Back when Season 9 first aired back in 2017-18, I thought it was terrible.
Hetty's new partner was terrible, the episodes got darker then they usually were, Really bad stuff happened to Hetty which I wish I could unsee (but can't because I remember her scenes better then everyone else), not to mention, the Season finale for this Season is the most vicious one this show has done! (kind of sparked memories of how vicious NCIS's 9th Season ended.).
Yet, with how terrible each Season has been since, I'm just now realizing this: It actually wasn't that bad. It's actually pretty underrated, along with Season 1.
Time for a deep dive into this underrated Season.
The tough stuff of this Season:
1, Hetty's terrible new partner. Yes, they tried to replace Granger. With a catty woman who was against the team from the minute she walked into the building. Yeah, she had her 'good' moments, but in the end, she cared more about 1 thing that involved forcing the team to do a suicide mission! I, along with everyone else was glad to see her leave the next Season.
2, Having to see what happened to Hetty when she went to Vietnam
I'm still not going to say what happened in details, but, it's bad stuff. And it all starts with Episode 6. (the ending of THAT still steams my ire even to today, it's THAT maddening!!).
Some things, just shouldn't be shown. (and yes, I realize how ironic this is, because flashforward 4 years later, I'm practically driving myself stir crazy wanting to see even just 1 stinking scene of what Hetty is doing now! Chuckle chuckle.)
3, This is basically this show's darkest Season. Not kidding, this show has done some dark stuff, but it definitely felt darker this Season!
4, What that Season finale meant later on. AKA: The last episode before my living nightmare with this show began. (Seriously, what happened a month and a half after it aired is 100000 x worse then that cliffhanger! Even more so now because of what it did to this show in the long run.)
Here's the positive stuff from this Season:
1, The team still felt like a family. The entire first half of this Season is all about finding what Hetty was doing overseas. They were concerned about her, they worried about her, they did everything they could to find her, and in Episodes 13 and 14, they risked everything to bring her home!! ❤❤
And even though they were forced into a dangerous situation at the end of the Season, they still went into it together, because they still felt like a family. You don't really see much of that now especially since it looks like the only time that they don't look emotionally distant from each other is with whoever they're partnered up with.
2, Badass Hetty! 3 episodes of this Season were really tough to get through because of the situation she was in, but man. Seeing her badass side on full display, made it all worth it. :) And the way she handled her awful new partner? Iconic!! She was no doubt the MVP of this Season.
3, The writing still felt good. It didn't feel like it was only pandering to 1 single fandom side while leaving everyone else high and dry, or felt completely ridiculous, it still felt natural.
Season 9 is underrated, it just took me this long to realize it. (and a few years of terrible writing).
