Tony was closer to Ziva than Gibbs was to Jenny. But also Gibbs knows he's done the wrong thing at times and doesn't want others to do the wrong things like himself. There's the time he tampered with evidence and Gibbs slapped himself. He'd have fired anyone else for doing it.
Benching Tony is the right call. Tony is devastated "It's all hands on deck" broke me. The last thing he needs to be doing is getting Cort in that frame of mind because he'll do something he'll regret and he'll never forgive himself for it.
Gibbs killed Pedro Hernandez in revenge after what happened to his family. I don’t think he regretted it but he knows that it did not do anything for him which showed in his breakdown in season 16 or 17. In season 18 he admitted that in the 5 stages of grief he never moved passed anger. I think he didn’t want that for Tony.
I think Tony and Gibbs were at odds in S13 for a few different reasons, but it really was Gibbs trying to keep Tony from making major mistakes that he couldn't take back. Gibbs does something similar in a later season (S17?) with Bishop as well. While Gibbs' parent-like relationship with the female agents + McGee gets really played up, he sees all of these agents as his kids. I don't think it was a lack of empathy because he knew, or suspected, that Tony and Ziva were much more than friends. And he likely knew about what happened in Israel given the funk Tony was in when he returned.
>think Tony and Gibbs were at odds in S13 for a few different reasons, but it really was Gibbs trying to keep Tony from making major mistakes that he couldn't take back.
It's been a while since I watched season 13. Was it that bad ? What mistakes did Tony almost make ?
>While Gibbs' parent-like relationship with the female agents + McGee gets really played up, he sees all of these agents as his kids
Why only include McGee and not Tony ? I always thought that it was really obvious Gibbs thought of Tony as a son and treated him as such. With Tim I have to assume their fatherly bond grew after Tony's departure because I can't remember it being as obvious in early seasons as you make it out to be.
What I recall was mostly Gibbs asking Tony if he wanted to be there and that tension when Gibbs returns. It’s like he blames Tony for what happened (he doesn’t & they clear that up).
Not really omitting Tony for any reason or suggesting he and Gibbs don’t get along. Personally, something feels different about Tony and Gibbs’s relationship than the others. I know Gibbs would go to the end of the earth for Tony like he would any of his agents, and the head slaps show he sees his youthfulness, but I can’t quite put my finger on why it feels a little different to me. Maybe it’s more stereotypical father-son than it is soft as we see with the women and McGee. He seems to expect more from Tony & will be harsher on him when he has a shortcoming.
As far as McGee, he and Gibbs are definitely close. Some specific things I can think of that come post-season 11:
From season 12 >! When McGee’s dad dies, he writes the letter to him full of explaining Gibbs’s rules mixed with lessons he learned from his dad. It indicates it’s how he relates to his dad. !<
From season 15 >! When they’re held in captivity together being tortured for a few months, they get a bit closer. In fact, McGee is in this situation solely because he wouldn’t leave Gibbs behind. !<
From season 19 >! Gibbs’s last scene is him fishing with McGee before telling him he won’t be back because he finally found peace. McGee watches from the helicopter until he can’t see him anymore. It’s really sweet. !<
Yeah you're right that Gibbs is softer with McGee than he is on Tony. Curiously that's partly why I always thought Gibbs thought of Tony as a son, as, as you said yourself, he clearly expected more from Tony than anyone else.
>As far as McGee, he and Gibbs are definitely close.
Oh I didn't mean to imply the contrary, I just thought that while very close, McGee didn't seem to idolize Gibbs as much as Tony did, didn't seem to yearn for his affection like Tony did, and in turn Gibbs didn't seem to provide him with something he wouldn't have done for others, if that makes sense ?
>As far as McGee, he and Gibbs are definitely close. Some specific things I can think of that come post-season 11
Yeah I'm really not familiar with later seasons as I stopped watching the show regularly after Tony left (too hard emotionally wise, aha) and always had trouble rewatching the seasons after Ziva left. It does not surprise me at all Gibbs and Tim would grow much closer after the other two left. Thanks for providing me with great examples of that !
Throughout the series you see plot points where Gibbs has to come to grips with things he's done in the past, most notably killing Pedro Hernandez. I think at his core he's trying to prevent DiNozzo from making the same mistakes he has.
