Sometimes, the worst part about being the light for those around you is the expectation.
Nevertheless, NCIS: Origins Season 2 Episode 6 feels like a beautiful, endearing tribute to one of its brightest and most lovable characters, and in true fashion, when it comes to this series, it made me smile as much as it made me reflect.
Without question, Randy is one of the series’ best characters, and if anyone deserved a tribute on his birthday, no doubt, it was him.
Baby Randy, Tech King Randy, 8-Mile Brawler Randy – Gotta Love ‘Em All!
Every chance I get to learn more about Randy, I love him even more, mostly because I love characters with hidden depth, who are so much more than people assume from the surface.
Randy is always unassuming in how he carries himself. Most days, he’s that nerdy, bumbling, happy-go-lucky techie with a beautiful heart and infectious aura that either bugs people or lures them in. Some days, and thank you, NCIS: Origins Season 1 Episode 8, we get super hot badass Randy, too.
He made an appearance here as well. Words cannot describe how delighted I was to see 8-Mile Randy go all “Roadhouse” on a guy at an underground fight club alongside Gibbs. Yes, it was hot. I love Hot Randy.
His frustration when he had had enough and he called Mike out was hot, too. Mike was being such a colossal dick for most of the hour that I was fuming. And it’s Mike, he can always be this way, and eventually, he always sees the error of his ways and addresses things in his way.
But that doesn’t make it any easier to watch when he treats those he cares about horribly. And Mike was particularly awful to Randy, and on his birthday, no doubt.
Origins Displays How Randy’s Loved Ones Take His Light for Granted
Yet, Origins is great at delivering conflict like this. Because we can always understand what’s behind it, and that helps shape our reactions to it, too.
Randy is brilliant, and he’s the team’s brightest star. If this were a family, Randy shows echoes of being the Mascot, not unlike NCIS‘s Tony DiNozzo, just in a different way.
Everyone expects Randy to be sunny, upbeat, and unshakeable. It’s his superpower, something they pull out like a party trick. He’s the human equivalent of a security blanket — the serotonin boost everyone relies on.
They simply take for granted that he’s sunny all the time, processes everything well enough, and can carry forward mostly unaffected. And they use it like a tool in their belt at will, which is how Randy finds himself informing Aldren’s family of his death, even on his birthday.
Randy will be fine! He’ll bounce back! He always does.
On the surface, it’s hard not to feel bad for Randy, exhausted on his behalf by the appearances he must keep up, living up to the expectations of others. Because the problem when you’re the light is that everyone siphons off of yours when theirs is so dim.
When you’re the light, you have to brighten all the dark spots around you — for everyone. And no one really considers what happens if you can’t sustain it.
Insufferable Mike Struck Hard, and Martha Paid the Price
At least Kowalski was there, and it’s fitting that he was the most protective of Randy early into the hour. Mary Jo may be the Den Mother, but Kowalski often comes for the spot, too, with his bread baking and keeping people in line.
When he clearly reprimanded Mike about his treatment of Randy, it made me smile. Because Kowalski knows that respect is a two-way street, and Mike doesn’t always do the best job of holding up his end.
Kowalski likely knows what it’s like for the most unsuspecting people to be carrying the darkest and most troubling battles. Perhaps he sees through to the heart of Randy more than others on that front, and he knows it’s a dangerous game expecting someone to maintain this certain role for the sake of others.
It’s about valuing those around you for what they offer, and Mike spent the entire hour not actually valuing Randy and all that he does. His war against technology was something he took out on Randy in horrible ways.
When he broke Martha — threw a childish tantrum, and threw the computer on the floor — it was appalling and infuriating. He crossed a line, and everyone knew it, but it festered in this unspoken space where no one wanted to talk about it.
But these are the things about NCIS: Origins that feel all too real, not just as work colleagues in a place of employment but as family, too. Just think of all the things we don’t address out loud, but we feel and know.
It’s the tireless work Randy provides that’s instrumental in NCIS having the operating system it does. I appreciate just how much this series leans into what crimefighting and case-solving looked like in this specific time period.
Origins Quietly Showcases How Randy is a Pioneer and Unsung Hero
This is the transition period and the tipping point before CSI-style tech revolutionized everything.
And for every advanced system that exists today, someone like Randy spent months digitizing cold cases and records. Without people like him, millions of files would still be sitting in dusty boxes, one catastrophe away from disappearing.
Randy has vision and poured his soul into shaping NCIS’ future, and Mike wasn’t respecting that because of his own fears of being left behind or feeling replaced by things he doesn’t understand. It’s the past; we know what Mike’s future looks like in this regard because we’re living it.
But we’re also living his fears, as 30 years later, with AI and other technological evolutions, we also fear the unknown or worry about displacement. Some people have already been displaced.
