NCIS is generally a light, fun show, but it knows how to do serious as well. When it does serious, it doesn't do the played up false tension that's so prevalent on Castle. And when it does do the tension, people actually get hurt as we've seen numerous times in the past. The trade-off is that the seriousness comes out of a certain melodrama or darkness.
"Engaged" is one of those melodramatic episodes, playing up the military aspect of the show as much as possible. Given that it is a two-parter, the plot moves slowly and sets up for next week's episode. Other than that, a bit too much pandering and not enough of the normal stuff NCIS needs.
Score: 8.5/10
