Warning! The following contains spoilers for the NCIS episode "Lonely Hearts." Read at your own risk!
The first half of NCIS Season 17 seemed like it was finally getting ready to hook up Bishop and Torres. Sadly, the show passed on delivering the classic TV hospital room love confession when Torres was laid up, but "Lonely Hearts" gave hope that the two would finally confess their feelings for one another. Valentine's Day was another perfect opportunity for each to really pull the trigger and woo the other, but sadly, it appears any hopes of them having a relationship just took a step back.
It all started with Torres' unexpected return to the NCIS office. McGee and Bishop were surprised to see Torres back on the job so soon, though both thought it made sense provided he was approved for limited duty. Torres denied any restrictions were placed on his return, and tried as best he could to convince everyone he was back at full strength. He even announced that he had a date for Valentine's Day, which surprised Bishop.
The moment came and went, and wasn't really touched on again for the rest of the episode. It wasn't a large plot point, which leads me to believe that NCIS is signaling that Torres and Bishop may not happen anytime soon. Will there be more teases? I'm sure, but until either one admits that they have feelings for each other, this cat and mouse game will continue.
If there's a sunny side of the situation for NCIS fans desperate for these two to get together, I think it's fair to speculate that Torres was lying about having a date. We know that he has feelings for Bishop, and that he has pulled the whole fake "hot date" act in the past. Plus, the episode made it beyond clear that Torres was not physically ready to be back on the job, so I can't imagine he's ready for a night on the town either.
Even so, this is another time NCIS has passed on a remarkably obvious chance to make Bishop and Torres a thing. Even Gibbs managed to get a kiss in this episode with Jacqueline, which ended up being a little weird considering he didn't actually send her that box of chocolates after all like she suspected. Sure, it was just a peck on the cheek, but in the NCIS office with all the staff hanging out around them? Surely this has to be a violation of someone's rules, if not Gibbs'.
Will Torres and Bishop ever be a couple? It's not like in-office romances are unprecedented on NCIS, so it feels like it has to happen eventually. Then again, McGee openly talked about how mentally scarring it would be for the team to learn the "brother and sister" of Team Gibbs are dating, so perhaps these two are suppressing feelings because they know how their co-workers would feel about it. If that's the case, hopefully they get over any judgement from coworkers, and finally get started on this overdue relationship for the sake of fans.
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