'NCIS' eliminates the love triangle

We've reached the penultimate "NCIS" for the season, and it's becoming progressively worse for the DiNozzo/Ziva dynamic. They might play nice in public, but it's anyone's guess how this'll play out by season's end.

The Spoilers wish Jamie Murray could stay on in a recurring role as a love interest for McGee.

So what happens when you get together high-profile government type for a late-night "poker game?" In the Bartlet White House, it's an AA meeting; for the leaders of the Alphabet Soup, it's a strategic meeting on how best to utilize Director Vance. Problem is, someone caught wise that nary a hand was being played, and it cost an ICE agent his life. Ducky arrives to conclude the agent was strangled, and in the ensuing fight for his life, knocked a listening device from the window. The sexy agent in charge of security at the SecNav's house (Lila from Dexter) is so upset she let everyone down that she smashes the bug into a million little pieces.

Abby is rather upset at Agent Julia Foster-Yates for destroying the bug... among other things. Meanwhile, the rift between Ziva and DiNozzo is growing by the minute, especially when the latter suspects (correctly) that he's yet to rid himself of the Rivkin problem. As it stands, the only thing he isn't tied to is the murder of the ICE agent... at least not initially. Once Gibbs and FBI Agent Fornell find out the true meaning of the poker game, they learn of the newest lead suspect: Abin Tabal, who just happens to be connected to the whole West Coast mess that left Callen in critical condition. Since Ducky determines the attack on the agent wasn't meant to be lethal, they know there's a bigger conspiracy afoot.

Gibbs is mad as hell for being left out of the loop, and initially directs his anger at Agent Foster-Yates. McGee saves her by suggesting she help analyze surveillance video. On said video is a car casing the joint... driven by none other than Vance, who just wanted in on the reindeer games (which everyone presumes he's excluded because he wiped the floor clean in the last game.)

Back to Ziva and DiNozzo: she hastily leaves to meet with Rivkin, a fact DiNozzo picks up on after translating part of her conversation. His master plan is to get Ziva to leave the lunch (which she does) and return to NCIS so he can slip in and even more forcefully demand Rivkin take the red-eye back to Israel. Naturally, he doesn't comply.

Speaking of jealous, Abby simply cannot stand the way McGee and Agent Lila are working together. Sensing she's not wanted there, Lila makes her way into another tense stand-off when Ziva and DiNozzo return to NCIS. To make matters worse, Gibbs and Fornell lead down the path to accusing her of the murder. And to think, she's actually trying to play nice, unlike what she did with Dexter Morgan!

Abby finally links the bug to Abin, but all Gibbs, Fornell and Agent Lila find when they get there is a dead man who ingested a cyanide pill. With a wiped hard drive, all other signs point to Abin being the man all along, so the case is closed and Agent Lila takes her leave.

Secretary Davenport makes a cameo appearance in Gibbs' basement to, among other things, present the gunnery sergeant with a fine bottle of whiskey. Gibbs takes the opportunity to hand over the file on Vance, but the good Secretary decides to do what Leroy couldn't/wouldn't do after all this time: open and read it. To Davenport's slight disappointment, most of the file is censored, though he's certain it wouldn't present the "whole picture" anyway. It seems Vance is to become the point man in a major operation against the Israelis.

As for DiNozzo, he's rather distracted by the whole "Ziva/Rivkin" thing that when Gibbs tries to throw Rule 11 his way, he mistakes Rule 12 instead. Sensing the drama has to end immediately, he drives over to Ziva's, only to find Rivkin by himself. After one final ultimatum, DiNozzo goes to place Rivkin under arrest. What happens next is a most epic struggle. Rivkin initially has the upper hand, though DiNozzo smashed him into enough glass to have a shard go through his enemy's side. All seems lost for Rivkin, except he makes one final lunge (glass in hand) towards DiNozzo, who has no choice but to shoot him multiple times... just as Ziva busts through the door!

So Rivkin is dead and the team is off to Israel next week... but one of them won't make it home alive. Care to place bets?

Next week, the season finale. What becomes of our gang?

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