing her rounds at The Audley Hotel in Sydney. The Royle Suit is the first on her route, but as she goes to clean, she hears water running in the bathroom, then a trail of blood, and the body of a dead man, followed by a scream. The team is getting ready to go to a secret Gaiametric presentation after an invitation from the DoD. The only problem is the dead scientist also had an invitation that is now missing, and no one knows where the event is or how to contact Mackey (Olivia Swann), Cooper (Tuuli Narkle), and Blue (Mavournee Hazel) because mobile phones can't reach down in the bunker. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
When you realise something is going very wrong. Image Credit: Paramount+.
I mentioned that that episode worked utterly, and I wondered just why that was. Part of this has to come from the fact that seven episodes into the season, the cast and crew have been working with each other long enough that those familiar bonds are there and that the scripts can be more focused on everyone's strengths. Everyone goes through that awkward finding yourself phase, even my favourite Farscape. But that only explains part of why this episode comes together as well as it does.
The next part comes from the scenario that feels almost plausible as long as you don't think of the silliness of the tech underpinning it. Could I believe that a tech guru could be so sure of their product that they would put 50 people in a situation where they could be killed if it all went wrong? Absolutely. Could I also believe that a foreign power would abuse that hubris for their own gain? Once again, Absolutely. Is it still silly? Yes. But there is enough of a foundation for everything to sit on. This is good because we get some compelling performances from Swann, Narkle, and Hazel towards the end that would not have hit as hard if you had not bought into the scenario.
Everything looks better when you are doing it in formal wear. Image Credit: Paramount+.
The final thing that worked was taking everyone out of their element, so you were not falling into familiar patterns when trying to make it work. So far this season, we have had a pretty strict division of teams, so it was fun to see that get split up and explore different dynamics. It's even better if people are doing it all in their formal wear. Also, we got some very good set dressing today because you could believe they were in one of those old bunkers. It is those small details that help shift the suspension of disbelief, something this series has struggled with in places.
From an audience perspective, I think we all knew that it was the pregnant lady (Barbara Gouskos), but I respect that the writers knew this and added a second reveal that I didn't see coming. This is an egg on my face because I was literally thinking of that character from Gone Fission when I saw the helicopter and still didn't spot it. If I were critical, I have to say that it was silly that they didn't check the wind direction before they set off. Or that once they knew there was a countdown, they could not have gotten other police/military/federal organisations to check all four bunkers. There are a couple of odd moments, but thankfully, they don't take away from the whole.
I am glad that they pushed it as far as they did. Image Credit: Paramount+.
In the end, do we recommend NCIS: Sydney – Bunker Down? Yes, we would. I think this episode is the first that has shown me that this show has the strength to go the long distance, so I am intrigued to see where we go from here.
By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he's not chatting about Movies and TV, he'll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.
Have you seen NCIS: Sydney yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.
Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of NCIS: Sydney
Directed by – Kriv Stenders
Written by – Kim Ho & James Cripps
Created by – Morgan O'Neill
Based On – JAG created by Donald P. Bellisario & NCIS by Donald P. Bellisario & Don McGill
Production/Distribution Companies – EndemolShine Australia, CBS Studios & Paramount+
Starring – Olivia Swann, Todd Lasance, Sean Sagar, Tuuli Narkle, Mavournee Hazel & William McInnes with Georgina Haig and Barbara Gouskos, Shaun Wood, Abhilash Kaimal, Kimi Tsukakoshi, Samantha Young & Adele Samus
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