Tony DiNozzo: Competent Agent, Frat Boy or something else?

[webbgirl]

After watching the past couple of seasons of NCIS in rapid succession, I had this post forming on Tony's character and his growth, or lack thereof.  I kept debating on whether to actually post it or not, then I saw a couple of spoilers for upcoming episodes In the upcoming episode Knockout (6.18) we're promised more info on Tony's background.  The writers (or producers can't remember which) also promised that we'll get lots of angsty info in the season finale on Tony. I'm personally hoping for some background that shows us why he reverts to the frat boy mentality and womanizer when things get too 'real' or uncomfortable for him.
Anyway, my post is more about Tony as a good agent than it is about other stuff.  Through all the seasons of NCIS we get glimpses of Tony being a really good investigator and having great instincts.  Unfortunately, these moments tend to be eclipsed by his goofing around or his attempts to show off for Gibbs. 

I'm going to lose my Gibbs/DiNozzo slasher card for this, but I think that him being around Gibbs is the problem.  I also think this is somewhat intentional on the writers parts. When we see Tony in charge of a situation (rather than following Gibbs' lead) we get to see his analytical skills and leadership capabilities. 

This is even evidenced in "Bait" when Tony has to take over when Gibbs ends up in the classroom with the kid. We also see it in "In The Zone" when Tony and Nikki (sp?) go to Baghdad.  Once they're in Baghdad, Tony was the epitome of a seasoned investigator.

Back to "Bait" though.  One of the things this episode highlighted for me was Tony's willingness to stand up to Jenny when he professionally disagreed with her.  He stood up to her in a way I don't think we've ever seen him stand up to Gibbs.  I don't think it was out of a lack of respect, but it felt more like him claiming his place as 'Senior Field Agent'.  It demonstrated it clearer than all of the times he's spouted the words to Ziva and McGee.

Question is, why has Tony never been able to stand up to Gibbs the way he stood up to Jenny?  When Gibbs returned to NCIS and essentially brushed Tony back into his place, Tony bowed back into his spot and deferred to Gibbs.  I know that they showed the awkwardness of the transition, but I felt like it was mostly played for laughs.  Though, I found the part of him turning down his own team for the sake of watching out for Gibbs heartbreaking.  Again though, he was able to be honest with Jenny about it.  I think if he'd been dealing with Gibbs in a similar situation he would have just played it off and made a joke.

My fondest desire for this season is that we finally get to really see Tony coming into his own, even when he's around Gibbs.  And that we get to see some honest acknowledgment that he's not just the comic relief.  I think it would be a natural outgrowth of what happened with Jeanne and Jenny.  Situations like that are either going to break someone or make them stronger in the long run.  I'd love to watch the process of the latter with Tony.

Any thoughts or comments from everyone else on this?

Comments

[xanthelj.livejournal.com]

Lots to chew on here! I'm here by way of the newsletter. I'm often bemoaning much the same stuff as you. I think the problem is MW's comic talents are so good the producers want to use them excessively, which means Tony can never grow up. And it's also true that when I rewatched the first 5 seasons in order recently, I was aware that S4 was slower and less buzzy because Tony was more serious. I WANT him to be shown in a more competent light but if it goes too much that way then we seem to lose some of the spark he brings.

I do think Gibbs's management style inherently causes some of the problems. He's always "Dad" so the "kids" always have to be kids. There's no room for them to grow up - he almost doesn't LET there be room for them to grow up.

I LOVE the moments when Tony stands up to Gibbs best - and there have been several of them but they're so tiny. There was that ep where Gibbs goes off with his old CO (who is hallucinating) and calls Tony and Tony is all "Where the hell are you?" and sounds very pissed. There's the gorgeous scene in "Cloak" where Gibbs admits its his plan and Tony is furious and says "Well that's much worse". There's Tony standing up to Gibbs when Gibbs returns from Mexico - saying these are his people now and he doesn't sit on the sidelines when his people are in trouble.
I also love that scene in the plane when they've got that captured arms dealer and Tony is doing all the talking and Gibbs is just watching and saying things every so often and seems SO amused by Tony. And Tony isn't making faces or letting Gibbs take the lead - the two seem to be genuinely enjoying the show they're putting on.

But there are so few glimpses of that. I so wish we could see competent!Tony and standing up to Gibbs!Tony more often as he's electrifying and sometimes I think Gibbs NEEDS someone to stand up to him. Jenny was a weak director who let their past interfere too much with her ability to command him so he walked all over her. He's even walking all over Vance. He might say he never wants the top job but he IS de facto Director as far as I can see.

I think the humour is just too juvenile sometimes - Tony is more grown up in S1 and S2 than he is in S6 - he seems to get more silly as the years pass. And yet we still see those tantalising glimpses of another Tony underneath.

But the actor turned 40 last year - I don't know how old Tony is supposed to be but there has to come a time when the whole frat boy thing will just seem very uncomfortable and weird, surely?

[captain-tiv.livejournal.com]

Which episode did Gibbs and Tony get captured by the arms dealer?

[xanthelj.livejournal.com]

They didn't! LOL! Ziva and Tony captured the arms dealer (I think he was an arms dealer) and he woke up on a plane. Tony and Gibbs then spin him some yarn to scare him - mainly Tony but Gibbs looks amused. Fairly sure it's S4 - that one with Aries.

[captain-tiv.livejournal.com]

I'll have to look that one up. I think that'd be a hoot to see. :)

I'm still catching up on episodes.

