NCIS has released some episodes that have left fans inconsolable, and season 22 is making viewers more emotional than listening to The Tortured Poets Department for the 100th (or millionth) time.
On NCIS season 22, episode 5, “Sticks & Stones,” Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) and Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) took a drive and said they still love each other. Perfect, right? Not so fast! Instead of deciding that their break up was a bad idea, they were practical and agreed it’s not the right time for them. Jimmy wants a partner who will stay in town and build a life with him, and Jess is in her dreamer nomad era.
It’s awesome that Law is still on NCIS when fans were concerned she was exiting the drama, but viewers just can’t accept that this super couple is still broken up! Several people posted on X about this memorable and upsetting moment from the latest episode. One X user wrote, “The way we don’t know when or if Jess and Jimmy will get back together because the scene sounded so final I hate it here.”
Another X user pointed out an important plot point from this NCIS episode: Jessica discovering Jimmy is signed up for a dating app called MateQuest. What a flawless name. Even if you can’t stand your ex and are thrilled you split up, you still don’t want to see them move on, right? So, the fact that Jess still cares so much about Jimmy makes this moment sting even more.
If Jess and Jimmy can’t reunite soon, it’s going to be a long and tough season. Back in May, Dietzen told Us Weekly that he enjoys the romance between these brilliant characters because it’s “this very adult relationship” and they “communicate.” He also explained that rather than have Jimmy and Jess “make eyes at each other from across the room for eight years,” they are “two people who actually talk about what they’re feeling.”
I agree that it’s cool that this NCIS couple has realistic conversations about what’s next for them and this sets them apart from other TV drama pairs. Real couples have to figure out logistical challenges like where they’re going to live and if their jobs are going to take them away from each other.
I totally sympathize with writers because sometimes they jump the shark and fans are no longer as interested. I will ship Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) or Rory (Alexis Bledel) and Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia) all day long (do people still say “ship”?). But even I can admit that it’s more fun and absorbing to watch them in the early seasons of Gilmore Girls than seeing them actually start dating. And, judging from posts on X, Dietzen makes a good point. The storytelling rule that fans prefer flirty banter and the will they/won’t they tension of love interests shouldn’t apply to NCIS. It’s fine for these characters to be in love with no conflict whatsoever. Let’s leave the drama to the cases the agents have to solve.
Fans want Jess and Jimmy to have the fairy tale love story they used to have. Okay, maybe it wasn’t always that flawless since Jimmy is a doctor and Jess is a Special Agent. But everyone wants them together, not apart. It’s time to fix this massive problem!