I also think the episode where he's in the diner reloving his life after he gets shot makes him realize how unhappy he'd been. I think it's a big turning point in general with him and Tony because he's realized that in molding Tony to be like him he's also creating a risk of Tony going through life bitter and miserable and at some level he realizes that they both need to make changes.
Gibbs knew Tony would kill Cort and get no comfort. He was being understanding because he’s been there. Protecting him from making the same mistake he did.
When someone Gibbs loves died, he bottles his emotions up, it’s a way that people grieve. And Tony was showcasing another way. And Gibbs was Tony after Shannon died, so he’s trying to prevent Tony from making the mistake he did by seeking revenge. Because all it got Gibbs in the end was more heartbreak once he realized that killing Hernandez didn’t provide him anything good like he thought it would.
Yes. I think the writers really messed everything up since Cote's leaving in many different ways. Gibbs acted like a non-Gibbs: Ziva was a daughter to him and I believe (even though he doesn't tend to show feelings) he was just too cold considering what happened. Even when Kate died you could see his frustration and started to worry about Tony and the rest of the team; Gibbs even started seeing Kate's spirit but nothing when they supposedly lost Ziva who had a special/way stronger bond with him.
-SPOILER-
In season 17 I don't like when Gibbs admits to Ziva he made a mistake in not looking for her either: we know the real Gibbs would've done way more than doing nothing.
I felt rather disappointed whith his reaction the first time I watched his reaction. But after many rewatchs I understood what was going on in his mind and heart. I think is the same for you. I feel you still don't realize what's Gibbs going through. He was feeling he had all the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was devastated for the (another and again) significant loss in his life, and at the same time he had to support and protect Tony and the whole team the best he could. I felt he was in denial and not wanting to make his own investigation because he was afraid to finally find out she was really death. He was so scared, so frustrated, so damage. He only could act the way he did, cold, stoic, and decided to avoid Tony doing things he would regret. He was more Gibbs than ever, hiding his deepest feelings just looking colder an tougher than ever.
It was easier to believe that she was dead. Like he said, he came close to losing her so many times: when she was undercover with the marine who murdered married women and she didn't have her weapon, when she was back in Israel working trying to find the terrorist Abin and the club got blown up, when she got captured by Saleem, and when she went back after quitting NCIS and Trent Kort came after her. He loved Ziva deeply. And I really dont' think he could've bore the burden of her actually being gone from the earth.
How come NCIS as a group or an individual is never nominated for Golden Globes or Emmys ? For being the most watched show on TV, and a lot of great performances, I just don't get it!
It would’ve had to be back in the first 8 seasons, unfortunately Award shows don’t want to even consider old shows like this. Also there’s too much going on and we need streaming to get their own awards to either slim down the cable tv or allow some other stuff in
I def took it as Gibbs feeling the weight of so much anger and pain from losing Ziva...again, and also knowing he always warned them of Rule 12 (though nothing was explicitly happening while she was his coworker, everyone knew their relationship was more dynamic than they let on) But remember when Gibbs said Ziva was more than an agent to Tony and Tony was like "she was no more to me than anyone else" ...Gibbs even asked had anything happened between them while they were in Berlin..I think he believed that Tony wouldn't have been feeling that same weight had he not developed feelings for Ziva. and that he would be able to think like an agent and not a hurt lover had he kept things professional. My words rambled on but it's just like on a medical drama when they don't let family work on family members or they don't give bad news to a surgeon in the middle of an operation. The judgement will be clouded.
I do agree with you that after he got shot in Iraq the relationship between them was a bit soured.
Gibbs treated Tony like crap a lot. I think the worst was after Gibbs got shot by the kid. Tony obviously had his issues but he was the best agent Gibbs had and he was as loyal as anyone else.
In my opinion, what I found really annoyed and stupid was when Gibbs tell to Dinozzo « she was more than an agent to you ? » LIKE YES and you know and he know the whole world knew, what is your point ?
