Even though NCIS: Los Angeles is only seven episodes deep into its shortened Season 12, life has been as topsy-turvy a roller coaster ride as possible for Eric Christian Olsen's Marty Deeks, as well as for the character's biggest fans. For a short while there, it looked like Deeks might have been headed for a major exit, but Linda Hunt's oft-absent Hetty returned with the good news that Deeks would be allowed to train at FLETC to become an official NCIS agent. At least it seemed like good news before the training actually started.
As hinted at in a new TV spot for NCIS: Los Angeles' upcoming episode "Love Kills," as well as new images revealed by CBS, Deeks definitely won't be able to float through the training process with ease, and he'll likely be sweating harder than anybody else out there. Check out the promo below, which also reveals a returning character in Erik Palladino's CIA Officer Sabatino.
Even though he only appeared in 5 seconds of a 20-second clip, Deeks looked fairly uncomfortable the entire time, as he discovered he might not be in the most ideal shape for these kinds of activities. They've got him out of breath while dashing around, and then baseball equipment came into the picture, and then Deeks is being tossed around like a blonde burlap sack.
Earlier this season, Deeks was dealt the major blow of not only losing his job as a liaison for the NCIS squad, but also being furloughed altogether by the LAPD. It seemed like the character's life might have headed in a pretty awkward and not-to-awesome direction without any of his colleagues around, but thankfully that won't be the case. I mean, "thankfully" with the assumption that he does indeed survive his training camp business. If not, Hetty might have some regrets about pulling the strings to get Deeks accepted.
Obviously Deeks is in pretty good shape all around, but his disadvantage in this case is that he's technically too old to have been a new recruit for FLETC, so he doesn't have the same spark that's propelling his fellow trainees. But what Deeks does have on his side is...well, he's one of the leads of the show, so of course he's going to eventually succeed. Just probably not without suffering a bit more beforehand. Poor Deeks.
Check out the official synopsis for the episode "Love Kills" below, which gives context for Erik Palladino's return and also teases Deeks' misery.
When NCIS investigates the murder of a man about to reveal the source of a massive counterfeiting operation, an old acquaintance becomes their prime suspect and reveals the true reason for her return. Also, Deeks struggles during training to become an official NCIS agent.
NCIS: Los Angeles airs Sunday nights on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET, assuming NFL football isn't pushing the schedule back. While waiting to see how winded Deeks gets, check out our Winter and Spring 2021 TV schedule to see what new and returning shows are popping up in the coming months.
