'NCIS' Season 18 Episode 2: What allows Ducky to talk to Gibbs in a way that McGee, Bishop or Torres can't?
In a cleverly veiled reference to the Season 18 episode 2's significance as the 400th episode of the show, Tim McGee will announce to Ellie Bishop and Nick Torres that it is the 20th anniversary of him deciding to be an NCIS agent. In a sneak peek clip, we see Jack Sloane sliding into the conversation as soon as McGee mentions celebratory drinks.
But of course, McGee is hunting bigger game -- Gibbs himself, who never comes to these impromptu team celebrations. "He always says no," says McGee wistfully. So his game plan is to not ask Gibbs so and use reverse psychology to get him to come. Torres snarks "how long have you been overthinking this?", while Sloane remarks it is better to just "ask him".
Maybe Gibbs has extra-sharp hearing when it comes to Sloane's dulcet voice because he immediately pops up in the background and says, "ask me what?", as he texts Fornell for a "sitrep" after their mission last week. We hear McGee drone about inviting the team for drinks but just before he can ask Gibbs to come, Gibbs tells them to "have fun" and turns away. His casual dismissal of McGee's offer of drink contrasts with how Gibbs, when he was much younger, asks Ducky out for celebratory drinks -- for helping him stay alive.
Circumstances obviously matter with Gibbs and his rule of maintaining professionalism at the office means he keeps his distance from McGee, Bishop, Torres, and even Sloane. However, he is far more relaxed around Ducky and their friendship is far more warm and cordial because Ducky ended up inadvertently saving his life 40 years ago by driving on the wrong side of the road.
Seargent Gibbs, when he was not an NCIS agent, was captured by Ringo Zuccato, who put him in the trunk of his car. The very British Ducky, still getting used to driving on American roads, was on the wrong side and end up smashing into Ringo's car. And so Gibbs is eventually rescued when the police show up at the accident site. The police officer tells him that were it not for Ducky, Gibbs would have been a body in the morgue instead.
Gibbs is so grateful to Ducky that he invites him for drinks. Ducky plays hard to get saying he is only going out with him if there is scotch on offer, to which Gibbs presents the compromise choice of bourbon. They shake on it and the rest is history. After this "accidental" meeting, both of them also become hostages of Johnny Zucatto who probably comes after them to avenge Ringo.
Given the circumstances of how they met, Gibbs is understandably more candid around Ducky and allows Ducky to talk to him in a way that the other NCIS team members would never dare to do. Unfortunately, for poor McGee, he would have a better chance of getting Gibbs to join the team for drinks if he got Ducky to invite him instead of asking himself.
'NCIS' Season 18 Episode 2, the 400th episode, airs on CBS at 8/7c tonight, November 24.