When you get past the rage of Mike’s behavior, you cut to the heart of why he feels as he does, and it’s compelling. It gives the layers that make this show work. He comments on how afraid he is of people losing brain cells or burying themselves in computers and not talking, and he’s right.
It’s precisely what has happened.
Mike’s Behavior is Rooted in Fear, Thus Adding More Context to His Reactions
Mike also fears that Randy would change too much. He doesn’t voice it the way he should, to avoid burdening Randy with the responsibility of maintaining a sunny disposition for everyone else’s sake.
But his fear of Randy changing is rooted in his being terrified that someday, one day, the job may become too much for him, that it’ll steal all the light and goodness out of him, break him, and he won’t be the same. And deep down, who gets that?
No one wants to see the “puppy” broken.
Unfortunately, Mike doesn’t apologize to Randy for his behavior, how he treated him, disrespecting his work, or even implying that somehow Randy wasn’t on top of his game the entire case. But he does help Herman set up the new computer for Randy, even if that means dictating files himself.
Mike is always a man of action, not words.
And Randy?
To my relief, the hour didn’t end quietly, melancholically as I’d been bracing myself for — his mother was still alive, and he did get to partake in their yearly tradition of dancing to James Brown’s “I Feel Good” and eating cake.
Randy’s Sunshine Isn’t Just a Byproduct of Tragedy
His flashbacks didn’t show a life marred by tragedy but rather a clever, emotionally intelligent young boy who learned to be positive and make the best of any situation because of his mother. Watching him work the room as his mother sold her makeup was sweet.
There’s a reason for Randy’s positive outlook on life, and it’s wholesome more than tragic. No, it’s not just some facade for him; the hour reminds us (namely Mike) that there is depth behind Randy, too. And I love that we get to preserve Randy while revealing more about him.
I thought the case was great. It didn’t seem like enough was going on, but the conflict and other things it brought about worked. We had those brief moments of compassion and sympathy that Mike exuded, vulnerable in his own right, as he assured Howard that the victim mattered, despite being an addict, and so did Howard’s sister.
The Santería angle was interesting, and I actually wished they had leaned into that more. It was refreshing to have a religion that’s often maligned on series like this frequently shift the narrative immediately, as the woman Gibbs and Lala met shut it down and explained what their rituals actually entail.
I called the Greek coin-on-the-lips thing as soon as I heard about it. The ritualistic angle with religious death practices was fascinating enough to be a multi-case arc, finding out it was a cold case where Lynch was already in prison was a bit underwhelming.
Lala, You in Danger, Girl … But, I’m Still Here for It!
The insight the Santería practitioner gave Lala was fascinating and astute. Her entanglement with Flaco is bound to lead her to some danger.
Gibbs knows it, too. He’s worried about her. And he has reason to be.
She’s lying to everyone about a mysterious boyfriend in an Impala rather than telling them the truth, and it’s bound to catch up with her.
But damn if I’m not intrigued by all of this. Flaco is … Flaco, but there is danger in these bodies piling up, and at this point, Lala will have to deal with this sooner rather than later.
Santiago, however, intrigues me most. He’s lurking around like some protector or angel. He keeps tabs on her when she’s at church (and I love the continuity subtly woven in regarding Lala’s faith journey).
He broke into her home to prove how at risk she is and then left her a new, more secure lock. Santiago is smoking hot, already has chemistry with Lala, and may end up dead by the end of this season. But I’m invested, dammit!
Notes from the Bullpen:
- “Ain’t you a little pale to be listening to the Godfather of Soul?” he says in the same room as the man who listens to Whitney Houston. Music is universal, my friends, and a fantastic part of this series!
- Mike’s surprise at Randy dancing to James Brown as if our Ginger brethren don’t infamously have soul themselves… hilarious. He’d be SO confused by the Black/Redhead Cousin discourse.
- Robin Lively is not only getting around (she was just on High Potential), but it was nice to have an original NCIS agent alum from the JAG backdoor pilot for the series make a cameo in this universe again, from Vivian Blackadder to Randy’s mom. We love her either way.
- How long before Wheeler’s secret comes out? Poor Mary Jo worried that Herman might spill about Wheeler’s sexuality when he was really talking about the file swap. But clearly, they’re building this up, and I’m curious to see how it’ll play out when this all implodes. Mary Jo, being the keeper of Wheeler’s secret, warms my heart, though.
- Twitchy Tony saying Gibbs had “the eyes of a Siberian Husky” made me laugh out loud. Also, accurate! Also, the comment about Gibbs growing up to be a silver fox instead, he really did hit the jackpot. He’s scrumptious in every era!
- Mike fretting over his brother and talking to Herman about becoming the older brother to his older brother was so cute.
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