Devil's Triad

"**Devil's Triad**"
"Devil's Triad"
NCIS episode
Episode no.	Season 11; Episode 10
Directed by	Arvin Brown
Written by	Steven D. Binder
Original air date	December 10, 2013
Guest appearances
	Emily Wickersham as NSA Agent Eleanor "Ellie" Bishop; Joe Spano as Senior FBI Agent T.C. Fornell; Melinda McGraw as Diane Sterling; Bryce Johnson as Eddie Macklin; Sterling K. Brown as Elijah Banner; Juliette Angelo as Emily Fornell; Lucy Butler as Roda Robinson; Jeffrey Hutchinson as Mister Dale Wagner; Will Buchanan as Marine Corporal Ron Flegman; Eva La Dare as Clown/Mystery Woman;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Gut Check"	Next →; "Homesick"
	NCIS season 11
	List of episodes

"Devil's Triad" is the tenth episode of the eleventh season of the American police procedural drama NCIS, and the 244th episode overall. It originally aired on CBS in the United States on December 10, 2013. The episode is written by Steven D. Binder and directed by Arvin Brown, and was seen by 19.30 million viewers.^[1]

Plot

The team investigate the death of a Marine who was reportedly shot by a clown. A number on a cellphone found on the Marine is traced to a hotel room where Gibbs and Tony accidentally chance upon Fornell and his and Gibbs' ex-wife Diane Sterling. The cellphone belongs to an Eddie Macklin but the team keep hitting dead ends with the evidence. However, the case takes an unexpected turn when Gibbs and Fornell discover that "Eddie Macklin" is the alias of Secret Service Special Agent Edward McKenzie and that NCIS had stumbled on a highly classified six-month-long undercover operation. Fornell and Diane's daughter Emily has a significant part in the plot of this episode.

Production

"Devil's Triad" is written by Steven D. Binder and directed by Arvin Brown. The episode is the third "incarnation of the relationship between Gibbs and Fornell and their ex-wife". The other two are "Devil's Triangle" and "Devil's Trifecta" from the ninth and tenth seasons. "The humor that exists when these characters get together is just a blast", executive producer Gary Glasberg said about the return of Melinda McGraw's character in an interview with TV Line in November 2013.^[2]

McGraw's return as Diane Sterling was announced on November 1, 2013.^[3]

Reception

"Devil's Triad" was seen by 19.30 million live viewers at its December 10, 2013 broadcast, with a 2.9/8 share among adults aged 18 to 49.^[1] A rating point represents one percent of the total number of television sets in American households, and a share means the percentage of television sets in use tuned to the program. In total viewers, "Devil's Triad" was the highest rated show on the night it aired.

Douglas Wolfe from TV Fanatic gave the episode 4.2/5 and stated that "The idea of murderous clowns has got to be everyone's favorite nightmare. [The episode] opened with one such clown putting a bullet into a Marine. Then things took a turn for the worse."^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Bibel, Sara (December 11, 2013). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' & 'NCIS' Adjusted Up; 'The Goldbergs' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (November 5, 2013). "NCIS Boss Previews Tony vs. Tim, an 'Emotional' Gibbs, Bishop's Debut, Three Returns and More". TV Line. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (November 1, 2013). "Matt's Inside Line: Scoop on Once, Castle, NCIS, Hostages, The Mentalist, Revolution and More". TV Line. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
^ Wolfe, Douglas (December 11, 2013). "NCIS Review: Prognosis, TMI". TV Fanatic. Retrieved January 1, 2014.

[ratings-1] Bibel, Sara (December 11, 2013). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' & 'NCIS' Adjusted Up; 'The Goldbergs' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2014.

[tl2-2] Mitovich, Matt Webb (November 5, 2013). "NCIS Boss Previews Tony vs. Tim, an 'Emotional' Gibbs, Bishop's Debut, Three Returns and More". TV Line. Retrieved January 1, 2014.

[tl-3] Mitovich, Matt Webb (November 1, 2013). "Matt's Inside Line: Scoop on Once, Castle, NCIS, Hostages, The Mentalist, Revolution and More". TV Line. Retrieved January 1, 2014.

[tf-4] Wolfe, Douglas (December 11, 2013). "NCIS Review: Prognosis, TMI". TV Fanatic. Retrieved January 1, 2014.

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v t e NCIS episodes
Introductory	"Ice Queen" and "Meltdown"
Season 1	"Yankee White"
Season 2	"Twilight"
Season 3	"Kill Ari (Parts I & II)" "Under Covers" "Hiatus (Parts I & II)"
Season 4	"Grace Period" "Angel of Death"
Season 5	"Requiem"
Season 6	"Last Man Standing" "Aliyah"
Season 7	"Truth or Consequences" "Good Cop, Bad Cop"
Season 8	"Enemies Foreign" "Freedom" "A Man Walks Into a Bar..." "One Last Score" "Baltimore"
Season 9	"Nature of the Beast" "Enemy on the Hill" "Devil's Triangle" "Newborn King" "Housekeeping" "A Desperate Man" "Life Before His Eyes" "Secrets" "Psych Out" "Need to Know" "The Tell" "The Good Son" "The Missionary Position" "Rekindled" "Playing with Fire" "Up in Smoke" "Till Death Do Us Part"
Season 10	"Extreme Prejudice" "Recovery" "Phoenix" "Lost at Sea" "The Namesake" "Shell Shock (Part I)" "Shell Shock (Part II)" "Gone" "Devil's Trifecta" "You Better Watch Out" "Shabbat Shalom" "Shiva" "Hit and Run" "Canary" "Hereafter" "Detour" "Prime Suspect" "Seek" "Squall" "Chasing Ghosts" "Berlin" "Revenge" "Double Blind" "Damned If You Do"
Season 11	"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" "Past, Present, and Future" "Under the Radar" "Anonymous Was a Woman" "Once a Crook" "Oil & Water" "Better Angels" "Alibi" "Gut Check" "Devil's Triad"
Other seasons	12 13 14 15
Season 16	"Daughters"
Other seasons	17 18 19 20 21 22
Category