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So, it’s officially been over a week since NCIS: Tony and Ziva premiered, and truth be told, I’m still processing. I’ve had every single episode on repeat multiple times since 4th September, so much so that I have almost every single scene fully etched into my brain. I’ve watched all four episodes at least six or seven times already because I just can’t get enough – give me a few weeks or so and I’ll very likely be able to recite them all from memory.

As a long time Tiva fan, I had high hopes for this show, as I am sure most of us did, and it’s safe to say that it has already surpassed every expectation. It is far more than I could have ever wanted and wished for, and there are still six episodes to go. Four episodes in and this show is knocking my socks off in ways I couldn’t have imagined. There’s plenty of romance, epic action sequences – car chases, fights and even self-driving killer automobiles (no, I’m not kidding!), and the humour is absolutely spot-on with some of the best one-liners I have ever heard in a show. With quotes like “Does a babushka wear a headscarf?” and “We have friends and family at this wedding. They’re pathetic and fragile,” I have lost count of how many times I’ve cackled out loud, and I find myself grinning ear-to-ear with every episode.

Before the show premiered, I was unsure as to what to expect going into it. With Tony and Ziva being transported into an entirely new setting, it was easy to worry that the chemistry and magic that made them so brilliant on the mothership wouldn’t be the same. But there’s no reason to fear. Their chemistry is undeniable and better in a million and one ways. Everything that made them exciting to watch on the mothership is ever present and in full force, and their spark is sizzling hotter than ever.

I absolutely adore the fact that this show has broken the classic NCIS formula of episodic procedural, and instead allows for a deeper exploration into the relationship between these two characters; something which fans were pleading to have for decades. The flashbacks execute the ‘filling in the gaps’ perfectly – allowing us to see their life as a couple after Ziva reunites with Tony and Tali in Paris, and they slowly reveal what happened with their relationship (and the reason why it broke down), until we find them where they are today: on the run.

You’re probably asking: well, just how different is it to the mothership? The answer: very. The ghastly tangerine walls of the Navy Yard squad room have been replaced with the most beautiful European backdrops, which only serve to enhance the beautiful storytelling and exceptional writing. It’s true, the show is more romantic spy thriller than crime drama, but it is in the best of ways. There is something in this show for absolutely everyone, whether you’re a long time fan or a newcomer being introduced to these characters for the very first time (and if you are brand new, don’t worry – there’s an incredible montage at the beginning of episode 1 to bring you up to speed with the intricate history of these characters.)

If you’re a lifelong ‘Tiva’ lover as they are so eloquently named and the original show stopped feeling like your NCIS after they left (as I read in one review), then this show is without a doubt, 100% for you. Tony and Ziva are still Tony and Ziva, but are supported by a wonderful ensemble of new characters that are so easy to fall in love with. It’s action-packed, romantic and charmingly persuasive, and it truly feels like they’ve captured lightning in a bottle.

[I’ll also be breaking down every individual episode with my thoughts – as when I my brain starts functioning again!]

If you’ve read my other post, you’ll already know that NCIS’ OG couple Tony and Ziva are getting their own spinoff show. But yesterday, the official title was revealed: “NCIS: Tony & Ziva“. And people have a lot of thoughts about it. So here’s my two cents.

I’ll preface this by saying that I haven’t looked at any other social media platforms other than Twitter (yes, I still call it that!), so I cannot comment on the reactions of it there, but I can say that the reaction on Twitter was divided, at best. A lot of people were saying it’s too basic, and asking why they couldn’t have come up with something better? Out of all the titles in the world they could have chosen, why did they choose that one? Others loved it.

I’ll admit that it wasn’t what I was expecting when I heard it. I genuinely thought that it was going to be something different – some sort of title that would take a little guess work for outsiders to understand, but then when the penny dropped, it would be obviously clear as to why they had chosen it, especially for Tiva fans. (My thoughts were something like “NCIS: Jet Lag”… because if you know, you know.)

But the more I sat with this title yesterday, the more I loved it. Because it isn’t just a title.

It’s their names, side by side. It’s the two of them as a couple. It’s not just the two of them as individuals at NCIS. It’s not just Tony anymore. It’s not just Ziva.

It’s Tony and Ziva.

The title is intimate. Personal. It solidifies the idea that they’re no longer entirety separate people; that you can’t have one of them without the other. They and their stories will be forever connected by the ampersand.

This show, for us, is twenty years in the making. From the moment Tony and Ziva met in 2005, Tiva fans have been yearning for them to be a couple. Their chemistry is unmatched. Every year there would be the question of: are these two characters ever going to kiss? Every season we’d ask: ‘is this the season where they finally get together?’ But they never did. At least, not until Ziva left, that is. And even then, though they did conceive a child during their fond farewell (which Tony later discovers during his own leaving arc), the two of them have never been a couple on screen.

It is two decades of longing. It is two decades of emotional turmoil for both of these characters. It’s us as fans watching their first interaction in “Kill Ari: Part 1.” It’s watching their teasing and their banter. It’s watching Ziva watch Tony with Jeanne in season 4. It’s the season six finale “Aliyah.” It’s the season seven premiere “Truth or Consequences.” It’s Ziva with Ray. It’s Tony with EJ. It’s “Under Covers,” “Boxed In,” “Cloak,” “Reunion,” “Jet Lag,” “A Desperate Man,” “Housekeeping,” “Canary,” “Shabbat Shalom,” “Shiva,” “Berlin,” “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” and “Past Present Future.” It’s all of the small moments that Tony and Ziva have shared – the looks, the words, the closeness without the two of them ever being together as a couple. It’s the sexual tension, and the heartache. It’s us as the audience watching these two people fall in love with one another, and wanting them to finally admit their feelings.

It’s easy to brush the title off as unoriginal; to feel like not a lot of thought has gone into it. But, when you consider their journey spanning two decades, and realise how much these characters have been through to get to where they are now, it’s actually rather poetic.

It represents them – together. And it carries with it twenty years of emotions.

It’s not just a title.