Shalom

Season

Episode

4

1

First aired

19 September 2006

Written by

(teleplay) John C. Kelley; (story) Donald P. Bellisario and John C. Kelley

Directed by

William G. Webb

Previous episode

Hiatus Part 2

Next episode

Escaped

Shalom is the seventy-first episode of NCIS, and the premiere episode in Season Four.

Synopsis

On her way into work, Ziva witnesses an assassination being performed which Mossad didn't authorize and as a result, she becomes the prime suspect in the killing with the FBI believing she is a double-agent. In her search for the truth, she's reunited with a Mossad agent from her past but all is not what it seems...

Prologue

Ziva David is on her way to NCIS in her red Mini Cooper while listening to Kinky perform "Mas". Unsurprisingly, her driving style annoys more than a few motorists who beep their horns at her and she eventually stops after a traffic light goes red. As she waits, a motorbike with two hooded figures pulls up beside her and Ziva stops dancing while she remembers seeing herself as the passenger performing an assassination while somewhere in France, possibly Paris.

Back in the present, Ziva realizes what's going on and the motorbike soon takes off, causing a car and SUV to crash into each other. Ziva races after the motorbike and edges ever closer. The motorbike then speeds past a cafe where a Syrian man along with two FBI agents are sitting.

The bike passes and nothing's changed but the second Ziva goes off, an explosion rips through the cafe, killing all three and causing Ziva to pull over as the motorbike heads off into the distance. Ziva then gets out of her car, her gun drawn and begins glancing for any signs of suspicious activity and it's shown there's total carnage with the bodies of the three men lying dead on the street as those who survived the blast struggle to come to terms with what has happened. It's shown that more passers-by are beginning to appear, many looking devastated and distraught at the wreckage.

Ziva suddenly spots someone walking past her and upon identifying herself as a federal agent, orders the man to halt. She gets a shock when the man turns around, revealing himself to be her former Mossad partner, Namir Eschel which throws Ziva for a loop.

Eschel uses that to simply walk away.

It then cuts to Ziva who looks stunned.

Act One

Act Two

Act Three

Act Four

Cast

Series Regulars

Recurring Cast

Guest Cast

Major Events

• With Gibbs having retired to Mexico, Tony has been appointed as the leader of the Major Case Response Team, resulting in McGee moving up to the Senior Field Agent position and Michelle Lee becoming the Probie.
• NCIS Special Agent Michelle Lee is introduced for the first time.
• Ziva goes on the run after being accused of being a double agent by the FBI.
• It's revealed that everyone knows that Ari is Ziva's half-brother.
• Gibbs is shown to be living with his mentor, Mike Franks.
• Four months have passed since Gibbs retired from NCIS and Tony assumed control of the team.
• Gibbs briefly returns from Mexico to help clear Ziva's name.
• Ziva says that she has been at NCIS for a year.
• It's revealed that three years have passed since the events in Bête Noire (episode).
• Abby bowls with nuns - she uses it as a cover to hide her call with Ziva, but reveals that she actually does bowl with nuns.
• Ziva discovers that the Iranians ordered the assassination, and Ziva gets one of the agents to reveal her complicity.
• Before leaving again, Gibbs gives Jenny a picture of the farmhouse they stayed in during an old mission in Yugoslavia.

Trivia

• Tony brings back gifts for McGee, Abby, and Ziva. He does not bring a gift for Michelle Lee, which is not a big surprise. However, he does not bring anything back for Ducky, either.
• The opening credits do not have Lee in them, so it is easy to figure out that she is not a permanent fixture on the team.
• In the scene where Gibbs and Ziva are searching the abandoned safehouse, a cameraman and part of the boom can be seen when they find the hidden camera.