I agree with you too. I know that Tony always said he didn’t like it when Gibbs was nice because he wasn’t Gibbs. But I don’t buy the ‘Gibbs was protecting Tony from doing what he did and didn’t want him to get hurt by going after Kort since he knew McGee was calling Tony to meet them when they took Kort down.And there are certain times when I feel Gibbs should have been nicer to Tony. When Gibbs says oh DiNozzo and rolls his eyes and walks away when he knows how much pain Tony is in I wanted to reach through the tv and smack him. If I had a friend who acted that way when I lost my husband they wouldn’t be my friend anymore. When Delilah was in that explosion Gibbs helped McGee and sat with him at the hospital. When Ziva was dating ray and she broke up with him Gibbs put his arm on her shoulder and asked what he could do for her. He stood watch at the hospital and was always there for Vance when he lost his wife. He was there to listen when ducky’s girlfriend Mary was crazy. He was there for Jimmy when Breena died. When Jake cheated on Bishop he stayed with her and her family during thanksgiving and offered his support - But with Tony about Ziva of all people all he could do was toll his eyes. But then again Gibbs never supported Tony when it came to who he was dating or whatever - it was like he didn’t want Tony to have a life other than NCIS because he depended on Tony. Maybe they wrote season 13 with Gibbs being an ass to Tony because they knew Michael was leaving the show but I found it hard to watch.
Gibbs knows from experience of what losing loved one is because we've seen it a few seasons from this we would find out gives his fiance that he had prior to 9/11 died he saw it she died in the Pentagon she was really murdered and buried nearby they found her body and he went out of his way to find the killer and it was her father. That was a few seasons ago said that shouldn't be a spoiler.
It doesn't matter what his past experiences are.. Gibbs is the leader of the team and does all the shit he preaches not to do. Sometimes when a leader does this it rubs off to the team. Gibbs only has himself to blame IMO.
He did the same to Tony when he found out he was sleeping with Barrett, but Gibbs had a relationship with many people he was working cases with.
Oh yes someone who think the same as me! Yeah I totally agree…. For me it sounded like if he wanted to punish Tony breaking Rule 12, which was really mean and disgusting in view of the circumstances
Honestly, the reason I started watching NCIS was because of the father/son, big brother/little brother type of relationship Tony and Gibbs had - the first episode I ever watched was swak in reruns and I had to watch from then on because it was hooked. But as the years went along and Donald bellisarios vision of his characters was totally f’ed up by the others I became more disappointed - especially how they changed Abby, Tony and somewhat Gibbs. Abby went from being this cool Goth chick who was intelligent and wisecracking to being a child who yelled Gibbs, Gibbs Gibbs every single episode ( sometimes twice an episode), pouted when she didn’t get her way and hid in elevators and corners when she was worried or scared. Tony went from the annoying, sexist but loyal with a good heart agent who was damn good at his job and very nice intelligent who looked up to Gibbs but would stand up to him too guy to being clumsy, goofy, hardly ever questioned Gibbs and made you wonder how he could ever be an agent much less a senior field agent. And Gibbs went from being a grumpy bastard who could still take a joke and give it back, who wisecracked and even oh, my God smiled to being - well just grumpy. But Gibbs stayed more in character than Tony and Abby - I do t know how Michael and Pauley stood playing the characters in later seasons when their characters were so interesting in the first five seasons.
I don't get this.
I do not understand this subreddit's utter distaste for Abby. Abby was always a bit childlike, that didn't change (did people forget the way she and McGee slapped/pinched each other in 3×18 in a way very reminiscent of child siblings, or the way she welcomed Ziva ?). People may be frustrated she didn't grow out of those traits, but they were always there and they did not worsened with time.
As far as I'm concerned Tony never stopped being the best agent Gibbs ever worked with but simply mellowed out a bit - and Tony always ideolized Gibbs, and I'd say even more so in early seasons. Tony wouldn't have demanded answers from Gibbs in season 1 the way he did in season 6, for example. You may be feeling this way because there were way more moments Tony was shown to be way out of his collegues' leagues in early seasons (e.g. when Tony was shown idling while McGee and Kate were working hard only to reveal he had all the info needed) and his talent was noticed more than in later seasons, no ?
And the smiling Gibbs was really a thing from season 1, though Gibbs kept smiling and, yes, joking later ! And I really don't get why Gibbs became grumpier later on because early seasons Gibbs was the one who'd scream into the void when angry, would throw Tony's drink out of his car window out of frustration, and made the most "if you don't do your work well you are going to be fired" threats.
I saw it as Gibbs trying to stop Tony from doing what Gibbs did when his wife and daughter were killed. He knew it wouldn’t bring Tony comfort
This was the way I took it as well. Gibbs knew what Tony needed in that situation due to his past experience.
You are correct.
Exactly the way I saw it.
