Season Analysis

NCIS

Season 12 Analysis

Season Woke Score

out of 10

Season Overview

In Season 12, Gibbs and McGee travel to Russia to retrieve a computer expert and get into an ongoing battle with mercenary Sergei Mishnev.

Season Review

Season 12 of NCIS operates firmly within the established format of a pro-military, law-and-order procedural drama. The narrative is driven by two major arcs: a personal vendetta against Gibbs by the Russian mercenary Sergei Mishnev, and the global threat posed by a terrorist group, The Calling, which recruits vulnerable children. The season champions American institutions, focuses on the traditional heroism of its agents, and explores deep personal loss (Gibbs, Fornell, McGee). Competent male and female agents work in partnership, and one storyline even includes the birth of a child, reinforcing positive family themes. The season features one plot point centered on a heroic, deceased gay Navy officer, which frames sexual orientation as a matter of personal identity rather than a political lecture. The antagonists are purely defined by their criminal and terrorist acts, with no underlying political critique of 'whiteness' or Western society. The morality is classic crime procedural: Good versus objective evil.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The narrative universally focuses on character merit; agents succeed based on skill, training, and courage. The primary antagonists are a Russian mercenary and a multi-national terror cell, who are vilified for their actions as criminals, not their immutable characteristics. The ensemble cast's diversity is a natural fixture of the long-running series, not a source of lecturing.

Oikophobia1/10

The season is overwhelmingly patriotic and pro-Western. NCIS, the central institution, is portrayed as the necessary shield against international and domestic chaos (Russian mercenary, foreign-recruited homegrown terrorism). The theme strongly respects the sacrifices of ancestors and military service, viewing institutions as fundamentally good.

Feminism2/10

Female leads like Agent Bishop and Abby Sciuto are highly competent professionals whose value is based on their skills, but this does not require the emasculation of male characters. Agent Palmer's wife gives birth, which is treated as a moment of traditional celebration, running counter to anti-natalist tropes.

LGBTQ+3/10

One episode includes a storyline about a deceased Navy officer who was gay and being considered for the Medal of Honor. The inclusion is centered on his heroism and service, normalizing the character within the institution rather than deconstructing the nuclear family or pushing a broader sexual ideology. The main team's family dynamics remain heterosexual and traditional.

Anti-Theism1/10

The core morality is transcendent, rooted in objective truth—the defense of law, justice, and the innocent against murder and terrorism. There is no evidence of anti-religious sentiment or the depiction of traditional religion as a source of bigotry or evil. Evil is a force defined by the acts of the criminal antagonists.