‘NCIS’: Significant Character Returns During Hypnosis-Centered Murder Case

NCIS took on one of its most intriguing murder cases yet, and enlisted the help of beloved returning character. The team worked on the mysterious case of a woman who might have killed someone after she was hypnotized. As Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and the team were skeptical of the powers of hypnosis, the team brought in an expert to test out the theory of hypnosis-induced murder on one of their own.

Spoilers ahead for NCIS Season 17, Episode 5: “Wide Awake”

Tuesday’s new episode began with a woman waking up from a deep sleep to find a bloody gun in her fridge. The woman seemed to be the prime suspect of her neighbor’s murder, but things took a turn when she revealed her therapist hypnotized her to sleep the night before.

Gibbs refuses to believe hypnotism could have played a role in the crime. He and Sloane (Maria Bello) decided to test out the theory, bringing in Dr. Grace Confalone (Laura San Giacomo) for help. The team leader remained a skeptic as Sloane and Dr. Grace brought in Bishop (Emily Wickersham) and Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) to help with a test of how hypnosis can affect people.

Dr. Grace takes charge in a hypnosis test. Bishop wakes without thinking she felt anything. The doctor reveals at that point she was actually aiming at Torres, who is unconscious and awaiting instructions. Bishop later recaps how Torres was tasked with eating a doughnut — while he believed it was a protein bar — as well as other tasks he would never do on his own.

The team later finds out the doctor has a history of causing a crime with hypnosis, but he maintains his innocence when it comes to the murder. Dr. Grace says that with years of manipulation hypnosis could lead to murder, but it is a very small possibility.

A visit to the woman’s job after finding out she was discharged reveals her insomnia — the reason why she resorted to hypnosis — is worse than she thought. The disease had caused her to be violent in her sleep in the past, pointing the blame towards heronce again.

Things get more complicated when Kasie (Diona Reasonover) and Palmer (Brian Dietzen) realize a food allergy would have made it impossible for the woman to even enter the room where the victim was killed. She is being framed for the crime.

A break on the case reveals the victim was having an affair. McGee (Sean Murray) and Torres confront the woman and tell her what happened. She suspects immediately her husband did it. They discover her husband is the hypnotherapist’s patient. They take him to the headquarters, but he refuses to talk.

The man finally admits his OCD made him snap and he killed the man. He then stole the woman’s purse and used it to go into her home while she was asleep. Gibbs makes a mess in the interrogation room to push the man to confess and write down all his actions.

The woman gets the mental health assistance she needs from Veterans’ Affairs. Gibbs ends the episode bonding with his new neighbors, including a young boy trying to learn to play baseball.

What did you think of the latest episode? NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.