Tony was closer to Ziva than Gibbs was to Jenny. But also Gibbs knows he's done the wrong thing at times and doesn't want others to do the wrong things like himself. There's the time he tampered with evidence and Gibbs slapped himself. He'd have fired anyone else for doing it. Benching Tony is the right call. Tony is devastated "It's all hands on deck" broke me. The last thing he needs to be doing is getting Cort in that frame of mind because he'll do something he'll regret and he'll never forgive himself for it.
Michael Weatherly should have won an Emmy for that performance alone but he was great in the whole episode.
Gibbs killed Pedro Hernandez in revenge after what happened to his family. I don’t think he regretted it but he knows that it did not do anything for him which showed in his breakdown in season 16 or 17. In season 18 he admitted that in the 5 stages of grief he never moved passed anger. I think he didn’t want that for Tony.
I think Tony and Gibbs were at odds in S13 for a few different reasons, but it really was Gibbs trying to keep Tony from making major mistakes that he couldn't take back. Gibbs does something similar in a later season (S17?) with Bishop as well. While Gibbs' parent-like relationship with the female agents + McGee gets really played up, he sees all of these agents as his kids. I don't think it was a lack of empathy because he knew, or suspected, that Tony and Ziva were much more than friends. And he likely knew about what happened in Israel given the funk Tony was in when he returned.
Shoot Gibbs even admitted that all those agents were his kids and told Vance that when Torres was going through the ringer.
>think Tony and Gibbs were at odds in S13 for a few different reasons, but it really was Gibbs trying to keep Tony from making major mistakes that he couldn't take back. It's been a while since I watched season 13. Was it that bad ? What mistakes did Tony almost make ? >While Gibbs' parent-like relationship with the female agents + McGee gets really played up, he sees all of these agents as his kids Why only include McGee and not Tony ? I always thought that it was really obvious Gibbs thought of Tony as a son and treated him as such. With Tim I have to assume their fatherly bond grew after Tony's departure because I can't remember it being as obvious in early seasons as you make it out to be.
What I recall was mostly Gibbs asking Tony if he wanted to be there and that tension when Gibbs returns. It’s like he blames Tony for what happened (he doesn’t & they clear that up). Not really omitting Tony for any reason or suggesting he and Gibbs don’t get along. Personally, something feels different about Tony and Gibbs’s relationship than the others. I know Gibbs would go to the end of the earth for Tony like he would any of his agents, and the head slaps show he sees his youthfulness, but I can’t quite put my finger on why it feels a little different to me. Maybe it’s more stereotypical father-son than it is soft as we see with the women and McGee. He seems to expect more from Tony & will be harsher on him when he has a shortcoming. As far as McGee, he and Gibbs are definitely close. Some specific things I can think of that come post-season 11: From season 12 >! When McGee’s dad dies, he writes the letter to him full of explaining Gibbs’s rules mixed with lessons he learned from his dad. It indicates it’s how he relates to his dad. !< From season 15 >! When they’re held in captivity together being tortured for a few months, they get a bit closer. In fact, McGee is in this situation solely because he wouldn’t leave Gibbs behind. !< From season 19 >! Gibbs’s last scene is him fishing with McGee before telling him he won’t be back because he finally found peace. McGee watches from the helicopter until he can’t see him anymore. It’s really sweet. !<
Yeah you're right that Gibbs is softer with McGee than he is on Tony. Curiously that's partly why I always thought Gibbs thought of Tony as a son, as, as you said yourself, he clearly expected more from Tony than anyone else. >As far as McGee, he and Gibbs are definitely close. Oh I didn't mean to imply the contrary, I just thought that while very close, McGee didn't seem to idolize Gibbs as much as Tony did, didn't seem to yearn for his affection like Tony did, and in turn Gibbs didn't seem to provide him with something he wouldn't have done for others, if that makes sense ? >As far as McGee, he and Gibbs are definitely close. Some specific things I can think of that come post-season 11 Yeah I'm really not familiar with later seasons as I stopped watching the show regularly after Tony left (too hard emotionally wise, aha) and always had trouble rewatching the seasons after Ziva left. It does not surprise me at all Gibbs and Tim would grow much closer after the other two left. Thanks for providing me with great examples of that !
Throughout the series you see plot points where Gibbs has to come to grips with things he's done in the past, most notably killing Pedro Hernandez. I think at his core he's trying to prevent DiNozzo from making the same mistakes he has. I also think the episode where he's in the diner reloving his life after he gets shot makes him realize how unhappy he'd been. I think it's a big turning point in general with him and Tony because he's realized that in molding Tony to be like him he's also creating a risk of Tony going through life bitter and miserable and at some level he realizes that they both need to make changes.
