Rate 7.24 Rule Fifty-One

[AngelZ]

How did you rate rate 7.24 Rule Fifty-One? Scores out of 10 please.






Disclaimer: For your own sanity, do not try to make sense of the rating definitions!

[satyriasis]

9/10.

A bit underwhelming to me but to see the team stick up for Gibbs is a sight to behold.

[Mikki]

9.5/10, 'Nuff said. I hope the Mexico stuff ends soon, and then the regular crimes and such....

[Phil]

I guess I'm going to have to be the lone voice of dissent. It was very underwhelming for me (for a finale), so I can't give it a higher rating than a 6 out of 10.

As a standalone episode, "Rule 51" would have been a pretty decent episode, but as a finale, it wasn't as good as it could have been. Yes, there was some very good elements in this ep - the Tony/Ziva partnership was quite well done throughout, with good-natured teasing that didn't feel mean; the continued presence of competent Tony was very nice to behold; Vance was again well presented; and some of the character moments throughout (i.e., the hysterical Ducky/Palmer moment, the before-mentioned Tony/Ziva partnership, the nice autopsy scenes, etc.) - but overall, at the end, I was left with a big BLAH feeling. For all the hype centered around this stuff, I just expected ... more. And better. Just like last season, the episode immediately prior to the season finale was vastly superior to the actual finale.

The thing that probably bothered me the most was the implication that Vance sent Tony to Mexico ... on an assassination mission. Seriously, WTF? Tony is supposed to be a cop, not an assassin, and this violates NCIS' mandate in so many different ways that it isn't remotely funny.

I don't believe for a second that Jackson Gibbs is in any major danger, not when they went out of their way to have Jethro Gibbs make that phone call to him earlier in the episode, so as a cliffhanger endings, that wasn't a particularly effective one for me.

[Lelu]

May 27, 2010 14:58:15 GMT -5 Phil said:

I guess I'm going to have to be the lone voice of dissent. It was very underwhelming for me (for a finale), so I can't give it a higher rating than a 6 out of 10.

As a standalone episode, "Rule 51" would have been a pretty decent episode, but as a finale, it wasn't as good as it could have been. Yes, there was some very good elements in this ep - the Tony/Ziva partnership was quite well done throughout, with good-natured teasing that didn't feel mean; the continued presence of competent Tony was very nice to behold; Vance was again well presented; and some of the character moments throughout (i.e., the hysterical Ducky/Palmer moment, the before-mentioned Tony/Ziva partnership, the nice autopsy scenes, etc.) - but overall, at the end, I was left with a big BLAH feeling. For all the hype centered around this stuff, I just expected ... more. And better. Just like last season, the episode immediately prior to the season finale was vastly superior to the actual finale.

The thing that probably bothered me the most was the implication that Vance sent Tony to Mexico ... on an assassination mission. Seriously, WTF? Tony is supposed to be a cop, not an assassin, and this violates NCIS' mandate in so many different ways that it isn't remotely funny.

I don't believe for a second that Jackson Gibbs is in any major danger, not when they went out of their way to have Jethro Gibbs make that phone call to him earlier in the episode, so as a cliffhanger endings, that wasn't a particularly effective one for me.

While I totally agree with you in many respects, I mean everything about this show violates accepted Law Enforcement Codes. It's rife with vigilantism, poor evidence collection and retrieval and the like. I still liked the episode. Yes Tony is a cop, but he'd do anything to protect his team. In this family dynamic he's the big brother, taking the blame for things taking the heat off other members, protecting. He'd do anything to protect Gibbs, Gibbs is the boss, confidant surrogate father. If Vance told Tony to go kill somebody to protect Gibbs, Tony would do it... not without remorse and significant consequences to himself, but for Gibbs... no doubt

What is good about the show are the character interactions. IMO that has what has been off this season, good characterization. That said, this episode corrected a lot of ills for the season (one of if not the worst season). Finally they got it right Ziva/Tony, Ducky and Palmer. If Gibbs was a bit stoic and silent hero, it worked in this case; and finally a Vance I could like.

That is why I gave it a 9.

[Phil]

I didn't mean to give the impression that I disliked the character dynamics in this episode. For the most part, I totally agree with you - the way the characters interacted throughout the episode was very solid and more of a throw-back to the Old Days. The borderline mean-spiritedness between various characters seemed absent (pleasantly so), and they all functioned quite well as a team (Tony/Ziva throughout most of the ep, then the Three Amigos at the airport gunfight, and so on.)

As to Tony doing anything to protect Gibbs, while I agree with you, it still seemed OOC to me. Shooting someone in a firefight is vastly different than assassinating them, especially since Tony was never shown to be given the full picture about this mess.

It's just ... the ep in general didn't hold my attention as well as "Patriot Down" (which was, IMO, tied with "Truth and Consequences" as the best ep of the season ) did. *shrug*

[skeptikal]

Just a quick thought...maybe Tony wasn't sent to kill Rivera (although it certainly looked that way) but to discredit him.
I mean, Rivera is a cop. If authorities outside Mexico see that he's related to the head of a drug cartel, they could shut him down. A stretch, but isnt it any less unlikely than Tony killing a cop?

Anyway, I'm giving it a 7.

[toni]

10/10, it was absolutely amazing and "heart-racing".

[appaloosa]

its a awsome ending. I hope gibbis father is ok