Crime
NCIS: Tony & Ziva
In Paramount+’s NCIS: Tony & Ziva, the pair of ex-NCIS agents reluctantly return to their agent lifestyle when they’re framed for a crime.
Probably most of us, at one time or another, have wished we could be someone else. But June … well, she takes it to a whole new level.
While most girls her age are changing hairstyles and boyfriends and favorite songs, June changes into different people. Like, literally. If she’s in A) physical contact with someone and B) freaks out, well, zap! She takes the shape of that person, and that person hangs out in a catatonic state.
It’s a nifty trick, to be sure, but not one done at your average sleepover. For one, June needs to be scared out of her gourd to enact the change. For another, the shape-shifting process itself can be a ticklish thing: If someone interrupts a shape-shifter in mid-change, the consequences can be rather dire.
Oh, yes, that’s right—June’s not the only person with this curious skill. There are others. And some of those folks want to meet June in the worst sort of way.
June’s condition is hereditary, it seems. Her mother has the same ability (albeit with a different trigger) and lives at a place called Sanctum—a nice, windswept Norwegian commune supervised by Ben Halvorson, a doctor who specializes in “treating” folks like June. Ben would very much like to bring June to Sanctum, too. It’s the best place for her, he reasons. The safest.
But John, June’s stepfather, thinks June would be better off at home under his strict supervision. Verrrry strict supervision.
And then there’s Harry, June’s understandably confused boyfriend. The two were in the process of running off together when June started turning into other people. And let’s be honest, that can be a bit off-putting. Harry loves her, though, even if she occasionally looks like a pregnant nurse or a large male kidnapper. And because he knows June loves him back, he’ll do whatever he can to ensure their happiness together—even if he has to battle protective fathers, creepy communes and really uncomfortable transformations every episode to do so. Hey, the course of true love never has run smooth, has it?
The Atlantic called Netflix’s eight-episode series “the most Netflixy drama yet,” and I can see why. It’s a supernatural story featuring two twitterpated teens getting into a whole lot of trouble and engaging in ton of age-inappropriate behavior—all elements that Netflix has plenty of experience bringing to viewers. And let’s face it, Netflix loves shellacking its teen-targeted dramas with R-rated content and, naturally, a TV-MA rating. Kids, don’t watch this, Netflix seems to say with a wink and a nudge.
Granted, The Innocents doesn’t go as far as some Netflix shows. It’s not as profane or disturbingly sexualized as 13 Reasons Why, for instance, or as horrifyingly salacious as Insatiable.
But that’s hardly reason to rise up and give The Innocents a standing ovation. While the content seems to fit the plot, the plot is plenty problematic in itself. It is, after all, about a pair of underage runaways bolting from school and family to live their lives as their 16-year-old selves see fit—and let’s face it, there’s a reason why kids that age should still be under parental supervision. Our two protagonists have sex, sell drugs and are in near constant peril at an age when they really should just be worrying about the latest alegebra test. Same-sex attractions fall into play, too.
And we shouldn’t forget that June’s particular, um, talents can make hers and Harry’s romance look kinda creepy. Sure, young Harry understands that underneath the skin of that thirtysomething nurse beats the heart of a teen girl. But the judge might not see it that way.
Netflix’s newest show is certainly a lot of things: A romance, a supernatural thriller, a further refinement to Netflix’s own mysterious algothrym. But despite its title, it is, alas, far from innocent.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Teens Harry and June run off together. The van that they stop for on the side of the road? Why, that’s just a little pause on their road to happiness. But when a huge man jumps out of the back of the van—first claiming to have a message from June’s long-lost mother, then trying to kidnap June—they realize that their road to happiness may have a few more potholes then they imagined. (And then things get really strange.)
The man—Steinar, he’s called—grabs June and tries to throw the struggling girl into the back of the van. Harry fights him and the driver, though, eventually knocking Steinar out with a wrench. Harry believes he killed the man, but when June sneaks off to inspect the body later, Steinar revives and struggles with June. Later, a body is spotted at the scene (though we viewers only see some bare,indistinct legs). A man considers throwing himself off a cliff before he’s stopped by a doctor in pursuit. Later, the doctor (Halvorson) professes his undying love for the man—shortly before that person transforms into her true form as a woman.
June and Harry tenderly kiss several times. They rent a hotel room, and June holds Harry while they share a bed (clothed). June and Harry exchange love letters secretly, and June plants a lipstick kiss on one as they prepare to run off. Harry, in order to buy a car for their getaway, steals his father’s wedding ring (who seems to be lost in a catatonic state) and gives it to the car’s previous owner as partial payment.
June’s brother, Ryan, lies for and schemes with June to help her escape. (Their stepfather, John, keeps Ryan locked in a shed for unknown reasons .) Both June and Ryan are given tranquilizers: June explains to Harry that they’re supposedly for epilepsy, which she was told her mother also had. Characters say the f-word, the s-word and the British profanity “bugger” each once.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
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