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Jan. 11th, 2006 10:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhienellethI watched NCIS last night, and ok, so I'm starting to see Tony as sexy even though MW doesn't look the same as he did on Dark Angel. He has depth and layers and complexity, and that's what I find sexy. It just took me awhile, but I get it.
See, Tony just uses all that humor and flirtation as a cover, kind of like Gibbs' stone face. It holds people back, keeps them from wanting to get too personal, and thus he doesn't have to form emotional attachments and show them the "real" Tony, which he pretty much avoids at all costs. It's how he deals with stuff. But every once in awhile we get these glimpses of serious-Tony, who's actually very smart and a kick ass agent. Remember at the beginning of the season in the ones about Ari, when Abby was shot at and Tony saved her and she was all nervous and freaked out and told him how built he was? Normally, Tony would have responded with some sort of typically flirty remark. Instead he just looked at her all serious and asked "Is this how you deal with being shot at?" Then he tersely told her to stay down and went about his business. I was like, ok, will the real Tony DiNozzo please stand up?
In last night's ep we don't see as much of that, but we got a couple of good moments. See, Ziva uses some of the same humor defense mechanisms as Tony, which is why they irritate/egg each on other so much. She's not as good at it -- her mask breaks more often than his. But then her life's been a little more difficult. Lied to and betrayed by her father, forced to kill her own brother, etc, etc. She and Tony joke a lot and flirt a lot, because I think they both think of the other as "safe" -- 90% of the time, neither would be tempted to really, actually sleep with the other. But in those moments when they're "real", they really could form a connection that could lead somewhere like that. I say that because the greatest moments of chemistry they have are actually when they're being serious, not clowning and flirting.
For instance, when Ziva rather stupidly shoots her gun inside the metal box, and then throws Tony to the floor as the bullet ricochets everywhere, he isn't amused, he makes no cracks about her being on top of him. In fact, he wants her off right freaking now. He's pissed because she could have seriously injured one or both of them, and for a moment he is serious Tony. And I think in that moment, there is a definite crackle of something between them, even though Ziva is still trying to joke and make light of it. Which is why he is so adamant about getting her off him.
But the more interesting moment to me is when he's harrassing Ziva about revealing some of her "real self" to him (ironic, as neither of them are good at that). He goes on about her favorite food, movie, etc, and then asks about the first time she became disillusioned with Daddy. Ziva changes like he flipped a switch. One minute she's laughing and joking, the next it's all gone. She just looks at him coldly and changes the subject; playtime is over. I think Tony slid that one in there on purpose, suspecting a little something about her history with her father, but wasn't expecting quite as severe a response as he got. He tried to continue the game a few seconds later, but it was too late. He'd overstepped Ziva's personal boundaries and that was it. Yes, I know that example is really about Ziva, but you see it in Tony's face, too. The real Tony knows he pushed too far, and even though he picks up again with the joking, it's just so they can both pretend that serious moment never happened. Real Tony is still there, close enough to the surface that you can see him.
So I know I'm waaaay over-analyizing the characters, but I don't care. It's those glimpses that keep me interested and watching the show. Well, that and someday I'd like to see all of Gibbs' flashbacks completely explained.
See, Tony just uses all that humor and flirtation as a cover, kind of like Gibbs' stone face. It holds people back, keeps them from wanting to get too personal, and thus he doesn't have to form emotional attachments and show them the "real" Tony, which he pretty much avoids at all costs. It's how he deals with stuff. But every once in awhile we get these glimpses of serious-Tony, who's actually very smart and a kick ass agent. Remember at the beginning of the season in the ones about Ari, when Abby was shot at and Tony saved her and she was all nervous and freaked out and told him how built he was? Normally, Tony would have responded with some sort of typically flirty remark. Instead he just looked at her all serious and asked "Is this how you deal with being shot at?" Then he tersely told her to stay down and went about his business. I was like, ok, will the real Tony DiNozzo please stand up?
In last night's ep we don't see as much of that, but we got a couple of good moments. See, Ziva uses some of the same humor defense mechanisms as Tony, which is why they irritate/egg each on other so much. She's not as good at it -- her mask breaks more often than his. But then her life's been a little more difficult. Lied to and betrayed by her father, forced to kill her own brother, etc, etc. She and Tony joke a lot and flirt a lot, because I think they both think of the other as "safe" -- 90% of the time, neither would be tempted to really, actually sleep with the other. But in those moments when they're "real", they really could form a connection that could lead somewhere like that. I say that because the greatest moments of chemistry they have are actually when they're being serious, not clowning and flirting.
For instance, when Ziva rather stupidly shoots her gun inside the metal box, and then throws Tony to the floor as the bullet ricochets everywhere, he isn't amused, he makes no cracks about her being on top of him. In fact, he wants her off right freaking now. He's pissed because she could have seriously injured one or both of them, and for a moment he is serious Tony. And I think in that moment, there is a definite crackle of something between them, even though Ziva is still trying to joke and make light of it. Which is why he is so adamant about getting her off him.
But the more interesting moment to me is when he's harrassing Ziva about revealing some of her "real self" to him (ironic, as neither of them are good at that). He goes on about her favorite food, movie, etc, and then asks about the first time she became disillusioned with Daddy. Ziva changes like he flipped a switch. One minute she's laughing and joking, the next it's all gone. She just looks at him coldly and changes the subject; playtime is over. I think Tony slid that one in there on purpose, suspecting a little something about her history with her father, but wasn't expecting quite as severe a response as he got. He tried to continue the game a few seconds later, but it was too late. He'd overstepped Ziva's personal boundaries and that was it. Yes, I know that example is really about Ziva, but you see it in Tony's face, too. The real Tony knows he pushed too far, and even though he picks up again with the joking, it's just so they can both pretend that serious moment never happened. Real Tony is still there, close enough to the surface that you can see him.
So I know I'm waaaay over-analyizing the characters, but I don't care. It's those glimpses that keep me interested and watching the show. Well, that and someday I'd like to see all of Gibbs' flashbacks completely explained.
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Date: 2006-01-11 06:47 pm (UTC)That thing about the piano was actually a little chillling.
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Date: 2006-01-11 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-11 11:13 pm (UTC)