The finale of NCIS: Sydney Season 1 needed a bit more personal drama to heighten the stakes, and the makers had exactly the right idea of what to go within the eighth episode. In the previous episode, the team had done so to survive and had even caught the criminal who had eluded their grasp—a woman named Monica/Xena. They were fake names, and the real identity of the terrorist was still unknown. All of Jim, Mackey, and the others in the NCIS and AFP alliance knew that the woman was working with a terrorist crew that had almost created a war-like situation between Australia and America. Before Jim and Mackey could find out who she was working for, they had another problem: Jim’s son Jack had been kidnapped by someone who wanted him to release Monica if he wanted to save Jack.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Mackey Contact Colonel Rankin?
Jim was absolutely devastated when he heard that someone had kidnapped his son, Jack. What had happened was that Jim’s ex-wife, Beck, had organized a birthday party and was waiting for Jim to show up, but as usual, he was busy at work. She had called in a clown to entertain the kids, but the clown turned out to be a wanted man named Yaroslav. He wanted to get Monica out, and this was the only way he could think of putting pressure on NCIS. He might not have been aware that the NCIS didn’t have the authority to investigate suspects who were involved in terrorism. Mackey had managed to find just Monica’s real name, Ana Neimus, and nothing else. She was involved in the deaths of naval officers, but NCIS couldn’t keep Ana for long. A special team from the FBI was flying down to transfer Ana into their custody. Yaroslav was asking NCIS to release Ana in exchange for Jack, and Mackey was worried that once the FBI took Ana away, NCIS would have nothing left to bargain with and Yaroslav might kill Jack. This was obviously on Jim’s mind as well, but he didn’t say it out loud. Mackey understood the silence and went to Colonel Rankin, explained the situation to him, and asked him to buy the team some more time while they found the best course of action. Rankin seemed to sympathize with Jim’s position and asked Mackey if she was thinking about releasing Ana illegally. Mackey was in a bit of a conundrum, but all she asked was for him to stall the team arriving in Sydney.
Who Was Killed In The Blast?
With every passing minute, Jim was nearing a nervous breakdown. This was the first time a family member of any of the teammates had been in trouble. Jim even tried to attack Ana, as she seemed to be quite pleased with what Yaroslav had managed to pull off. He had gone into Jim’s house as a clown and kidnapped Jack. He wasn’t afraid that his footage would be available through the CCTV footage and the videos made at the birthday party. He had put himself on the line to get Ana out. She was pressured by Mackey to reveal Yaroslav’s location, but she didn’t budge. Ana might herself have been clueless as to how Yaroslav functioned. But the team got to know of a van with clown paintings that had someone inside of it. Evie and DeShawn had called in a bomb squad to check the van before moving in. Jim couldn’t keep still and went towards the vehicle, thinking Jack might still be inside the clown van. There was a blast, and the van went up in flames. It was Dr. Roy Penrose who stabilized Jim, who had almost died in the blast, and would have had he been a little closer. Roy told him that the voice coming from inside the van were of the original clown who was hired by Beck for Jack’s party. Yaroslav kidnapped the man and then blasted the vehicle with the man tied up inside it, clearing his tracks. Jim could only hear that Jack was alive, but not for long.
How Did Jim Get Closer To Locating Yaroslav?
Yaroslav had done everything right except one small mistake. Well, from his point of view, it was the only good thing he was doing, but it gave Jim a chance to find out who he was. Yaroslav seemed to be a Russian Orthodox Christian who believed that a conifer plant or a part of it must be offered to the dead. Blue found out about a series of killings where the killer was leaving behind conifers in the hands of the victims. He was so religious that he had to leave the conifer behind, no matter what. Jim contacted the nearby Russian Church, the only one of its kind in the area, and showed the Father Yaroslav’s photo. He obviously had no idea who Yaroslav was, but Jim found a way to get Yaroslav’s location. There was a nearby restaurant that delivered food to the church attendees, and Jim’s gut instinct said that if there was a restaurant that Yaroslav ordered from, it must be the one that stood right beside the church. Mackey saw Jim as someone who was losing his sanity, but in this case, he was correct. One of the addresses the restaurant had been delivering to was that of a storage unit. Who would be ordering food from a storage unit except Yaroslav, Jim thought. Mackey acted as the helpful partner, and they both went to the storage unit. Yaroslav was almost caught, but he had set up an alarm to warn him of an incoming danger. When he noticed someone was out to get him, he took Jack away to another remote location, and Jim broke down in tears, fearing this was the end for Jack.
Why Did Ana Leave Jim Alive?
Jim had no hope until he saw Ana’s jammer that she was using to stop GaiaMetric’s technology from functioning in the previous episode. Jim saw his chance to get Ana on his side, and he took it. He tampered with the jammer and showed it to Ana. She was asked to turn the jammer off but the power button didn’t work. Ana was stupefied for the first time in the entire investigation. Jim told her that whoever she was working for wanted her to die in that bunker with the fifty others. Jim gave her a reason to believe that Yaroslav didn’t want Ana released just to walk into the sunset with him, but so that he could kill her the first chance he got. Jim asked Ana to help him save Jack, as that would be the perfect revenge.
When Rankim arrived with the FBI team at NCIS headquarters, Jim had already taken Ana away with him. Yaroslav had given him a location, and he took Ana with her. Jim had given his gun to Ana, and while Yaroslav was busy checking Jim for hidden weapons, Ana shot him. Jim reunited with his son, but Ana took Jim’s car keys and escaped. She did, however, give him Yaroslav’s phone, which had just a single contact in it. She must have thought that killing Jim was of no use, and perhaps it was time to let them have the big enchilada. That was the only way they would stop hunting her for a change.
Ana had advised Jim to dial the number and call for a ‘friend’. Rankin and Mackey made the FBI leave after a heated exchange, but they had managed to keep mum about Jim’s actions. Mackey was surprised as well that Rankin didn’t mention Jim in front of the FBI. Rankin’s phone rang when Jim dialed the number present on Yaroslav’s phone. Blue was televising the action using the CIA’s satellites, and it was clear that Jim was calling someone, and at the very same moment, Rankin’s phone rang up. It couldn’t be a coincidence, and seeing Rankin’s face, it was clear that he was the one Yaroslav was working for. He didn’t tell the FBI about Jim because he was doing exactly what he wanted. Rankin wanted Ana out, and Jim was taking him to Yaroslav. Rankin, thus, was the traitor in the Department of Defense that was leaking information to terrorists. Ana Neimus (Ano-nymous!) was Rankin’s most valued asset, and she had survived yet again without revealing her real name. Why Rankin betrayed his country, or was there someone from higher up who was involved in this, will be known in the next season.
