Season Analysis

NCIS

Season 23 Analysis

Season Woke Score

out of 10

Season Overview

No specific overview for this season.

Season Review

Season 23 is marketed as a "character-forward" installment, moving the focus from case-of-the-week procedurals to the personal arcs of the main team. The core storyline revolves around Alden Parker's emotional descent into revenge following his father's murder and the subsequent investigation into his mother's death, which reveals a complex case involving an abusive husband and dirty cop. The main cast is highly diverse across race and gender, with a Black Director, Hispanic and Asian/Latino agents, and a Black forensic specialist, all depicted as highly competent professionals. One of the main agents is a woman who holds the rank of Navy Vice Admiral. The show includes a subplot confirming and continuing the same-sex relationship of a main character, framing it as a major personal arc for the season. Despite the interpersonal and institutional conflicts, the overall theme centers on the pursuit of objective justice by the NCIS team, who function as the moral center against criminal corruption.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics5/10

The main cast is predominantly female and minority, which is the norm for modern procedurals. The narrative establishes a white male authority figure (a dirty cop and abusive husband) as a key villain in a flashback plot. The white male team lead (Parker) is destabilized by trauma and revenge, requiring the team to save and caution him. However, promotions like McGee's are still based on merit, and the diverse cast operates primarily based on professional competence rather than intersectional hierarchy.

Oikophobia2/10

The series premise is fundamentally about upholding the American institution of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The agents are heroes who fight corruption within the system (dirty cop) and from outside (mob boss), which positions the institution as a positive force against chaos. There is no narrative focus on deconstructing American heritage or demonizing the nation's culture or ancestors.

Feminism4/10

The team features a capable female agent, Jessica Knight, whose negotiation skills and tactical competence are highlighted, and a female Vice Admiral is introduced. The heroic backstory for Parker's mother involves her helping a mother and daughter escape an abusive husband. This elevates women into positions of high authority and moral heroism, aligning with the 'Girl Boss' trope, but the male characters are not consistently depicted as bumbling or toxic.

LGBTQ+6/10

The forensic specialist, Kasie Hines, is a main character who had an off-screen girlfriend in prior seasons, and Season 23 is structured to feature a renewed romantic arc for her. This is a deliberate re-centering of an alternative sexuality within the primary NCIS team, moving beyond simple background inclusion. It is a major romantic arc but does not appear to involve gender ideology or lecturing on the 'Queer Theory Lens.'

Anti-Theism4/10

One episode plot explicitly features the main agent, Alden Parker, clashing with a priest over a case, which can be a narrative device to question or challenge a traditional religious figure's morality or authority. The series still fundamentally revolves around finding objective truth and bringing criminals to justice, which operates on a transcendent moral law, but the direct conflict with a man of God pushes the score up from the baseline.