NCIS: Origins on CBS season 2, episode 4 review

SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 4.

When NCIS: Origins brought Mike Franks’ brother back into the picture, fans of the CBS show knew it was going to be painful. Actor Kyle Schmid and the creative team had already dug so beautifully into Franks’ past in Season 1, but his family history was on a whole other level. “No Man Left Behind” delivers the gut punch that viewers have been waiting for, plus the bonus of Philip Winchester arriving on the scene.

Schmid has repeatedly proven that he was the perfect choice to play the young version of Mike Franks. The layers that the Six alum has given the character, together with the character-driven writing that NCIS: Origins does so well, have made this Franks even more compelling than his older self from NCIS. Muse Watson was great in that role, but when the spotlight is on Franks, Schmid is a force of nature. He’s asked to do a ton of emotional heavy lifting in this episode — not just anger, but grief and desperation — and he hits every note emphatically.

That’s also what makes Winchester the right choice to portray Mason Franks, Mike’s estranged older brother. These days, TV viewers know him from his stint in the land of NBC procedurals…