Roundtable Discussion Returns with Season Five Predictions

DIANE:  Welcome back to our third Roundtable Discussion.  I’d like to welcome Mel (Imahistorian) and Lindy(Sweet Lu) back to our panel again.  We have season five coming up and I know we are all excited and have a lot of things to look forward to.  I was hoping we can make some predictions and try and look into the future to what may happen during season five for Deeks and the rest of the team.  Shane Brennan has said that this will be a watershed season for Deeks and Callen.  We’ll let Team Callen speculate what will happen to our fearless leader but what about Deeks?  What will the beginning of season five look like for him?

LINDY:  I think they have to repair Sam and Deeks’ relationship.  I’d like to see them repair that and whether they do that in the opening episode or if they let that simmer for a few episodes I don’t know…but I think if the team is going to continue to be a strong team they need to have that trust level.  As far as where they go with Kensi and Deeks, it depends on what comes out of that torture scene.  How much is he going to suffer, is he going to have anger issues?  Is he going to have his head so full of what happen that he is not going to relate to Kensi?  Will he pull back from her?  I don’t see them rushing them into a deep relationship at this stage.  I think they will make us wait, maybe a long time for that.  I think there will be a closer relationship upcoming instead of the frivolous banter that they have had so far.  I’m really excited that they are going to explore some of Deeks’ background.  Maybe they bring in his mother and see what that relationship is like.  If we do get into his childhood, maybe it relates back to the torture; maybe he suffered through an abusive childhood and they explore that and maybe it ties into what he has gone through in the season finale where he is tortured and subjected to pain.  I think there is so many possibilities that they have left open for this opener.  I just hope the writers take the bit in their mouth and run with it.  I think there are so many great opportunities for great drama and great interaction between these characters.  I don’t want them to brush past it and brighten things up and rush past it after what’s just happen.  I don’t think people want that.  The fans I have spoken to, everybody wants them to keep that drama going and not just fall back to where they have been in the past.  People want to step forward and really get into these characters.

MEL:  And I’m really curious with it being a watershed season because watersheds are famous for being big historical changes which gets to the heart of things and rattles preconceived notions…so I’m almost curious if this will be Callen and Deeks’ watershed experience that they have together…will it somehow connect them or is it something that is two separate story lines and I’m interested in either scenario. But the ideas that it could be between Callen and Deeks could be interesting because these are characters that haven’t interacted a whole lot previously.   There are a million ways the writers could go with that and that’s what is so fascinating.  I am interested in the emotional fallout of both Deeks and the torture.  I think there is a potential for it to go many different ways.  And even Callen too… because in some ways he is going to feel responsible for what happen to Sam and Deeks and how he trusted Janvier and how he gave up the team to Sidorov.  I think there is a lot of great material there and what they end of doing with it will be very fascinating.  In terms of Deeks, I’m curious to see what they do with him.  I have lots of thoughts and no idea but I think the fallout from Deeks’ experience will certainly affect his relationship with Kensi.  Maybe he will want to seize the day or maybe he will pull back just as Kensi will want to be more than just partners or friends.  I think either scenario is possible.  They are more likely to drag things on and extend the actually bringing of Kensi and Deeks together which wouldn’t surprise me.  On the one hand I would like to see them together and actually navigate a relationship; also the ability to extend it takes an awful lot of writing skills too.

LINDY:  I think having Callen and Deeks connect is something we haven’t explored before.  That would be fascinating because they are both tortured characters.  They have both gone through awful tortured childhoods and it seems like they should connect.  You think they would have something in common because of that.  Maybe it all comes from this tortured thing they have all gone through.  It may throw Deeks back into his childhood.  And he can go through PTS and it may make him completely angry and push everybody away to try and protect himself.  It will be so interesting to see what they come up with because they have such talented writers on this show.

DIANE:  I would like to see a darker Deeks and see where the torture takes him because for the past four seasons we have seen this happy-go-lucky sort of guy who tends to roll with the punches.  I would like to see what happens after this near death experience he goes through. He may feel very different about Kensi too.  He may turn away from the people he loves and maybe go into a dark hole.  That would be interesting to watch.

MEL:  It wouldn’t really surprise me if he comes out of this being in a darker place and perhaps having some of the anger that Lindy mentioned and pulling back from the people who can help him and navigate through that.  And that could happen at the same time Kensi decides she wants to explore something more with Deeks and that would be enough to potentially turn her away in terms of having her fears of loving  someone and seeing that turned on its head.  Those of us who would like to see Kensi and Deeks coming together…. that would be really frustrating but you know what?  If it is played really well, it could also be really fascinating and I’m sure the actors would do a great job with bring that to screen.

