Directed by Dennis Smith
Written by Christopher J Walid
Season 11, Episode 9
Gut Check
A briefing being held in MTAC is interrupted when it's discovered that the Secretary of the Navy/SECNAV Sarah Porter has been bugged. Determined to find out who's responsible for the bugging, Gibbs, Tony and McGee investigate, only to fall into a case that has issues of national security at stake and even murder while working alongside a young NSA Analyst who predicted two years ago that the security breach would occur.
- Call-Back: A previous CEO of Beringer Marine was discovered to have been embezzling the US Government, until a whistleblower came forward to NCIS back in Season 7. Guess the Navy was pretty forgiving at the time.
- Fake Guest Star: Eleanor Bishop. Turns out, she applied for a position in NCIS as a field agent, and Gibbs never forgot.
- Hidden in Plain Sight: A bug planted on SECNAV was fitted within a pen, found only through sensitive equipment within NCIS's Multiple Threat Assessment Center.
- Hidden Villain: The self-proclaimed patriotic CEO of Beringer Marine ended up being the one to have the bug planted, seeing Sarah Porter as unfit for the position of Secretary of the Navy.
- Welcome Episode: Say hello to NSA Analyst, Ellie Bishop. The episode in question is set up in a way to highlight Bishop's skills in analysis and finding inconsistencies when it comes to motive vs action.
