NCIS was all new as we headed into December, and not only did it focus on a case of a former POW who may have become a killer, but it also got the ball rolling on a personal storyline of Parker’s.
The case involved Lieutenant Max Winger, a paratrooper who came home after being a prisoner of the Taliban for the last couple of years. Things took a turn when he was accused of killing Navy Captain David Cruz, who was found deceased in his home. There didn’t appear to be a connection between the two men. It did look like Winger was guilty, especially since he ran from the crime scene and his gun was used in the murder.
Jimmy also found that Cruz had a tumor in his brain, meaning he was already dying when he was shot. Plus, Kasie discovered the only connection between Winger and Cruz was they both had spoken to a Navy Chaplain recently. When Parker and McGee arrived to talk to him, his assistant, Seaman Aiden Morris, told them he was in confession with Winger. However, before they could enter the chapel, Winger disappeared and Chaplain Charles Gage cited that anything he said was protected under confession rules.
While Parker brought him in for questioning without proper clearance from Vance, he would become helpful to Parker in his own way. It turns out the chaplain had been part of the burial at sea for his father, and he tries to lend support to the agent. However, Parker is reluctant to talk about God since he is still angry about the circumstances of his father’s death. Plus, Jimmy had also finally told him about his suspicions regarding Parker’s mom. He was upset with the medical examiner for keeping this from him and reopening old wounds that he had tried to heal from once before.
Parker learns his mother's death may have been a homicide on NCIS
As the team tries to track down their suspect, they also learn he recently lost a friend and fellow paratrooper, Liam. His parachute had failed when he made a jump out of a plane, and he lost his life. While Kasie couldn’t determine for sure if the chute was sabotaged, she did find Winger’s print on a pin that had somehow been dislodged, preventing him from avoiding a fall.
Eventually, the investigation determined Winger really was framed the Cruz’s murder, after someone sent him a voicemail of his wife’s voice claiming someone was hurting her and their son. However, it was AI-generated and Winger had no reason to kill Cruz. Plus, he had also taken the time during his confession to steal the Chaplain’s ID so he could steal dirt that was saved from the base where he had once worked.
That particular base was filled with toxic chemicals that led to the cancer for not only Cruz, but Winger’s friend, Liam. Winger told the agents that Liam had found out he was terminal just days before the parachute jump and he purposely sabotaged his parachute to go on his own terms. Winger tried to stop him, but was unsuccessful.
Winger also had developed a terminal illness and was only trying to expose the truth about how they all got sick. Winger thought Cruz’s murder was due to the Pentagon wanting to keep the contaminated soil a secret, but he was incorrect.
In fact, Cruz was being blackmailed and the person doing the blackmail only knew things that were revealed during moments of confession. It turned out the Chaplain’s assistant, Morris, had bugged the chapel and used the information to blackmail the participants.
Despite spending the episode hurt and angry, Parker eventually realized that if he wanted to move forward, he needed to find answers he sought no matter how much they might hurt. He went to Jimmy at the end of the episode, letting him know he needed him and handed him his mother’s file, where he had filled out an application to have her disinterred.
This was such a good episode and showed that Parker was willing to find out the truth about his mom so he could get the final closure he needed. With only a couple of episodes left before the fall finale, we’re excited to see how NCIS reveals a long-awaited truth about his mother’s death.
NCIS airs Tuesdays on CBS at 8/7c. New episodes are available the next day on Paramount+.