DIANE:  Being an incredible Deeks fan, it will break my heart to see him so dark  but think of all the wonderful angst you can get out of all of that!

MEL:  Exactly!

LINDY:  Those actors have given such emotional depths to those characters in a few short scenes and there is so much there they have to offer and I can’t see the writers not using that.  The emotional thing is what we all crave and they got the actors that can carry it all off.  I think as they do write these darker scenes and places for these characters they have the actors to do it.

DIANE:   We have also read in an interview by Eric Christian Olsen that he does not see Deeks becoming an agent anytime soon because he thinks it’s much more interesting for Deeks to stay a cop, which I tend to agree with.

MEL:  I think him not being an agent allows for more conflict in terms of how he deals with members of the team who are agents.  It also perhaps creates opportunity for different crime stories where the LAPD is involved.  I’m ok with him remaining where he is.  I think Deeks needs to come to a place where he says he wants to be an agent or still sees himself as a cop.  As long as he sees himself as a cop, he should stay a cop.  He maybe needs to go through some kind of experience that allows him to make the decision to become an agent and that could be a fascinating story where being a cop is now not enough anymore  to get the job done.

LINDY:  I think it makes his character unique.  It makes him different from the others.  I think that was the whole thing about Deeks anyway.  Here’s this laid back, funny guy.  Dark childhood, nobody knows too much about him.  It separates him dramatically from the others and that’s the thing we like about him.  He’s different. He’s not exactly one of them yet and I think that adds just a little bit of spice to that team that makes it fascinating to watch.

DIANE:  There have been a number of spoilers by Eric Christian Olsen and Shane Brennan about Deeks and what is going to happen in the first couple of episodes including that there will be a four month gap for the characters between the first and second episode.  How do you think that will affect the story line?

MEL:  I think from what I saw it sounded like the four months will have passed and Nate comes back because it is evident that the team isn’t doing well, particularly Sam and Deeks.  I’m not sure I like the idea of four months having passed, but the one saving grace may be that since they ARE bringing Nate back they aren’t totally sweeping everything under the rug.  He’s clearly going to be coming back to address what is going on.  We may not see the play-by-play of what immediately happens after the first episode back, but we’ll see something.  I hope.  I don’t think it’s reasonable for everyone to just return to normal, like nothing has happened.

I have to admit, all this speculation and the spoilers are starting to tie my stomach in knots.  I really hope they do it justice. And although it makes complete sense for Deeks to be affected by what happened to him, I don’t want him to lose too much of who he is.

 LINDY:  I am adjusting to the jump in time, not that I have any other choice, and I understand it from a production standpoint. They have a whole season to get through and I don’t think they would have the time to show us months of aftermath and slow recovery.

I am quite excited about the scenes between Nate and Deeks. I don’t recall any scenes between them before, so this is new ground. Nate is an empathetic man, with such good and such kind instincts and I think Deeks will respond to that. I think it can be such a touching and emotional scene, with two great actors letting everything out. I have a feeling they will be discussing not only the torture he endured, but quite possibly his childhood abuse. Being tied to a chair and subjected to such pain had to have recalled what it was like for him as a child, being unable to defend himself against his father. I also hope they get into his response to Sam’s comments about his character. Even if that is dealt with briefly in the first episode, I have to think it still weighs on Deeks mind three or four months later. That lack of acceptance and trust may be the reason he leaves…if it is him that leaves.

I loved Peter Cambor’s tweet about the name of the episode that everyone was trying to guess because all we saw was the first letter…”I”. He tweeted it stood for “Indigestion” which is what I’m getting each time a new spoiler comes out. He is a smart man.

DIANE:  I’m happy to hear I’m not the only one who has butterflies about all the spoilers!  I want to see all the angst but I’m afraid for Deeks. I want him to grow and expand as a character and I think the emotional storyline will do that. But I don’t want the writers and producers to miss their chance to make this the watershed season for Deeks that Brennan promised.  There’s got to be a balance that’s real. Like Mel, I want to see some change in Deeks but yet, I don’t want to see the twinkle in his eyes totally gone either.  It’s a tough line to walk.  I hope they can pull it off.  But if anyone can do it, I know ECO has that ability so I’m not too worried!

Being an optimist, I think there is so much to look forward to for Season Five.  I would like to thank you both for stopping by and helping us make some predictions, and giving your insight into our favorite Detective’s world!  It was a pleasure to talk with you both….and I hope we get a chance to do it all again soon!

What are your Deeks predictions for Season Five….tell us in the comment section below!!