NCIS season 20 episode 16 recap: A conspiracy covered in gas

NCIS season 20 returned with an all-new episode this week, bringing forth a complicated story of potential bio-terrorism and Soviet conspiracy.

Not the simplest of episodes this season, NCIS season 20 episode 16 followed the team as they tried to solve a strange act of bio-terrorism that seemed to be off the mark in almost every way. Soon, the episode evolved into something much more sinister.

Titled, Butterfly Effect, and quite aptly so, the episode was one of the most well-paced ones in the season so far. The synopsis for the episode read:

"The NCIS team jumps into motion to investigate who is responsible for a potential bio terror attack at a strip mall parking garage. Also, Knight’s father deals with a health scare while in Japan."

NCIS season 20 episode 16 premiered on March 13, 2023, and is currently available for streaming on Paramount+.

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NCIS season 20 episode 16 recap: Who let the gas out?

This week's case began with one of the most harrowing portraits of many apparently dead individuals in the parking lot, creating a travesty far greater than viewers of the show are used to. But this changes as soon as the team arrives and realizes that none of them are dead. In fact, it was soon revealed that none of them were seriously hurt.

Kasie's (Diona Reasonover) tests show that they were gassed with a fast-acting material (a type of aerosolized version of injectable cow sedatives) that left no damage behind. As the victims recover fully in the hospital, the team soon deciphers that it was perhaps some kind of a distraction to steal something. This came after a contractor complained that his cell phone and keys were stolen.

It was especially suspicious as the contractor worked in a very affluent neighborhood that housed the likes of Senator Constance Miller (Brigid Brannagh). Dorothy (Julianne Collins) was already one of the more suspicious figures in the hospital and soon the team uncovered something crucial.

First, the kind of crime that took place at the parking lot was the M.O. of Philip Legrand, a legendary thief known for robbing high-end homes. Second, Dorothy was actually Legrand's daughter. Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) and Knight (Katrina Law) discover this while visiting the senator's home.

Legrand's daughter soon explains that her father has been kidnapped and someone else was forcing her to pull off the bio-attack. She also explains that her father only robs people who can afford to lose money and do it only to sponsor their lives on the road without seriously hurting anyone.

Knight gets bad news from Japan, where her father was working. She finds out that her father had an accident and had to be rushed to surgery. This initially makes the agent plan a trip to Japan, but she decides to save Dorothy's father instead. The NCIS team soon decide to hand over a copy of the hard drive, which the kidnapper wanted from the senator, through Dorothy.

It is quite shocking as the hard drive allegedly contain only personal photos of the senator.

Dorothy and the team pull off an elaborate plan to nab the kidnapper, who turns out to be one of the people from the parking lot. At the time of the exchange, the team manages to outsmart the guy and nab him.

Finally, the mystery of the photos comes to light when Kasie deciphers Delilah's former TA, Evelyn Shaw, and John and Renee Watts, who were involved in Parker's identity getting stolen, in photos from the hard drive. All of them are Russian sleeper spies and active volunteers in Miller's re-election campaign.

This mystery is left unsolved for future episodes, but it appears that this will have future significance.

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NCIS is now streaming on Paramount+.