NCIS Season 22 Episode 9 Recap: 10 Biggest Moments & Reveals

Spoiler Alert for NCIS season 22, episode 9, Humbug."

Parker's Major Case Response Team (MCRT) faces a series of hurdles in the holiday-themed mid-season finale, which delivered big moments to set up NCIS when it returns after the new year. It has been an exciting outing for the team so far, heralding NCIS season 22 with a complete set of episodes after a shorter NCIS season 21 due to the writer's strikes. Watching the team's dynamic since Jessica Knight returned in the NCIS season 22 premiere has opened up some complex dynamics and stories in the outing.

Knight is one of the only people who knows about Parker's Lily mystery first-hand, which began in the NCIS season 21 finale. Parker's mystery girl reappears in the preceding outing, with the agent feeling better in episode 9. When NCIS returns after the new year, it will likely revisit some of the developing story in the show, including that of NCIS Deputy Director Gabrielle LaRoche, who resurfaces in the holiday installment. McGee is still suspicious of the supervisor after he failed to get his job.

10 NCIS Season 22, Episode 9’s Case Explained

NCIS Investigates Darkness At Dawn By Marley Jaggers

In NCIS season 22, episode 9, the team investigates leaked excerpts of a military tell-all book that threatens to put the status of a veteran's bill at stake. A commanding officer named Hastings is the face of the veteran's bill, and the scathing story claims that the lieutenant's negligence is responsible for the deaths of three of his Marines during a 2010 Taliban invasion in Afghanistan. With high stakes in how it turns out, the Department of Defense and SECNAV are involved in the case, wanting to save the bill.

As the episode progresses, the team investigates the claims in the book, seeking out Hastings at the motorcycle repair shop he owns and utilizes to hire wounded veterans. Hastings is a highly lauded Marine due to his heroic actions the night of the attack in Afghanistan, throwing an enemy's grenade away to protect his unit. Still, the book claims otherwise. While he says he doesn't need their help, the team investigates the claims surrounding Hastings' handling of the night the Taliban attacked his men.

9 The Heat Is Out At NCIS Headquarters

Parker's MCRT Dons Coats In The Holiday Outing

The team deals with irritating circumstances as they investigate their tell-all case. The heat is out at NCIS headquarters just in time for the holidays, forcing the team to sport their winter wear in the bullpen. Jess, McGee, Torres, and Parker don coats, scarves, and gloves to stay warm, but they have an ever bigger trick up their sleeves. As they discuss the case, the team gathers around the photocopy machine, making copies of their hands to get a zap of its warmth.

While it isn't ideal, the team sporting their winter coats made it feel like the holidays, with the Christmas tree in the bullpen and strings of holiday lights hanging from the ceiling. At times, it's warmer for Parker's MCRT to discuss their case at autopsy or in the outdoor café, which is warmer than their usual meeting area. The chilling cold impacts the entire NCIS Headquarters except Vance's office, which maintains a balmy temperature contrasting the rest of the building's woes.

8 NCIS Deputy Director Gabrielle LoRoche Joins Parker's Case

NCIS Season 22's Villain Character Reappears

When it seems things can't get any more uncomfortable for MCRT, a dreaded character makes a comeback. NCIS season 22 introduced Gabrielle LaRoche as the new NCIS Deputy Director in the season premiere. LaRoche beat NCIS' own McGee for the position, who was looking to advance his career by garnering more regular hours to advance his standing and appease his wife, Delilah. LaRoche reappears in episode 9, working alongside Parker's team despite their reservations about their new leader.

While LaRoche has a villainous nature to him in the premiere, the director is primarily supportive and charming in "Humbug." While MCRT remains suspicious of LaRoche, he helps them throughout and even takes the fall for them. Thus, LaRoche's appearance in episode 9 confuses his standing, blurring his villain status. While it appeared that Parker and the team were ignoring NCIS season 22's most dangerous case, there may be another explanation for their information leak, which pointed to LaRoche being a mole.

7 Nick Torres Lies About His Christmas Plans

Nick Has A Babe

The team shares their Christmas plans as they prepare for the holidays. In the bullpen, McGee remarks that he's spending Christmas with Delilah and his twins, which he considers ideal. Knight comments that she will listen to her father complain about his retirement, calling back to Feng Zhao from NCIS season 21. When Knight and McGee press Nick on his holiday plans, he tells them he's spending Christmas with the Palmers, with his colleagues noting he has a night of caroling ahead of him.

However, when McGee mentions the plans to Jimmy, the doctor remarks that Nick told him he was spending Christmas with McGee's family. The inconsistency reveals that Nick is hiding about his holiday plans, which prompts Jess to confront him. Nick says he intends to take the day to relax, but the episode's conclusion proves Nick is lying, with the Torres getting a text from a mysterious sender to confirm their holiday plans. Torres confirms, calling the sender "babe."

6 Kasie Ties The Tell-All Book To Evan Cross's Brother Samuel Cross

Kasie Is Vital To Episode 9's Case

When Kasie Hines investigates the forums surrounding the tell-all book's publication, she finds an unprotected IP address and links the book's author to Samuel Cross. Kasie discovers that Samuel Cross is writing the tell-all book under a pen name and that his brother, Evan, is one of the Marines who died in the attack that he blames on Hastings. When Parker and Nick visit Cross, he is unwilling to discuss the book openly despite accidentally letting NCIS into his apartment.

