Hawai’i’ Needs to Include More of Jesse’s Family

The Boone family has become something of an enigma on NCIS: Hawai’i, the third offshoot of the hit series that follows a new team from their base in Pearl Harbor as they solve cases involving naval officers with the addition of a beautiful setting. Though we have known Jesse (Noah Mills) since the series began — as he works alongside leader Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey) and team members Kai (Alex Tarrant), Lucy (Yasmine Al-Bustami), and Ernie (Jason Antoon) — Jesse’s family existed in name only until we were finally fortunate enough to meet his oldest daughter Gracie (Chloe Csengery) in the latter half of the first season. Jesse’s wife Heather and two other children have yet to be seen, though his family is often mentioned without any specifics. We have heard very little of Jake, other than the fact that Lucy knows his favorite Pokémon. (It’s Raichu, of course, because everyone should evolve their Pikachu.) We know even less of the third child, who still does not have a name even though we are well into the second season of the show. This is evidence of a much bigger problem, which is how the series has failed to fully explore Jesse as they have with the other main characters.

Jesse Is Basically a Father in Name Only on ‘NCIS: Hawai’i’

Only hearing about Jesse’s family has limited the series’ exploration of the character, which has hurt him in comparison to the others on the team. Jesse has been developed far less, mostly around for a little levity in their investigations or to throw out a line about parenting to bond with Jane. It’s sad because there’s great potential for the character, as we see a little in the episodes with his daughter Gracie. However, even in those episodes, Jesse’s relationship with Gracie doesn’t feel as fully fleshed out as it could and should have been. For instance, we constantly see Jane with her children Alex (Kian Talan) and Julie (Mahina Napolean), which gives us the chance to get to know her outside of work as her children are the lights of her life. They test her emotionally and mentally, often putting her in tough situations where she must decide how to move forward and be the best mother she can while being fair and finding the best way to prepare them for adulthood and a world that isn’t always kind or forgiving.

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In “Pirates,” Jesse is tasked with saving Gracie and others from the intruders on their boat, which is a great test for him as an agent but not necessarily as a father. Likewise, in “Nightwatch,” he’s called to work on a case during his day off when he’s supposed to be teaching Gracie about cars — though he’s not quite ready to teach her how to drive yet. The first episode with Gracie is intense and shows his love for a child, but we don’t really get much time to see their actual relationship. Even in the second episode, which should have provided a much-needed spotlight on the Boone family, this story didn’t receive much attention. When being a parent is so much of Jane’s story, it’s unforgivable that Jesse’s family isn’t receiving a similar focus in his stories and even worse that we have yet to meet three members.

Who Even Is Jesse Boone?

Unlike the others on his team, we don’t see much of Jesse outside of work. Kai is always interacting with his father Wally (Moses Goods), while much of Lucy’s development has come about from her romantic relationship with Kate Whistler (Tori Anderson) and vice versa. Jane has had romance, at least one of her kids in nearly every episode, and she had her former mentor Maggie Shaw (Julie White). Ernie has his on-and-off-again romance with Detective Dalia Reed (Lauren Cook) and friendship with Commander Chase (Seana Kofoed). Over nearly two seasons now, Jesse has only had two episodes with Gracie. This is making Jesse kind of a one-note character and a weak point of the series, as he is so much less developed than his counterparts. The relationships these characters have outside of work, whether platonic or romantic, help bring them to life and open us up to their world. While Jesse’s work relationships are great and help develop the team dynamic, not bringing in Jesse’s entire family up to this point has left a hole in the character. We still don’t quite know who Jesse is because we haven’t been given the opportunity to know him as anything more than an agent of NCIS. Also, as the only married member of the team, it feels incredibly important to bring that relationship to our screens and show how this job and his commitment to it impacts his marriage. How does he balance work and such a full family life?

There’s much more to explore in Jesse’s personal life than little glimpses into his relationship with only one of his children. He has a large family, which we know very little about. How long has he been married, for starters? Plus, Jesse had a life of working as a cop in Washington, D.C., that we’ve heard very little about. How did his family feel about moving to Hawai’i for this career opportunity? Ultimately, showcasing Jesse and the Boone family is an absolute must as the series continues on, and there’s plenty of time considering it was recently renewed for a third season. Right now, Jesse is the weak link because of the writers’ refusal to truly explore who he is as his own person. There’s no reason for this delay, and it’s hurting the show the longer it goes on. We need the time with Jesse and his family that we should have received when the series started, as we did with the other characters and their personal relationships, which will only make the show stronger and the stories more impactful.

NCIS: Hawai’i continues Mondays on CBS. Every episode is now streaming on Paramount+.