Directed by James Whitmore Jr.
Written by Gina Lucita Monreal
A single mother makes a scene outside NCIS headquarters, protesting that they've done nothing to solve the murder of her mother. After making noise and appealing to Gibbs following a moderate reprimand, the team cautiously takes up her case. Clay's personal past comes up as he identifies with the woman and tries to find her justice. Unfortunately, his efforts will be met with an unforeseen disaster...
- Cliffhanger: A man pulls a gun on Abby and Clay, and BOOM! To Be Continued...
- Fatal Family Photo: Inverted. Clay reveals a photo of himself as a young boy no older than a toddler in the arms of his late mother, who died from the strain of chronic homelessness. Clay himself is later killed at the end of the episode when a mugger charges at Abby in the struggle to protect her. In most cases of this trope, the family member shown is someone the person plans to go back to or start a life with, but here it's a memento of the past and and soon made into an even more tragic reminder of the Reeves family history.
- Foreshadowing: The restaurant Abby is invited is one that is said to be impossible to get a reservation at, and Torres is told it will take at least a year for his. The fact that Abby so conveniently and easily gets one doesn't ring as suspicious all that much because this episode downplays it and it is a side plot, but going into the next episode it is directly responsible for setting her and Clay up to be shot.
- History Repeats: Both Reeves and his mother died young as a result of hard and brutal lives.
