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Season 22 episode 10 of NCIS, Baker’s Man, is a roller coaster of emotions. It is very charming in the beginning, getting a bit gloomy in the middle, and then shocking you once again by the time you reach the finale of the episode.
The local business is a nice little bakery, a secret scream for help, and an awful crime that involved the team to be the main elements of the plot. If you love cases that feel small at first but grow bigger every minute, this NCIS episode is one you cannot skip.
And, if you're interested to know who on the team brings this story to the front, we have you covered, right here and right now.
Keep reading to find out more.
Baker’s Man recap:
NCIS Season 22 Episode 10 opens with Alden Parker doing something very normal. He is at his favorite Greek bakery, just grabbing pastries. It feels cozy and calm, which is exactly why and when the show pulls the rug out from under us.
Parker leaves the bakery safe and happy, not knowing he just walked past trouble. At the time when an NCIS team was still working on other cases, Timothy McGee took out the pastries from the box.
As soon as he saw the inside of the box, he was surprised to find a message written there. The writing was quite a mess, powdered sugar covered it, and it was very urgent. Virgil, the bakery worker, was desperately asking for help in the note.
The NCIS team gets back to the place in a hurry, but it is of no use. Virgil is found dead, face down, in a huge vat of batter. Right away, the team suggests that it is not a tragic accident. They think that it was a robbery, but the scammers are not being quite honest. The cash register is empty, but Virgil’s wallet is full of money, so why is it that? That small detail pushes the team to dig deeper.
Eleni, the bakery owner, returns and is crushed by Virgil’s death. Parker feels close to her, and NCIS lets that emotional thread breathe. Their quiet moments give the episode heart and make the case feel personal. But the show never forgets the mystery. Kasie runs tests on the bakery’s sweets and drops a bomb. The meringue cookies are laced with c*caine.
As NCIS keeps digging, another man tied to the bakery, Charles Barbieri, ends up dead too. Now the case feels bigger. A drug war is happening, and the team realizes the bakery is caught in the middle. A blue baking box links the crimes, and suddenly nothing about this case feels small anymore.
Meanwhile, NCIS delivers a fun side story fans have been waiting for. Nick Torres’ secret girlfriend is finally revealed. He is dating Robin, Jessica Knight’s sister. The secret does not stay secret for long, because Jimmy cannot help himself. The reveal leads to awkward looks, quiet tension, and a very NCIS style confession in the middle of chaos. Jess is shocked but handles it like a pro, because that is who she is.
The case explodes when the team learns Eleni is not the villain. She is being forced to bake drug-filled cookies to protect her nephew Manny. Nick and Jess find her trapped in a kitchen, literally chained to her station. Arturo, the real bad guy, holds them at gunpoint. The episode turns the tables fast. A quick explosion trick alerts Parker and McGee, and the team storms in to save the day.
By the end of the episode, the truth finally does come out. Eleni only wanted to protect family. Manny is getting released, and Eleni can finally go home. NCIS closes the episode with Parker bringing Eleni breakfast and sharing homemade baklava. It is soft, sad, and sweet all at once. Classic NCIS, isn't it?
NCIS Season 22 Episode 10 ‘Baker’s Man’ cast and character guide:
The Main Team:
1) Gary Cole as Alden Parker:
Alden is the team leader in NCIS who unintentionally starts the investigation. One of his favorite places is definitely the Kostakis Bakery, however, he keeps feeling awful every time he finds out that he overlooked a hidden "911" plea for help on his pastry box.
He revealed his most vulnerable side throughout the show and even got attached to the bakery owner, Eleni. Using his investigator mindset, he figured out that Eleni was being blackmailed to keep her nephew safe.
At the very end, we witness a very intimate moment from his background which is when he makes baklava for Eleni and says that he learned how to bake from his mother.
Gary Cole is also known for other projects like: The Brady Bunch Movie & Midnight Caller
2) Sean Murray as Timothy McGee:
It is McGee who, in fact, finds out the crime initially in Season 22 Episode 10 of NCIS. The squad being in the bullpen, he sees a message that looks like it was written with a black marker right at the bottom of Parker's pastry box.
They wouldn't have to go far to figure out another prank at the office, but thanks to McGee's sharp vision, the whole team returns to the bakery for further inquiries.
During the entire episode, McGee is seen working side by side with Parker in locating the leads and in the end, he is instrumental in the rescue of Nick and Jess at the drug factory.
Without a doubt, he is the calm, dependable backbone that the team can lean on in connecting the bakery with a big criminal network.