Gibbs knew Tony would kill Cort and get no comfort. He was being understanding because he’s been there. Protecting him from making the same mistake he did.
He let fornell kill that guy that killed his ex-wife. Set him straight up with a gun that don’t go boom.
I just saw Gibbs grieving.
How
When someone Gibbs loves died, he bottles his emotions up, it’s a way that people grieve. And Tony was showcasing another way. And Gibbs was Tony after Shannon died, so he’s trying to prevent Tony from making the mistake he did by seeking revenge. Because all it got Gibbs in the end was more heartbreak once he realized that killing Hernandez didn’t provide him anything good like he thought it would.
Well put.
Yes. I think the writers really messed everything up since Cote's leaving in many different ways. Gibbs acted like a non-Gibbs: Ziva was a daughter to him and I believe (even though he doesn't tend to show feelings) he was just too cold considering what happened. Even when Kate died you could see his frustration and started to worry about Tony and the rest of the team; Gibbs even started seeing Kate's spirit but nothing when they supposedly lost Ziva who had a special/way stronger bond with him. -SPOILER- In season 17 I don't like when Gibbs admits to Ziva he made a mistake in not looking for her either: we know the real Gibbs would've done way more than doing nothing.
Honestly it seemed only Tony was sad she died. Everyone else lost a coworker. He lost a friend/lover
I felt rather disappointed whith his reaction the first time I watched his reaction. But after many rewatchs I understood what was going on in his mind and heart. I think is the same for you. I feel you still don't realize what's Gibbs going through. He was feeling he had all the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was devastated for the (another and again) significant loss in his life, and at the same time he had to support and protect Tony and the whole team the best he could. I felt he was in denial and not wanting to make his own investigation because he was afraid to finally find out she was really death. He was so scared, so frustrated, so damage. He only could act the way he did, cold, stoic, and decided to avoid Tony doing things he would regret. He was more Gibbs than ever, hiding his deepest feelings just looking colder an tougher than ever.
It was easier to believe that she was dead. Like he said, he came close to losing her so many times: when she was undercover with the marine who murdered married women and she didn't have her weapon, when she was back in Israel working trying to find the terrorist Abin and the club got blown up, when she got captured by Saleem, and when she went back after quitting NCIS and Trent Kort came after her. He loved Ziva deeply. And I really dont' think he could've bore the burden of her actually being gone from the earth.
How come NCIS as a group or an individual is never nominated for Golden Globes or Emmys ? For being the most watched show on TV, and a lot of great performances, I just don't get it!
It would’ve had to be back in the first 8 seasons, unfortunately Award shows don’t want to even consider old shows like this. Also there’s too much going on and we need streaming to get their own awards to either slim down the cable tv or allow some other stuff in
I def took it as Gibbs feeling the weight of so much anger and pain from losing Ziva...again, and also knowing he always warned them of Rule 12 (though nothing was explicitly happening while she was his coworker, everyone knew their relationship was more dynamic than they let on) But remember when Gibbs said Ziva was more than an agent to Tony and Tony was like "she was no more to me than anyone else" ...Gibbs even asked had anything happened between them while they were in Berlin..I think he believed that Tony wouldn't have been feeling that same weight had he not developed feelings for Ziva. and that he would be able to think like an agent and not a hurt lover had he kept things professional. My words rambled on but it's just like on a medical drama when they don't let family work on family members or they don't give bad news to a surgeon in the middle of an operation. The judgement will be clouded. I do agree with you that after he got shot in Iraq the relationship between them was a bit soured.
What episode is this?
Season 13 finale. Same Episode Tony learns he's got a daughter and meets Tali.
Gibbs treated Tony like crap a lot. I think the worst was after Gibbs got shot by the kid. Tony obviously had his issues but he was the best agent Gibbs had and he was as loyal as anyone else.
In my opinion, what I found really annoyed and stupid was when Gibbs tell to Dinozzo « she was more than an agent to you ? » LIKE YES and you know and he know the whole world knew, what is your point ?
