NCIS: Double Identity (2010)
Season 7, Episode 17
4/10
Good story let down by out-of-character behaviour and plot holes
7 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
All three of the men involved in the Afghanistan operation gave in, at least briefly, to temptation when presented with millions of dollars belonging to their terrorist target, but it seems that only the Lieutenant provably did anything wrong. Under the impression that their colleague had been taken, probably killed, by terrorists reclaiming the money, the others returned to their normal life-paths. The Sergeant completed his duty and found an honest civilian job as a taxi driver: returning to his home, the Captain consoled the widow of his lost comrade, which led to a perfectly understandable relationship. There is nothing there to condemn. I think there *is* a plot hole which loses the episode a star from the 8 it might have got: why on earth did Mayne return so close to his home that (the now) Major Holcomb might spot him, even pass him in the street? Why not set up in Crested Butte, Colorado, and operate all that stolen capital from there, away from old acquaintances? For the loss of several more stars, I have to go with the reviewers who find Tony's actions appalling. Another reviewer has referred to a "gray area". So far as I can see, the grey area here is the dividing line between murder and manslaughter (or whatever is the equivalent in whichever jurisdiction claims rights over John Mayne' s death). Although he had full knowledge of the patient's medical condition, Tony moved his bed, changing the curvature of his spine, with knowledge of the position of the bullet, and subjected him to questioning which he proceeded to monitor by reference to the patient's heart rate. The patient subsequently died after suffering an elevated heart rate. Tony probably did not intend for Mayne to die. However, an aggressive prosecutor might well make a case that, given his knowledge of the patient's condition, Tony had the Mens Rea to prove Murder (i.e. the intention). Given that there might be difficulty in that area, there should be no problem in showing that in his actions Tony showed Recklessness surpassing the criterion for Manslaughter. How some sort of investigation was avoided, the nurse having found Tony in the room with the distressed patient, is a mystery (I.e. another plot hole!). I have to say as an aside, IMDB is an international organism, supported by people of differing languages, differing cultures, differing levels of education (and, yes, occasionally, differing levels of intoxication!). Some of the people who put most effort into feeding the information that IMDB needs to survive and grow, through plot lines, synopses, reviews and all the other inputs, are not native English speakers (and some native English speakers are not actually hugely proficient in their own language!). It is not helpful to IMDB for *anyone* to snipe at the grammar or spelling of anyone else who takes the trouble to contribute.
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