“Hell Weak,” this week’s NCIS: Sydney, traded the usual bustling harbor for the serene, yet deceptive, quiet of a wellness retreat. When ex-Navy SEAL Lieutenant Pete Levinson turns up dead, supposedly by his own hand, the team is called in to investigate. The idyllic setting quickly becomes a backdrop for a story of betrayal, buried secrets, and the long shadow of past decisions.
Levinson’s death, initially deemed a suicide, takes a sharp turn when the NCIS team, led by Sergeant Michelle Mackey, discovers evidence of strangulation. The investigation leads them to a wellness retreat run by Levinson’s former SEAL buddy, Chief Finn McKay. As the team digs deeper, they uncover a web of lies surrounding the death of a SEAL trainee, Victor Austin, years earlier. It turns out Levinson falsified Austin’s autopsy, using his own blood to cover up steroid use within the SEAL team.
“Hell Weak” deftly unspools the connections between past and present. The death of the trainee, Austin, continues to haunt McKay, who founded the retreat as a form of penance, unaware that some of his SEAL brothers were still involved in steroid dealing. Levinson, consumed by guilt and determined to expose the truth, became a threat. His murder, however, wouldn’t stay hidden for long. In a clever twist, it’s revealed Levinson wore a wire during a confrontation with his killers, a recording that ultimately helps Mackey and her team crack the case.
The episode delivered its share of tense moments, particularly a hostage situation involving NCIS Agent Evie. In a pivotal scene, Evie shoots one of the perpetrators in the leg. Meanwhile, the ongoing investigation into Rankin and his pre-pacemaker activities continued to simmer in the background.
NCIS: Sydney airs Fridays at 8:00 PM ET on CBS.