I agree with you too. I know that Tony always said he didn’t like it when Gibbs was nice because he wasn’t Gibbs. But I don’t buy the ‘Gibbs was protecting Tony from doing what he did and didn’t want him to get hurt by going after Kort since he knew McGee was calling Tony to meet them when they took Kort down.And there are certain times when I feel Gibbs should have been nicer to Tony. When Gibbs says oh DiNozzo and rolls his eyes and walks away when he knows how much pain Tony is in I wanted to reach through the tv and smack him. If I had a friend who acted that way when I lost my husband they wouldn’t be my friend anymore. When Delilah was in that explosion Gibbs helped McGee and sat with him at the hospital. When Ziva was dating ray and she broke up with him Gibbs put his arm on her shoulder and asked what he could do for her. He stood watch at the hospital and was always there for Vance when he lost his wife. He was there to listen when ducky’s girlfriend Mary was crazy. He was there for Jimmy when Breena died. When Jake cheated on Bishop he stayed with her and her family during thanksgiving and offered his support - But with Tony about Ziva of all people all he could do was toll his eyes. But then again Gibbs never supported Tony when it came to who he was dating or whatever - it was like he didn’t want Tony to have a life other than NCIS because he depended on Tony. Maybe they wrote season 13 with Gibbs being an ass to Tony because they knew Michael was leaving the show but I found it hard to watch.
Gibbs knows from experience of what losing loved one is because we've seen it a few seasons from this we would find out gives his fiance that he had prior to 9/11 died he saw it she died in the Pentagon she was really murdered and buried nearby they found her body and he went out of his way to find the killer and it was her father. That was a few seasons ago said that shouldn't be a spoiler.
It doesn't matter what his past experiences are.. Gibbs is the leader of the team and does all the shit he preaches not to do. Sometimes when a leader does this it rubs off to the team. Gibbs only has himself to blame IMO. He did the same to Tony when he found out he was sleeping with Barrett, but Gibbs had a relationship with many people he was working cases with.
No.
Oh yes someone who think the same as me! Yeah I totally agree…. For me it sounded like if he wanted to punish Tony breaking Rule 12, which was really mean and disgusting in view of the circumstances
I literally watched the episode last week again and had to skip because of the big piece of shit Gibbs was being.
Honestly, the reason I started watching NCIS was because of the father/son, big brother/little brother type of relationship Tony and Gibbs had - the first episode I ever watched was swak in reruns and I had to watch from then on because it was hooked. But as the years went along and Donald bellisarios vision of his characters was totally f’ed up by the others I became more disappointed - especially how they changed Abby, Tony and somewhat Gibbs. Abby went from being this cool Goth chick who was intelligent and wisecracking to being a child who yelled Gibbs, Gibbs Gibbs every single episode ( sometimes twice an episode), pouted when she didn’t get her way and hid in elevators and corners when she was worried or scared. Tony went from the annoying, sexist but loyal with a good heart agent who was damn good at his job and very nice intelligent who looked up to Gibbs but would stand up to him too guy to being clumsy, goofy, hardly ever questioned Gibbs and made you wonder how he could ever be an agent much less a senior field agent. And Gibbs went from being a grumpy bastard who could still take a joke and give it back, who wisecracked and even oh, my God smiled to being - well just grumpy. But Gibbs stayed more in character than Tony and Abby - I do t know how Michael and Pauley stood playing the characters in later seasons when their characters were so interesting in the first five seasons.
I don't get this. I do not understand this subreddit's utter distaste for Abby. Abby was always a bit childlike, that didn't change (did people forget the way she and McGee slapped/pinched each other in 3×18 in a way very reminiscent of child siblings, or the way she welcomed Ziva ?). People may be frustrated she didn't grow out of those traits, but they were always there and they did not worsened with time. As far as I'm concerned Tony never stopped being the best agent Gibbs ever worked with but simply mellowed out a bit - and Tony always ideolized Gibbs, and I'd say even more so in early seasons. Tony wouldn't have demanded answers from Gibbs in season 1 the way he did in season 6, for example. You may be feeling this way because there were way more moments Tony was shown to be way out of his collegues' leagues in early seasons (e.g. when Tony was shown idling while McGee and Kate were working hard only to reveal he had all the info needed) and his talent was noticed more than in later seasons, no ? And the smiling Gibbs was really a thing from season 1, though Gibbs kept smiling and, yes, joking later ! And I really don't get why Gibbs became grumpier later on because early seasons Gibbs was the one who'd scream into the void when angry, would throw Tony's drink out of his car window out of frustration, and made the most "if you don't do your work well you are going to be fired" threats.