“Ex-File” first aired Tuesday, October 9, 2007.
While the NCIS writers sans Donald Bellisario are still getting their sea legs, they collectively pack four episodes of major character development into the single episode of “Ex-File,” cleverly titled as it involves Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ (Mark Harmon) third wife, Stephanie Flynn (Kathleen York), proving that at least until Army Lt. Col. Hollis Mann (Susanna Thompson), Gibbs had a major thing for redheads (think NCIS Director Jenny Shepard [Lauren Holly]).
The episode opens with the wife of Marine Captain Trent Reynolds, Jill Reynolds (Lilli Birdsell) and her friend Stephanie Flynn (Kathleen York) entering the Reynolds’ house following a business trip that took Mrs. Reynolds to a pharmaceutical conference. The two enter the house looking for Mrs. Reynolds’s husband, who is apparently home because a stereo is blaring in the study. They find Captain Reynolds dead, speared from the back through his sternum by one of his own spear gun darts, Captain Reynolds propped upright by the spear in front of his laptop computer displaying a picture of his family on the screen. The team determined Marine Reynolds worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and was on Fort Belfore army base, ultimately making this a joint Army-NCIS case to be led by none other than Army Lt. Col. Hollis Mann (Susanna Thompson). Sparks will fly.
When Gibbs and his team reach the crime scene, Lt. Col. Mann is already present. Mann makes it perfectly clear to Gibbs that she is in charge of the investigation. NCIS Medical Examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum) estimates the time of death and the team, seeing the laptop as evidence, confiscates it. The brass from the DIA sends Army Major Eric Sweigart (Myk Watford) and Army Lt. Joseph Marsden (Robin Dunne) to NCIS where the two insist that the laptop holds secrets too sensitive for the wrong eyes and should be returned to them immediately. Shepard (Lauren Holly) will not let go of the laptop as it is evidence and the two units come to the agreement that DIA personnel will be sent to work with NCIS Forensics Specialist Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), who is resistant to the idea, to say the least. The Agency sends a geek Woton named Fred Rinnert (John Mallory Asher) to oversee Abby and whom Abby initially loathes but eventually warms up to.
The NCIS-Army investigation team turns up Major Sweigert’s fingerprint on the door to the Reynolds' house. His explanation for the print was he was there having a date with Stephanie Flynn, Mrs. Reynolds’ friend and Gibbs’ ex-wife, which would place him at the Reynolds’ residence. Mann takes Gibbs to see Director Shepard to discuss Stephanie Flynn and the propriety of having Gibbs on the investigation considering his past relationship with Flynn. Mann and Director Shepard conclude that Gibbs’ involvement will not be a problem because Mann will conduct the interrogation.
Article comments
1 - Kirk Halgren
I think you mean Fort Belvoir, not Belfore.