NCIS: ORIGINS 1.1 and 1.2 “Enter Sandman – Part 1 and Part 2”
A grittier, better-made prequel — with baggage of its own.
Should You Watch It?
This is a sturdier, more serious show than the NCIS you may remember — and that's both the appeal and the catch. The prequel trades the original's procedural lightness for higher production values, a somber tone, and real weight on grief and justice. Jethro Gibbs, freshly bereaved and freshly hired, anchors a story that still cares about conscientious investigators chasing the truth.
But "more serious" also means "more mature." Fifteen obscenities land across two episodes, a married couple is shown in bed after sex, drug addiction and a near-suicide appear on screen, and a murder victim's occult-looking imagery is raised and then left unexplained — an odd, unresolved thread in an otherwise disciplined show. A subplot about workplace sexism and a hero implied to have taken lethal justice into his own hands add further moral complexity worth discussing, not ignoring.
If you're an adult viewer who wants a grittier procedural and can weigh what you're watching, this is worth sampling. If you're picking family viewing, or something for teens, look elsewhere for now — wait and see how the series settles before bringing it into the living room.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESBefore he was the Gibbs of NCIS, he was a Marine fresh off deployment, grieving a wife and daughter who were murdered while he was away. His first day at the Naval Investigative Service throws him straight into the deep end: a body found in a burned-down house, a team that doesn't quite trust him yet, and a boss who got him the job despite a failed psych evaluation. That's where we'll leave it.
Is It Any Good?
There's no formal star rating here, so judge the craft on its own terms. The reviewer describes a clear step up in polish: higher production value, more cinematic direction, and a heavier, more dramatic atmosphere than the parent series ever attempted. Performances are generally solid — Kyle Schmid's Mike Franks is singled out as a highlight — though the ensemble shows some inconsistency as actors settle into new roles.
The story's weak spot is a dangling thread: the occult and pagan imagery tied to the murder victim is raised, then resolved as a red herring, then left oddly unexplained. It's a small structural stumble in a show that otherwise seems to know what kind of series it wants to be.
The Worldview
At its core, this is a show about people trying to find the truth and hold killers accountable — a moral instinct Scripture recognizes and honors. The investigators are conscientious, the case is taken seriously, and justice matters to them. That's a real strength, and it carries over from the original series.
But the worldview here is noticeably more secular and world-weary than its predecessor's. Characters drink, swear, and talk about sex and infidelity as a matter of course. One storyline gives a female investigator a grievance about being passed over for promotion because of her sex — a现代, politically-inflected note the show doesn't fully develop either way. More troubling is the implication that Gibbs may have killed the man who murdered his family himself, outside any legal process — the show treats this as backstory rather than moral question, and it's worth naming rather than absorbing uncritically. The occult and pagan imagery surrounding one victim is raised and dropped without explanation, leaving a loose thread rather than a real exploration of spiritual darkness.
Underneath the case files is a man carrying grief he can't set down and, perhaps, a private reckoning he took upon himself. Scripture speaks directly to that ache: "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God" (Romans 12:19). A show that takes justice seriously would do well to reckon with who justice ultimately belongs to.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Light moral worldview in first two episodes of prequel TV program promotes justice and focuses on conscientious military investigators finding a killer, but it clearly has a bleaker tone and a world-weariness to the characters with each character nursing their own baggage that will later be unpacked and the investigators have a relatively secular worldview with foul language, drinking and talk of sex, and hero is even implied to have taken the law into his own hands to hunt down the murderer of his wife and child (the hero was married and lived happily with his wife and child and still wears his wedding ring after they were murdered), plus there are some politically correct feminist elements where a woman investigator on the Navy’s investigating team at Camp Pendleton is concerned that her immediate boss favors the hero over her because she’s a woman, and she therefore won’t get the promotion she seeks and thinks she deserves because of her seniority in the unit, and there are some implied occult and pagan images on display in a murder victim’s house, and it’s assumed she’s part of a cult but it turns out she’s a quirky artist, but the reason for her bizarre art is left unexplained
Foul Language
15 obscenities over two 43-minute episodes include seven “h” words, five “d” words (including the use as a curse of “d*** her" and “I’ll be d***ed”), and an SOB, an “a” word and a “b” word
Violence
Bloody knuckles and cheeks, threats of beating someone up, a dead female body is discovered with her head smashed, later it’s discovered the woman was shot by a sniper (the woman’s reconstructed skull is shown with a hole in it), three dead bodies are discovered with bloody wounds in the head and abdomen, and a character and drug addict is stopped from jumping from a hotel window to his death
Sex
A married couple is seen hugging in bed after sex and kissing passionately when they’re interrupted by a knock on the door from the man’s new underling who found some evidence at a crime scene, talk of cheating and unfaithful spouses and partners, and at least three sexual innuendoes such as talk of “banging,” a joke about someone’s “panties” being on the floor, and a crude reference to a male-female imbalance being a “sausage fest”
Nudity
Upper male nudity with a married couple shown in bed just after sex with woman’s naked back shown, man in his underwear walks out of the bedroom to answer knock at his door, and men change in a locker room
Alcohol Use
One bar scene, with people drinking and one character appears inebriated, plus a whiskey is shared later
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
A character smokes a cigarette and says he is trying to quit, characters interact with meth users and other addicts (rebuked, “just say no” is mentioned), and an investigation takes the heroes to an underground tunnel where numerous drug users are hiding;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Hero is traumatized by his wife and child having been murdered whole he went off to war (apparently it’s the international war against Iraq for invading Kuwait), a man is implied to have beaten up a man for bumping into him and not saying “excuse me,” but in reality the man was harassing a woman, one man is implied to have killed the murderer of his wife and child in one scene, a man lies about his employee passing a psyche evaluation, a man threatens to “do something he might get fired for” to a woman, a man kills his girlfriend and the person with whom she cheated, a man lies to get in the military and lies about killing his girlfriend, and one character has stopped talking to his father for some reason.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Gibbs is implied to have taken justice into his own hands after his family's murder. Does grief ever excuse bypassing lawful justice — and what does Scripture say belongs to God alone?
Romans 12:19 · Deuteronomy 32:35The occult imagery surrounding the murder victim is never really explained. Why might a show raise spiritual darkness and then leave it unresolved — and how should Christians think about images the world can't or won't explain?
Ephesians 5:11 · 1 Thessalonians 5:21One character believes she's being passed over for a promotion because of her sex. How should fairness and respect in the workplace be pursued, and what does the Bible say about impartiality?
James 2:1 · Colossians 3:23–24Gibbs is still wearing his wedding ring years after his wife's murder. What does his private grief reveal about the cost of loss — and where can grieving people bring that pain?
Psalm 34:18 · Matthew 5:4The Final Word
There's real craft here, and a hero worth caring about — but this prequel earns its caution honestly, with language, drug content, an unresolved occult thread, and a bedroom scene that put it out of reach for family viewing. Our answer stands: wait and see — adults only. Looking for something to watch with the kids this week instead? Start with our latest.
