NCIS: Los Angeles: “Predator” Review

An unmanned aerial vehicle (also known as a UAV or “Predator”) is hijacked during a training exercise. One of its Hellfire missiles is launched immediately, killing Marines on the ground. The other could be launched at anyone anytime.

This episode still relied on too much surveillance equipment for my taste, but I liked that there was more elaborate undercover work, and the stolen Predator plot was more believable to me than last week’s rogue Navy SEALs. Stealing a Predator was complicated enough that it naturally brought to mind several possible accomplices: the Air Force officer who controlled the UAV during the exercise, the man caught on camera carting the UAV away from its landing spot, and a third person who would have had to hack the Predator’s controls. NCIS had the easiest time questioning the Air Force officer, of course. I liked that the other suspects were killed before they could talk.

About halfway through, the team’s search engine queries began to come in, providing a connection between the hacker’s killer and the mastermind behind the theft. I know it’s impossible to conduct these searches with legwork anymore, but search engine hits and test results just aren’t very dramatic.

Much like Sam Hanna last week, young Dominic Vail (Adam Jamal Craig) needed encouragement this week after the hacker’s killer slipped past him. These moments are supposed to make the characters seem human, but they happen so often, in so many similar shows. I’d like to reach a happy medium where we see a character is affected but he doesn’t need a heart-to-heart talk before getting back to his job.

Early episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles have reminded me of early episodes of JAG and NCIS. Its ratings are holding, so it looks like the show will have a chance to hit its stride in terms of story.

About Gerald So

Gerald So covers THE BIG BANG THEORY, BONES, BURN NOTICE, NCIS, NCIS: LOS ANGELES, and PSYCH each week for BSCreview. His personal blog is If You Want to Know About My Life.