Power Down is the eighth episode of NCIS Season 7 and the 146th episode of the entire NCIS series.
Synopsis
An attack on SwiftCast, an Internet provider is facilitated by an explosion at Potomac electric substation which leaves Washington D.C. without any electricity also severely exposed, forcing the NCIS team to use old-school methods to investigate the death of a Naval officer.
Prologue
In his house, an male Unnamed Gamer while playing a MMORPG in a scary voice states to "Grimlock the Great" that they've stolen his Magic Meteor, plundered his elderberry fields and crossed into his land for the last time before he tells the Great to meet his fate, the son of a half-gnome.
Suddenly, the computer screen cackles with static as a sign saying "Internet Connection Lost" pops up.
The Unnamed Gamer freaks out, yelling "NO!".
He then slams the SwiftCast connection box before calling for his mother who yells, "What?".
The Gamer tells her that the Internet's down again.
The Gamer then slams the connection box, wondering what the Hell is wrong now?
It then closes up on the SwiftCast internet connection box before showing that the dialogue button is flashing red.
At SwiftCast, a huge gunfight is taking place as security guard Dane Frazier attempts to stop two masked individuals.
When the two emerge, Fraizer ducks behind a wall for cover before firing off some more shots and then ducking again as the two fire back.
As this happen, the alarm wails.
Meanwhile, security guard Ryan Stone emerges from a door, ready.
As Fraizer fires off some more shots and then ducks, Stone bursts out of the door, his own gun drawn and he fires two shots as one masked individual ducks behind a wall.
Fraizer then fires off another shot while Stone hides behind a wall.
As more shots emerge, Fraizer ducks.
The second masked individual then spots a weak point and fires off another shot, the gunshot striking Stone in the right arm and sending him to the ground.
"Stone!", Fraizer calls.
Unwilling to let his colleague die, Fraizer then emerges from his hiding spot while firing off some shots, presumably as a distraction before he helps Stone to safety as the gunfight rages on.
Stone then cries out in agony, obviously in pain from being shot in the arm. He then tells Fraizer that he got the jump on one and cuffed them to a pipe.
As this goes on, Fraizer is ducking, obviously unwilling to get shot. He wonders what these guys want.
Glancing at the blood, Stone remarks that maybe they're pissed with their service.
"Where's that back-up?", Fraizer wonders.
As this goes on, the second masked individual is holding a remote which he then hits.
Outside, the lights go off, ultimately plunging the entire company into darkness and leaving Stone and Fraizer trapped.
"Now what?", Stone wonders.
It then cuts to an overhead shot of Washington D.C. which seconds later is plunged into darkness.
Act One
Act Two
Act Three
Gibbs, McGee and Tony in a safehouse belonging to Navy Lieutenant Emma Paxton.
Act Four
Act Five
In the Evidence Garage, Resik explains to Gibbs and McGee that NSA had agreements with all major biometric security companies to program a backdoor into their iris scanners.
Trivia
- The credits sequence ends with the usual Washington view and a car, but with a difference as the credits suddenly stop rather abruptly due to the power cut which hints what's going to happen in the episode.
- The machine used to make copies of the BOLO sketch is a mimeograph.
- When Gibbs is being briefed by Ducky, you can the autopsied corpse's stomach rising up and down.
- On her fake U.S. passport, Lt. Paxton's alias "Susan Kinkirk" is misspelled "Susaan."
Cast
Series Regulars
| Name | Portrayed by | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Leroy Jethro Gibbs | Mark Harmon | Special Agent in charge of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
| Anthony DiNozzo Junior | Michael Weatherly | Senior Agent and second-in-command of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
| Ziva David | Cote de Pablo | NCIS Probationary Agent and also a member of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
| Timothy McGee | Sean Murray (actor) | Junior Special Agent of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
| Abigail Sciuto | Pauley Perrette | Chief Forensic Specialist of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
| Leon Vance | Rocky Carroll | Director of NCIS. |
| Donald Mallard | David McCallum | Chief Medical Examiner of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. |
Recurring Cast
| Name | Portrayed by | Role |
|---|---|---|
| James Palmer | Brian Dietzen | Assistant Medical Examiner |
Guest Cast
| Name | Portrayed by | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Sara Resnik | Cara Buono | Commander in the United States Navy who is actually a National Security Agency agent who was working with Paxton on undercover operations. |
| Anthony Paxton | Corey Sorenson | Lieutenant Emma Paxton's husband. |
| Dmitri Vrenikin | Ryan Honey | Security Guard at SwiftCast. |
| Dane Frazier | Roderick McCarthy | Security Guard at SwiftCast. |
| Unnamed Gamer | Frank Caeti | Gamer Nerd |
| Elevator Repairman | Roger Ranney | Repairs the NCIS headquarters elevator in which Ziva and Tim are stranded. |