Still, while they have the leaked excerpts, NCIS seeks the book's full manuscript to investigate Cross's claims. The book excerpts don't contain proof that Hastings is guilty of what Cross claims, but Samuel maintains his accusations. When a Marine from Hastings' platoon comes to NCIS to submit letters of support for Hastings, he sees Samuel Cross's picture on the screen. He explains how Samuel was part of Hastings' unit but finished the tour silently after his brother's death.

5 MCRT Revives McGee's Author Persona For The Case

Thom E. Gemcity Makes His NCIS Comeback

NCIS is determined to get a copy of the tell-all manuscript to uncover and thoroughly investigate Samuel Cross's claim. Thinking outside the lines, Jessica Knight suggests that Timothy McGee could potentially gain access to the complete manuscript since he has connections in the publishing world. After a significant hiatus from his crime thriller writing, McGee returns to his writing career as Thom E. Gemcity, going quasi-undercover with Jess to advance their case.

McGee and Jess meet with the publisher of the scathing tell-all novel at the diner, where Agent Knight tells him they need proof he can handle their sensitive manuscript and suggests they show him a copy of his new tell-all so they can be confident. The publisher cites the security risk of releasing the manuscript but tells them we will consider it if they sweeten the pot. Jess gets the publisher to agree after she promises a copy of Thom E. Gemcity's new book in exchange.

4 Parker & LaRoche Confront Hastings About The Radio Transmission

Hastings Confesses To Save His Marines

After gaining access to the complete manuscript, the team takes turns scouring it for helpful information to investigate Samuel Cross's claim. McGee eventually uncovers a part of the manuscript that talks about a failed radio transmission that warned of the attack that killed three Marines, but it was never reported. The team concludes that Samuel Cross blames Hastings for the failed communication, and he takes the fall when Parker and LaRoche confront him.

Parker and LaRoche return to Hastings' shop, and the commanding officer admits that he failed to report the radio transmission. The confession gives SECNAV someone to throw under the bus, saving their veteran's bill. However, Parker believes there's more to the story and that Hastings is lying to protect his platoon of Marines. As the team tries to uncover who hid the failed radio transmission, LaRoche tells the team to cease their investigation, citing that SECNAV has the confession needed to move on from the case.

3 NCIS Works Behind LaRoche And SECNAV To Solve The Case

MCRT Finally Uses Ducky's Old Office

An outburst breaks out at Samuel Cross's apartment, with Hastings' former unit members coming and demanding he retract his book while a crowd of journalists looks on. When a photo of McGee's involvement in the altercation makes it to the front page of a Washington publication, SECNAV and LaRoche tell Parker and his team to stand down. Still, Parker and his team are confident they're missing something, and they work behind SECNAV and LaRoche seeking answers.

Parker's team makes excellent use of the new Doctor Donald Mallard Memorial Multi-Purpose Room, NCIS season 22's new Ducky homage. After Nick Torres discussed changing it, the team turned Ducky's old NCIS Historian office into a multipurpose room with something for everyone. We haven't seen Ducky's in use much since NCIS season 22, episode 3. Hopefully, the team will utilize their metaphorical water cooler when the show returns after the new year.

2 Kasie Discovers Their Failed Radio Transmission Is A Technical Error & No One Is To Blame

Kasie Discovers Some Holiday Cheer

As the team works covertly, Kasie also continues digging and makes a considerable discovery based on a video Hastings' Marine gives NCIS to prove how tight his unit is. In the short video, the team noted an off glitch, which the forensic scientist chalked up to faulty equipment operating in extreme environments. However, Kasie digs further and discovers the radio had a near-untraceable error that caused its malfunction.

The team had confirmed that there was a record of the transmission Samuel Cross reported, suggesting that a radio operator was to blame for its failed communication. However, Kasie's findings show how the radio malfunctioned independently, absolving all parties of guilt. The development proves that Hastings lied about his role in the story to protect his fellow Marines, with NCIS redeeming his confession. Still, Samuel Cross doesn't want to pull the book because, as Nick and others note, he's in a dark place.

1 Nick Works With Evan's Widow And Other Veterans

Evan Cross Isn't Alone In His Struggle

After the team's discovery, Nick takes the lead in convincing Samuel Cross to retract his book. The team previously conversed with Evan Cross's widow, who proved that the deceased Marine was a skilled technician and likely not to blame for the radio's failure. Nick and Evan's widow meet Samuel at the diner. While he initially makes for the exit, once he realizes it's a setup, Nick convinces him to stay and confronts him about something he found in his file.

Nick reveals that Samuel Cross, a radio operator, had an injury he hid before deployment. However, Samuel reveals that as the injury worsened, he had to step back from his post, which caused his younger brother, Evan, to step in and take his place. Therefore, Nick uncovers that Samuel Cross's motivation for publishing the tell-all book is the profound grief and guilt he is experiencing about the cause of his brother's death.

Still, hope's not lost for Samuel. Nick gathers Marines from Hastings' platoon and elsewhere to support Samuel, asserting that he isn't alone and that they understand him. Samuel even reconciles with Hastings, arriving at his motorcycle repair shop to issue an apology. However, in a touching and heartfelt NCIS conclusion, Hastings wants to know how Samuel is doing, and the crestfallen Marine admits he misses his brother, letting go of the grief and anger he was experiencing.