"I think the writing was not nearly as good as FLESH & BLOOD. I think they are trying to rewrite the relationship into something too 'oh, that Tony. Freaking out over his father again.' And I think Abby was a tad obtuse to say that Tony was being too judgmental. Just because she has daddy issues with both the dead one and the pseudo-dad doesn't mean that it's okay for her to invalidate Tony's feelings on the matter. And Gibbs' being super-distant and unsupportive of Tony? Not so good. After the great Gibbs-DiNozzo moment at the end of FLESH & BLOOD, I was hoping for more of that. Yeah, great, Gibbs went and confronted Senior. But that doesn't explain why he was so 'meh' towards Tony's concerns/panic about putting his father into a dangerous situation. As someone said, I can't see Gibbs being so willing to put his own father in the same position.

Yet I think where the discordancy is found is in the divergence between the great team moments (the dumpster-diving, Gibbs fixing Ducky's tie) and the rest of the episode. Which is a shame, because the story-line had real potential. Had they focused on the case and the non-comedic side of the relationship between the DiNozzos, rather than the 'chicken little' freak-out' of Tony's (which I still think was meant to show Senior as some cool, classy conman), I think it would have worked better as a whole.

I still don't have an answer re: Why did Senior call at 4.30AM?

He got a ride into the city at 3AM with the corpse. Where was he for those intervening hours? And surely he noticed the guy he was cabbing it with checking his six repeatedly?

Oh, and Ziva dear? Next time you get an order to withdraw, do not argue with the Senior Field Agent. You get captured by terrorists when you don't listen to him. Just sayin'........"

"Whooohooo, I loved this episode and I love this show, we are so lucky that we have the excellent cast, writers & crew that we do. This was great, loved every minute of it! "

"As I watched this episode, I was marvelling how the writers continue to come up with ideas and extensions of the characters that keep this show fresh and interesting. I love how Tony's character opened up with more emotional dimension; the scene at the end with his father was particularly human and often real for many people, whose parents somehow haven't conveyed effectively how much they treasure their children - and how much that matters to the child. Really beautifully played between two adult men, here - kudos to Tonys Sr and Jr. I'm also appreciating the elasticity in Gibbs' character; he doesn't stay stuck in his stances with people (eg. Tony Sr), but allows himself to respond and be changed by circumstances and key moments between himself and another - it reflects reality for a person who is still learning from and growing in life. There is also an understanding within the team members of each other that isn't explicitly spelled out in the verbal communications, but well played out as the scenes flow, and shows the strength that develops in a cohesive, well led team. I applaud the writers, directors, and the actors - well done in this episode... "