The whole Merton Bell Mexican cartel revenge arc is mostly a non-issue for me. I don't actively dislike it, but I'd be hard pressed to care more about it than the usual episodes. Compared to the Jeanne or Rivkins arcs, which were interesting, this was definitely a step down.
Luckily, it's resolved in "Spider and the Fly," the continuation from the season seven finale. Everyone helps out in their own way, and Tony gets hits on McGee (apparently the misrepresentation of Canada rubbed many Canadians the wrong way) and Ziva, who may have a new love interest. In the end, everyone is safe and justice is served--the cartel bosses dead. Whether what they did was legal, or even ethical, isn't touched in the episode.
The issue between Abby and Gibbs still isn't resolved, and Gibbs is only giving empty reassurances that everything will be okay. With a show like NCIS, where the characters remain static in day to day operations, it's hard to gauge how far the writers will take them. Will Abby be distrustful/wary some/all the time? Will anything change at all?
Looking ahead, Vance gets a text from Eli David, a simple "I found him." The words themselves don't interest me; however, the fact that Eli David is coming back does, and I'm sure he'll be pissed when he sees Ziva.
Score: 8.5/10
