Shell Shock (Part I)
| "Shell Shock (Part I)" | |
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| NCIS episode | |
Gibbs and Tony find Westcott
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| Episode no. | Season 10 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | Leslie Libman |
| Written by | Nichole Mirante-Matthews |
| Original air date | November 13, 2012 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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| Episode chronology | |
"Shell Shock (Part I)" is the sixth episode of the tenth season of the American police procedural drama NCIS, and the 216th episode overall. It originally aired on CBS in the United States on November 13, 2012. The episode is written by Nichole Mirante-Matthews and directed by Leslie Libman, and was seen by 17.05 million viewers.
When a Navy Lieutenant who recently returned home from the Middle East is found dead from a brutal attack, the NCIS team questions the victim’s friend, Marine Captain Joe Wescott. Gibbs realizes the Captain is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but knows his experience overseas may also provide a key link to the crime.
The plot continues in "Shell Shock (Part II)".
The episode begins with two men trying to run from a gang but they are eventually caught and beaten badly. The gang then drags one of the men into the darkness while the other flees. The next morning, the team is called over to investigate the body of the man who was dragged off, Sergeant Michael Torres. They find out that Torres was with his commanding officer, Captain Joe Westcott and track down Westcott at Torres' house. Westcott tells the team about the attack and how he feels guilty that he didn't try to save Torres. However, Gibbs is not convinced that Westcott is telling the whole truth. More inconsistencies surface when Ducky's autopsy reveals that Torres was not beaten by a gang of men, but by only a pair, which contradicts Westcott's account. Surveillance footage of the attack does not provide any conclusive evidence either since the tape it was recorded on is corrupted.
Gibbs then has Westcott tell him about the story of how his squad was ambushed by insurgents in Iraq shortly before their tour of duty ended. Several of Westcott's men were killed and Westcott himself witnessed one of his men getting captured. However, rather than try to help him, Westcott fled in fear. Though the captured soldier was rescued by another squadmate, he died shortly after due to his wounds. Westcott can't forgive himself for succumbing to cowardice and it is revealed that he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as he is constantly reliving the ambush in his mind.
The team manages to clean up the surveillance footage and sees that there were only three men involved in the fight: Westcott, Torres and another man named Randall J. Kersey, who claims never to have seen Westcott nor has he been outside the country. They surmise that Westcott suffered another PTSD episode; he believed Kersey was one of the insurgents and began to assault him. Torres tried to intervene but was knocked down and struck his head on the pavement, dying instantly.
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