This week’s episode of NCIS was a continuation of the story that began with NCIS: Los Angeles, which has Director Vance in pursuit of a trained killer named Lee Wuan Kai. The show starts out with a couple of Army and Navy cross-country joggers coming across a doctor killed on military property. The NCIS team investigation begins as usual, but unlike other crime scenes they are surprised when Director Vance personally shows up to inspect the murder.

Vance immediately recognizes the work of Kai and from that point forward he gets tunnel vision on finding and stopping her. He adds more agents to the case as the forensic team confirms that the killer is in fact Kai after finding a strand of hair purposely left behind and tied in a bow on one of the doctor’s finger.

Vance is forced to face his demons while relating a complex relationship with the assassin and their 17 year history ends up putting Vance’s family in danger as Kai shows up at his home.

The investigation uncovers that Kai is in town to kill North Korean officials but they don’t know why. They later learn that Kai, as a very young girl, was converted into the killer she is today and now she has come after the people who made her. It so happens that her trail of revenge ultimately led her back to Vance, a person that was there back when she first began killing.

The heartless assassin image of Kia goes astray, when McGee’s new love interest turns out to be a hit-woman sent by the North Korean government to find and eliminate Kia. Kia in turn kills the woman in order to save McGee’s life. Vance returns to his home to find Kai with a gun at his wife back. Then in a surprise turn of events, Kai reveals that she only came there because she wants Vance to kill her and end her suffering. When Vance hesitates, knowing what the her life has been like, his wife finishes the job by shooting Kia. ­

This has to be one of the best NCIS episodes in recent memory. I completely loved the continuation of the episode from NCIS: Los Angeles that really gave it a much fuller understanding of the relationship of Vance and this woman.