5.11 TribesThis is a featured page

◄ Previous Episode Season #: 5 Episode #: 11 Air Date: January 15, 2008 Next Episode ►
Tribes
Synopsis:
A Muslim Marine is killed and Ducky has a moral dilemma. Does he do an autopsy as ordered by the director, or honor the wishes of the dead Marine's father not to desecrate his son's body?

Episode Recap:
Scene opens with a mosque and an evangelical Muslim preaching the need to save non-believers (infidels - for Muslims, this what a non-believer is) and connect with them. Outside, a young man staggers along the street, pursued by a madman wearing a hoodie (thus faceless). Staggering man has a gun but cannot fire it. Collapses. Hoodie takes gun and shoots him.
Credits

Ziva is watching a classic film and Tony is amazed. She indicates she is taking film studies to learn vernacular American English. They get the call to go to the dead marine (staggering man). Turns out that, when they show his photo at the local mosque, the Iman is the dead man's dad.

When Ducky is about to do the autopsy, he reports that there are no surface indications of any struggle. Gibbs cannot fathom why a marine who has fought in war would not protect himself. Ducky is about to cut open the body when Ziva brings the Marine's dad to the door and he pleads for the autopsy not to be done. Ducky decides not to do it. Gibbs is a bit surprised, you might say.

They have to gather evidence by other means. Turns out the FBI has been bugging the mosque, but they are not cooperating...until the FBI-man realises that Gibbs is on the case. The FBI man used to work with Gibbs. They have a relationship where, every time the FBI guy used a 3-dollar word, he had to pay Gibbs 3 dollars. Jenny does not get this male bonding; the pointlessness of it bamboozles her (and most of the female audience, we suspect). It shows that Gibbs and his protege can pick up where they left off. They like each other whilst insulting each other cheerfully.

Ziva, when approached by the FBI-man who is looking for Gibbs, stands and preens herself in front of him. He offers his card, and Tony snatches it, trying to assert his authority. Tony says "what an ass" (meaning donkey) and Ziva, gazing at the guy's ass, agrees. Tony is discombobulated.

Ducky works out that non-invasive imaging would allow a virtual autopsy but, in the time frame he needs it done, they have to do it on the sly, so he takes the body to a hospital and slips in the backway. The magnetic resonance imaging uses magnets, which pulls a bit of metal from the body and thus Abby has the chance to work on some evidence. The metal is the broken off hypodermic needle, that still has toxin in it. The toxin is from the (Australian) blue-ringed octopus (it is an octopus that is small, has pretty blue rings and has the most neurotoxic venom known, so don't put one in your fish tank, OK?) Because the needle broke when inserted in our victim marine, the toxin was not delivered efficiently and thus the man was able to stagger down the road, but hard to tell whether the bullet or toxin actually did him in. The needle is old and thus of a metal that is magnetic, unlike modern needles. Abby, when telling this to Gibbs, is gobsmacked at something so old...from the 1970s. Gibbs just looks at her. She realises that he remembers the 70s. She tries to backtrack from her 'old' statement and gets tangled in her words. Gibbs just looks at her. As he leaves, he tells her to "lose the bubble wrap", which is the bubbled packaging material that she laid on the floor at her door, so she would know when Gibbs enters as he usually enters silently. She looks disappointed that he doesn't like her cunning plan.

Agent Langer delivers Gibbs the recordings of all the bugging they did in the mosque.

Gibbs wondered if there was a pattern involved in the killing of this Muslim marine. McGee did a search and found out that 2 other Muslim marines died within the last few weeks of "natural causes". All three marines who died had the same marine personnel officer. The marine denies having any part in the deaths until Gibbs tells him he's going to be sent to Gitmo in Cuba.

Then the marine cuts a deal to get civilian trial and NOT be prosecuted as a terrorist and in return gives the name of the baddy. When team gets to the baddy, he is already dead and holding the dead marine's prayer beads.

Ziva recognizes the prayer beads (and is about to say the iman took revenge on his son's death) but Gibbs asks her whether she truly knows they are the same beads...she pauses, looks deep into Gibbs eyes, reads the silent message that "we don't want to recognize this clue" and agrees that she does not recognize them after all...and the episode ends.

New Character Development / Insights:
  • FBI special agent Brent Langer. Old chum of Jethro Gibbs. A former NCIS agent himself, he seems to have made quite an impression on one Ziva David. And made Tony jealous.
  • Ziva likes Muslims, growing up in Israel among them. Her best friend was an Arab Muslim, who was killed when she was 12 by an Israeli missile strike.
    Funny Moments:
    • Ziva trading movie lines and titles with Tony.
    • McGee's big coffee mug, which Tony calls "Seussical"
    • SA Langer gets fined for using $3 words.
    • Ziva checking out Brent Langer's butt.
    • "Get it? Got it. Good.” exchange from the 1956 Danny Kaye film, The Court Jester.


    Trivia:
    • This was the last episode completed before the writers strike halted production on this and many other shows.
    • We learn that the boat Gibbs is working on in his basement is his third.
    • We know Jonathan LaPaglia from 66 episodes of 'Seven Days' and again 66 episodes of 'The District'.
      Pauley Perrette was working with Jonathan's brother Anthony LaPaglia and played "Gwen" in 10 episodes of 'Murder One' as his assistant.
      There is another       Co-Star from Jonathan LaPaglias in 'Seven Days': Don Franklin. He plays the "FBI Agent Ron Sacks".
    Recurring Cast:
      Guest Starring:
          • Brian Dietzen (Jimmy Palmer)
          • Shaun Toub (Khalid Mohammed Bakr)
          • Jonathan LaPaglia (FBI Special Agent Brent Langer)
          • David Haydn-Jones (Marine CPT Jim Mills)
          • James Parks (Brian Sykes)
          • Jennifer Hetrick (Dr. Donna Dunlap)
          Written By: Directed By:
          • Reed Steiner
          • Colin Bucksey





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          Editor7117           		Latest page update: made by Editor7117 , Jul 30 2009, 6:17 PM EDT (about this update About This Update Editor7117 Edited by Editor7117

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          Keyword tags: Episode 5.11 Tribes NCIS NCIS episode guides NCIS episodes NCIS recap NCIS Season 5 Tribes
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          ForeverCamp The name of Ziva's Muslim friend? 1 Mar 12 2008, 1:30 PM EDT by bluebird123
          Thread started: Mar 11 2008, 11:00 PM EDT  Watch
          So of course I was watching Tribes with my parents tonight and thus didn't have the closed captioning on like I normally do... Did I hear Ziva right, when she and Bakr are talking in the hospital? Her childhood best friend was a Muslim killed by Israeli missile strike when they were 12? Did she mention his name?
          1  out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?    
          Keyword tags: Friend Muslim Tribes Ziva
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          Tovah Way to Go Ducky 2 Mar 2 2008, 10:52 PM EST by atm4940
          Thread started: Jan 30 2008, 1:44 AM EST  Watch
          I think ducky handled Muslim tradition in the best way possible, by working his magical ways he managed an noninvasive and respectfully way to catch the baddies.
          4  out of 5 found this valuable. Do you?    
          Keyword tags: None
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          shirley1152 I love all of NCIS shows 1 Feb 29 2008, 7:36 PM EST by lagatita
          Thread started: Jan 16 2008, 4:15 AM EST  Watch
          I especially liked tonights show. It was comical at times and very serious too. I just have one question. The lipstick that Abby was wearing in this show was very pretty. Can I get the brand/color? Thanks!
          3  out of 10 found this valuable. Do you?    
          Keyword tags: NCIS episode guides NCIS episodes NCIS recap Tribes
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