[tejas.livejournal.com]

There's even the obligatory reference to a previous series one of them was in. :-)

[captain-tiv.livejournal.com]

Is that the one where Tony says he'd have a better shot at getting a date with Jessica Alba?

[tejas.livejournal.com]

Different ep, I believe. He said that in MTAC and I don't think he was ever in MTAC in that one. In this one, Gibbs is looking for the answer to one of his crossword clues. Tony provides it - St. Elsewhere. :-)

[tejas.livejournal.com]

They captured the arms dealer. They were working on convincing him they were taking him somewhere as a favor to Israel... somewhere he'd likely not survive. It was the one with um... the one where Ducky met The Frog.

[captain-tiv.livejournal.com]

I remember Ducky meeting The Frog. Frog gave him a nice bottle of something that Ducky always wanted to share with him on a future date.

[tejas.livejournal.com]

That's the one. The thing on the plane was at the very beginning.

[captain-tiv.livejournal.com]

Gonna have to track that one down. I don't remember Tony and Gibbs having a conversation with an arms dealer where Gibbs just let Tony talk.

[tejas.livejournal.com]

Gibbs was doing a crossword. Tony was, I think, reading the paper or a magazine or something. The guy was trussed up on a sofa. Ziva came wandering through at some point and laughed at the idea that the guy thought they were CIA.

[webbgirl.livejournal.com]

I'm re-watching Seasons 1 and 2 right now (I can never do anything in order *g*) and I think they were a good balance between the comedic and mature Tony. Sure he joked around, but we got to see (even through the other characters) him demonstrating that he's really good at what he does.

I do get irritated at Gibbs being able to steamroll Jenny and Vance. He never would have pulled that crap with Morrow. I don't mind some tension between him and Vance, but I really wish that it wasn't a case of everyone having to eventually capitulate to Gibbs' whims.

I am glad to know that it's not just me seeing this stuff though. *g*

[captain-tiv.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of it had to do with Kate being there. Once she left and Ziva came on the show, Tony's behavior changed. Kate was like a sibling to Tony and she could stand up to Gibbs in a way other agents haven't or can't. I can't see Ziva looking Gibbs straight in the eye and questioning him or demanding that he do something the way Kate did. She could give Tony back exactly what he gave her when it came to annoying each other. Ziva can't do that with the same style or amusement.

[tejas.livejournal.com]

I'm really sorry we lost Kate. I liked her a great deal more than Ziva. Mostly, though, I liked the way she integrated with the team more than Ziva.

[webbgirl.livejournal.com]

The more time the passes the more I miss Kate. She bugged me at times because she would give Tony as good as she got, but then she would whine a bit. It was all very sibling rivalry with the two of them.

With Ziva, well I have a whole diatribe on her that I won't go into in this comment. She's just never connected with me and there are some of her actions that make me downright disgusted with her as a character.

[tejas.livejournal.com]

I'm very disgusted with her character. She *could* have been good, but they can't seem to decide if they're writing a strong, independent woman, or a mooning teenager.

[webbgirl.livejournal.com]

It's the mooning teenager part that makes me want to punch the TV screen these days with her.

Starting mid-Season 4, then all of Season 5 I just couldn't deal with that. The whole incident of her following Tony into the men's room because he won't 'discuss his feelings' with her and then she demanded that *he* apologize. WTF? Partner or no, it's none of her damn business if he wants to talk to her or not. Plus, I don't remember her being all that chatty after she shot the serial killer.

GAH! She's like a lovesick puppy.

[tejas.livejournal.com]

YES! That whole apology thing was absurd. I really *really* wish Tony had told her to shove it. And then tossed her out of the men's room. That's unacceptable behavior (both parts of it).

I loved the elevator conversation in Cloak, where she was talking about her "feelings" and he was pissed off and talking about the job. That pretty much sums up what I think of their relationship at this point. She's all lovesick mooning and he's focused on, y'know, *work* and doesn't notice.

[captain-tiv.livejournal.com]

Kate was more "with the program" than Ziva is.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_tweeter_/]

Oh wow, you and I have completely opposite views of Tony and Kate vs. Ziva and Kate! I mean, polar opposites!

I believe Tony pushed Kate's buttons because he could and she would always get all upset and insult him in a totally uncalled for manner - personal and not in proportion to the way he was teasing her - or yell for Gibbs. I hated when she constantly poked him in the ribs with her elbow, especially in Twilight when he had just gotten over the plague and had just been blown up.

Ziva takes what Tony gives her, twists it and throws it back in a way that can discombobulate him. She's very sexual and not as oppressed as Kate acted, and "shock" Tony instead of the other way around.

[tejas.livejournal.com]

She's also a lot more vicious. Ziva tends to find any weakness she can and she pushes and pushes and pushes and never seems to know when it's too much. Kate went too far sometimes, but not nearly as often as Ziva does.

[captain-tiv.livejournal.com]

That's the key, I think. It's the viciousness. Kate and Tony's one-upsmanship was all in fun. With Ziva, it can get downright vicious. Kate and Tony saw it as a game, Ziva and Tony view it as a competition.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_tweeter_/]

OMG, again, we're opposite! I thought Kate was much more vicious. She always insulted Tony's intelligence and skill and she would hit below the belt, like McGee did in L&W when he brought up Jeanne.

Tony was serious and trying to talk, when he fell for the ATF (or was it DEA?) lady and Kate just taunted him with his encounter with the man/woman... AND she would never let that go.

I seriously could not stand Kate towards the end.

[tejas.livejournal.com]

That was the only time I thought Kate went too far. Ziva's more likely to go too far at least once an episode.