CHARACTER CONNECTIONS

• The big kid is growing up, sobered by Kate's death and infected by Gibbs' desire for revenge. He shows real reponsability when he moved Abby out of the way from Ari's gunshot. He is realizing that there are more important things than cars and the pursuit of women. He meets a woman who can outdo him in many things and he gains more knowledge of himself as he realises that he is more of a cop than a killer, that he wants justice but not outside the law, and that the price of becoming like Gibbs or Ziva would be the loss of childlike enjoyment. He lifts his game, learns a little about managing McGee instead of rivalling him, begins to work with Ziva instead of competing and becomes worried about Gibbs, more keen to protect him. Theirs is a more mutual relationship. He is astonished at the arrival of a female director, but he is beginning to objectify women less. By the end of the season, he is becoming a useful deputy to Gibbs, more reliable and, by Hiatus, a safe pair of hands to take control of the team when Gibbs leaves.
• He and Ziva start the whole tension thing between them.
• He was framed for murder. Two severed legs were dumped in a training area and stuff with his DNA was on the stuff at the crime scene. You know did it? It was Chip, he worked for a medical lad that contaminated a blood test and Tony reported it and he got fired. He took the job at NCIS just to set him up and get back at him.
  

• Thrown into leadership, he struggles to find his own style, poaching Gibbs' mannerisms (which are unconvincing) and creating the campfire brainstorm sessions. He is both relieved and aggrieved when Gibbs returns to save Ziva and stays to help Fornell. But he realises he has more to learn and turns down the pursuit of fast track seniority in order to go back into Gibbs' team when Gibbs returns full time. He is Gibbs' surrogate son, but a grown up son with his own life. He works directly with the Director on undercover assignments and lies to Gibbs. He does it, but not happily. Divided loyalties reveal that there is much more depth to Tony than originally appeared. He indulges in his envy of McGee, who emerges as a wealthy writer, famously commenting "I gotta write a book" to which Gibbs ripostes "You better read one first".
• The earth-shattering change that the team notices is that Tony has fallen in love, but he is troubled. They don't know that it is an affair to maintain his cover, so they only see the reality of the change in him as he faces commitment and what this means. His desire not to hurt or be hurt becomes obvious. His empathy for others increases. The value he places on the intangibles increases, signalled by a decrease in his preoccupation with the price of goods or being with his frat brothers. He no longer treats all women as game to be hunted. Tony can no longer share his secrets or his personal life. He is on the alert at all times, pressured and worried. Ironically, the times he seems most relaxed are when he is undercover: in his private moments with Jeanne, the daughter of the villain he is pursuing.
• Still, death stalks the team. Abby in peril is repeated. In series 3, he himself is in peril with Ziva when captured in a shipping container and boxed in with her for 12 hours, and he is in peril with her again in series 4 while he is undercover with her, pretending to be married assassins. He is tortured. Near the end of the series, he forms a friendship with a metro cop and then sees the cop gunned down (never realising that the metro cop was his predecessor for Jeanne's affections: his background research for his undercover job seems woefully inadequate and very unlike Tony, who is normally excellent at ferreting out information). A big moment for Tony is in Grace Period after Cassidy's team dies and he has to work with her to find the terrorist. They confide in each other and she teaches him to seize the day. She predicts her own death and sacrifices herself to save Tony and the rest of the team. Her death is appalling and, having just moved from ex-lover status to friend status with her, a real loss to him. Her advice and her death give him the backbone to tell Jeanne the words that Jeanne is desperate to hear, even knowing that this will end badly when she learns the truth about his deception.
• The growing up is painful, but fascinating to watch. Along the way he has to watch the woman who put him undercover, in this invidious position, become more and more unreliable in her judgement: the Director's pursuit of La Grenouille is generating fallout on all levels. Tony is powerless to stop it.
• During Season 4, the director chose Tony to go undercover to discover the whereabouts and plans of arms dealer La Grenouille. In doing so, he fell in love with La Grenouille's daughter, Jeanne Benoit. In the opening of Season 5, Tony is thought dead and his undercover operation unravels leaving La Grenouille dead, his relationship in shreds, and his heart a little heavier. He comes from a wealthy family, though he was disinherited, before which he didn't seem to have a particularly good relationship with his parents, but we don't know much more about his childhood. We know that his father gave him a good hiding once when he used one of his father's expensive ski-suits to make an astronaut Halloween costume, which he revealed to Probie in a car. In an early episode we learn that Tony's flat is untidy, but is expensively furnished. In later seasons we discover he now has a cleaning lady. He has a tendency to relate any event a film. His favourites are the classics of yesteryear, likewise TV series - his favourite being Magnum with Tom Selleck.

• Jeanne finds out about the deception and leaves him. Tony's life goes on, but he is far removed from his original self . In true showbiz style, the movie buff puts on the face of a clown, but no one in the team is deceived. Our Tony of old is gone.
• Episode 2 - Family: Tony thinks about a letter he got from Jeanne that reads: I'm not coming back. You need to choose. In the end, he chooses his team instead, and throws the letter in the fire.
• Episode 5- Lost and Found, we see that Tony's insight does not extend to recognising himself in the actions of others. His encounter with a mini-Tony leaves no impression on him (unlike Gibbs who recognised a 'mini-me' when he met one.
• Episode 7 - Requiem: Our Tony makes clear that he will play the fool to maintain morale amongst the juniors but, with seniors, he is deadly serious. Undaunted and unhesitating, he dives in (literally) to rescue Gibbs.
• Episode 10 - Corporal Punishment: We find out Tony can't have painkillers, he becomes extremely loopy, but somehow still helps to solve the case, if you can understand the psychobabble.
• Episode 16 - Recoil: Tony seemed surprised that Ziva slept with Michael, and then torments her somewhat. He does want to see her happy again.
• Shows major guilt over Jenny's death, believing that it is his fault.

• Life as Agent Afloat did not suit Tony, and he was very glad to come home again.
• For most of 6.05 "Nine Lives" Tony was bugging Ziva, even going through her desk trying to find out why she was going to Israel for a holiday. Is Tony jealous? Probably.
• Accused of being jealous of Michael Rivkin, Ziva's lover, whowhom he kills in self defense. He consistently denies any jealousy.
• Tony is hurt when Ziva leaves, but he decides not to call her and let her call him that she is ready.
• He is unaware of the fact that Ziva has been taken hostage.

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Agent Afloat
Family	Deception
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