8.1/1010 votes#1 - Sub Rosa
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/18/2003
A decomposed body is discovered in a tub of acid at a naval base and Ducky and Abby learn that the victim was a submariner. Gibbs discovers that there have been no reports of a sub crewmember missing, so he deduces that one of the subs has an imposter on board. With this new information, the team must find out which sub the man posing as the victim is in and what intentions he may have towards the sub.
Director: Michael Zinberg
Writer: Frank Cardea
8.0/106 votes#2 - Silent Night
Season 6 Episode 11 - Aired 12/16/2008
During the week of Christmas, The Team is Forced to work overtime when they discover their prime suspect had been dead for 17 years.
Director: Tony Wharmby
Writer: Frank Cardea
- 8.0/106 votes
#3 - South by Southwest
Season 6 Episode 17 - Aired 2/24/2009
When a fellow agent is murdered, the NCIS teams heads into the desert to locate a woman who might hold the answer to the mystery murder.
Director: Thomas J. Wright
Writer: Frank Cardea
8.0/104 votes#4 - Date with Destiny
Season 15 Episode 24 - Aired 5/22/2018
Sloane is adamant that a man who held her hostage and tortured her years ago in Afghanistan, and was believed to have been killed following her rescue, is alive and in D.C. Also, Vance and Gibbs fear Sloane is willing to risk everything to destroy this man.
Director: Tony Wharmby
Writer: Frank Cardea
8.0/103 votes#5 - Lost Time
Season 16 Episode 23 - Aired 5/14/2019
The NCIS team investigates the murder of a Marine Sergeant in the States who was hailed as a war hero for his efforts overseas. Also, Gibbs turns to Doctor Grace Confalone for advice after he uncharacteristically unravels and abandons his team at a crime scene investigation.
Director: Diana Valentine
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.8/106 votes#6 - Defiance
Season 8 Episode 15 - Aired 2/15/2011
A botched assassination attempt in Belgravia forces NCIS to protect the Defense Minister's daughter, who is studying in the U.S. and smitten with McGee. Meanwhile, Gibbs investigates the death of the U.S. Marine who was killed in the bombing.
Director: Dennis Smith
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.7/107 votes#7 - Mind Games
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/2005
Gibbs is ordered to talk to a convict that is about to be executed, in order to discover information about the place where he hid his victims, but when the plan doesn't work, the team must solve the case in their own way.
Director: William Webb
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.6/108 votes#8 - Vanished
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 10/12/2004
The NCIS team is called in to investigate when a perfectly functioning Marine helicopter is found in the middle of a crop circle.
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.6/107 votes#9 - Probie
Season 3 Episode 10 - Aired 11/29/2005
While on duty, McGee kills a man who is later discovered to be an undercover police officer. When Jenny decides to approve the investigation on McGee, the NCIS team is forced to prove that McGee is not guilty, pushing Gibbs' relationship with Jen to the limit. Meanwhile, Tony is troubled by his past.
Director: Terrence O'Hara
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.6/107 votes#10 - Rendezvous
Season 14 Episode 24 - Aired 5/16/2017
When a Navy SEAL vanishes during an unsanctioned trip, Gibbs, McGee and Torres travel to an unpopulated area in Paraguay that's teeming with violent rebels.
Director: Tony Wharmby
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.5/106 votes#11 - Enemy on the Hill
Season 9 Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/2011
The NCIS team searches for the person and motive behind a contract killer targeting a Navy Lieutenant Commander. Meanwhile, Abby uncovers new information about her family after undergoing tests for a kidney donation.
Director: Dennis Smith
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.5/104 votes#12 - Revenge
Season 10 Episode 22 - Aired 4/30/2013
In retaliation for the murders of Eli David and Jackie Vance, the NCIS team feverishly searches for Bodnar despite orders from Homeland Security to relinquish the case.
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.5/102 votes#13 - Shooter
Season 11 Episode 22 - Aired 4/29/2014
When a Marine photographer disappears prior to providing his testimony in an Army court-martial hearing, the NCIS team investigates both the murder he witnessed as well as his current piece on military veterans who are homeless in the D.C. area. Meanwhile, Abby tries to help a young homeless woman reconnect with her family.