Sean Murray is also known for other projects like: Hocus Pocus & Touched by an Angel
3) Wilmer Valderrama as Nick Torres:
Nick is dealing with a major secret in Season 22 Episode 10 of NCIS. He’s dating Robin, who is the sister of his teammate Jessica Knight. He spends a lot of the episode acting awkward and trying to hide the relationship from Jess to avoid drama.
However, after being pressured by Jimmy and Kasie, he finally admits the truth while out on a mission. On the professional side, Nick shows he’s a total pro under pressure.
When he’s held at gunpoint in a drug kitchen, he helps cook up a dangerous plan to cause an explosion, allowing the team to move in and save the day.
Wilmer Valderrama is also known for other projects like: That '70s Show & Encanto
4) Katrina Law as Jessica Knight:
Jessica is a clever and perceptive person, and she didn't take long to realize that her teammates were acting strangely towards her. At first, she assumed that it was because of her ex-situation with Jimmy, but later on in in Season 22 Episode 10 of NCIS, she figured out that it was because Nick was the secret guy her sister was dating.
While the news knocked her off her feet, she didn't lose her determination to solve the case. The moment when she and Nick got kidnapped by Arturo, she secretly signaled to Parker that she was in need of help by referring to him as "boss" during the call.
This change in her normally laid-back manner of communicating made it absolutely clear to Parker that she was there with the bad guys and in great danger.
Katrina Law is also known for other projects like: Spartacus & 12 Gifts of Christmas
5) Brian Dietzen as Jimmy Palmer & Diona Reasonover as Kasie Hines:
These two handle the science and the secrets in Season 22 Episode 10 of NCIS. Jimmy is the team’s medical examiner, meaning he’s the one who studies the bodies to figure out how someone died. He is the first to know about Nick’s secret romance, but he can't help but tell Kasie when she offers him some candy.
Kasie is the one who discovers the "cocaine meringue" and proves that the recipe was too complicated for a beginner, which helps the team understand who was actually doing the baking.
Together, they provide the technical evidence like tracking digital payments and analyzing crime scene samples that eventually breaks the case wide open and reveals the extortion plot.
Brian Dietzen is also known for other projects like: From Justin to Kelly & One-Minute Time Machine
Diona Reasonover is also known for other projects like: Clipped & The Night Watchmen
The other stars/ guest stars in the episode:
1) Carlos Javier Rivera as Arturo Jimenez:
Arturo is the main villain of the story. He is a drug lord who was forcing Eleni to make cocaine-laced cookies. He is dangerous and ruthless, holding Nick, Jess, and Eleni hostage at gunpoint in a factory.
He tries to force the agents to help with the baking process because he’s on a tight deadline, but he ends up being caught after the agents cause a kitchen explosion.
Carlos Javier Rivera is also known for other projects like: Snowfall & American Horror Story
2) Melina Kanakaredes as Eleni Kostakis:
Eleni is the owner of the bakery and the central figure in the episode’s mystery. She didn’t choose to be a criminal; she was only being blackmailed for $50,000 to ensure the safety of her nephew Manny, in prison.
In order to have the money, she had no choice but to hide drugs in the food that she baked using her baking skills for the gang. After the team rescues her, she makes up her mind to shut down her store and return to her family in Greece.
Melina Kanakaredes is also known for other projects like: Providence & 15 Minutes
3) Jordyn Owens as Virgil Wilson:
Virgil was a bakery employee that was trying to do what is right. He put the secret 911 note on Parker's pastry box in order to get help. Unfortunately, when the team figured out what was going on and came back to the bakery with the rescue staff, Virgil was already dead.
They discovered his corpse lying face-down in a big jar of baking batter, thus the murder that the team had to investigate first.
Jordyn Owens is also known for other projects like: Law & Order: Organized Crime & The Next Shift
4) Ken Garito as Leslie Walker:
The lawyer is a shady character who represents criminals on both sides of the gang war. The NCIS team eventually tracks him down and discovers he is the link between Eleni and the drug world.
He is the one who reveals that Eleni needed a massive loan, which led her right into Arturo’s hands. He eventually cooperates with NCIS in exchange for protection.
Ken Garito is also known for other projects like: The Heights & Summer of Sam
NCIS Season 22 Episode 10 is simple, smart, and full of heart. Baker’s Man mixes a strong case with personal moments that make NCIS feel warm and human. The bakery mystery keeps you hooked, while the Torres and Knight reveal adds fun drama.
NCIS as a series is another example of a show that does not require massive twists to be successful. In some instances, well-developed characters, a compelling plot, and a talented cast can be more than sufficient to achieve that.
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