Director: Dennis Smith
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.5/106 votes#14 - Off the Grid
Season 14 Episode 12 - Aired 1/17/2017
When Gibbs spots the brother of an "NCIS Most Wanted" suspect, he takes the opportunity to assume his former alias and go undercover with their infamous anti-government militia. This leaves the NCIS team to piece together where and what Gibbs is up to. Meanwhile, Bishop and Reeves partner up on an off-the-books investigation.
Director: Rocky Carroll
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.4/105 votes#15 - Need to Know
Season 9 Episode 17 - Aired 2/28/2012
Top-secret clearance from a Naval research laboratory is jeopardized when the murder of a Chief Petty Officer is connected to an international arms dealer. Meanwhile, Probationary Agent Ned Dorneget tries to butter up Gibbs in hopes of joining the team.
Director: Michelle MacLaren
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.4/105 votes#16 - The Enemy Within
Season 12 Episode 12 - Aired 1/13/2015
The NCIS team searches for a home-grown terrorist after a rescue mission in Syria reveals an American was involved in the capture of a social worker. Meanwhile, McGee and Bishop question DiNozzo’s unusual behavior.
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.3/107 votes#17 - Witness
Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 2/15/2005
Erin Kendall (guest star Danica McKellar) claims to have seen a murder of a sailor in an apartment across from hers. Gibbs assigns the case to McGee who believes that he can resolve it himself. However, due to the lack of physical evidence, McGee turns to the team to help him...
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.3/106 votes#18 - Leap of Faith
Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 10/23/2007
The NCIS team is called in to stop a naval officer from committing suicide by jumping off a rooftop, but when the suicide attempt turns into a murder, the NCIS team will have to find out who did it.
Director: Dennis Smith
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.2/106 votes#19 - The Inside Man
Season 7 Episode 3 - Aired 10/6/2009
The team must take a second look into the death of a lieutenant after the blogger who accused them of a cover-up ends up dead.
Director: Thomas J. Wright
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.2/106 votes#20 - Flesh and Blood
Season 7 Episode 12 - Aired 1/12/2010
Gibbs is worried about Tony's ability to handle his job when Tony's father turns out to be linked to their newest investigation, an assassination attempt on a foreign prince.
Director: Arvin Brown
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.2/104 votes#21 - Prime Suspect
Season 10 Episode 17 - Aired 3/5/2013
A media frenzy surrounding an unidentified criminal prompts Gibbs’ barber to question his son’s involvement and ask for Gibbs’ help in ruling out his son as a prime suspect.
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.2/105 votes#22 - Incognito
Season 13 Episode 3 - Aired 10/6/2015
After a Marine is found murdered in Quantico hours after calling Gibbs to discuss a possible case, Bishop and McGee go undercover as a married couple to run surveillance on a Marine Lieutenant and his wife.
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.1/107 votes#23 - Head Case
Season 3 Episode 15 - Aired 2/7/2006
While discovering an illegal automotive chop shop, the NCIS team stumbles upon a severed head of a Marine, hidden in one of the cars from the shop. When they find possible suspects, the team will have to find the rest of the body and find the murderer.
Director: Dennis Smith
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.0/1011 votes#24 - Dead Man Talking
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 4/27/2004
An NCIS agent has been murdered while investigating a case and the team's job is to find out what happened...
Director: Dennis Smith
Writer: Frank Cardea
7.0/107 votes#25 - Hometown Hero
Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 5/3/2005
A young Marine is killed in Iraq, but he was investigated by police for a murder on a young girl in his hometown. While going through his personal belongings, they find the body of that girl. The local police believes that the corpsman murdered the girl, but Gibbs believes that he is innocent and he will try to prove it with a help of Faith Coleman (guest star Alicia Coppola).
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Writer: Frank Cardea
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Frank Cardea Ratings Summary
"Sub Rosa" is the best rated episode written by Frank Cardea. It scored 8.1/10 based on 10 votes. It was directed by Michael Zinberg. It aired on 11/18/2003 and is rated 0.1 points higher than their second-best episode, "Silent Night".