‘NCIS: New York’ Episode 4 Recap & Ending Explained: Sam Hanna Has to Take Down His Childhood Hero in “Homecoming”

Spoilers ahead for the full episode. The newest ‘NCIS‘ spinoff has spent its first weeks establishing LL COOL J’s Sam Hanna in his hometown, and the latest hour finally digs into who he was before he became an agent. Episode 4, “Homecoming”, aired on CBS on October 27 and streams on Paramount+ the next day.

The series premiered on October 6 and follows Sam as he joins the New York field office alongside Scott Caan’s roguish Nick Schaeffer. Jennifer Beals leads the office as Robyn Wells, and the team also includes Jacqueline Byers, Shane Harper and Devin Druid. Sam’s backstory was largely unexplored on ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’, which makes this chapter feel like a true origin story.

The case begins with a deadly armored truck robbery and ends with a showdown that turns on loyalty rather than clues. Sam finds himself tracking a sniper who turns out to be the man who once kept him out of prison. Here is how it all unfolds and what the ending means.

At the Naval Corps Credit Union, 2 guards loading cash onto a truck are shot and about half a million dollars is stolen. The first guard’s death appears accidental, since the shooter removed a glove to check his pulse and left a print behind. The second killing was calculated, a shot from a high vantage point using armor-piercing rounds to hold the truck still.

The print leads to Freddy Smith, an ex-Army veteran and drug addict who failed to get clean through VA rehab. Smith is found dead of an apparent overdose, but Nick suspects the scene was staged, noting that an addict would not overdose on half a syringe. The drugs turn out to be pure fentanyl, and the missing money suggests Smith was a patsy for a partner.

Smith used to work on the campaign of Councilman Wesley Jackson, who has a habit of hiring veterans because they look good on the trail. The team notes that several armored truck robberies have involved different men tying up the loading guards, suggesting a mastermind recruiting or eliminating patsies. A tungsten supplier refuses to cooperate without a warrant, until a photo shows Jackson was a loyal customer.

Jackson is taken into custody and points the finger at developer Curtis Allen. According to him, Curtis was laundering drug money and had gotten into debt. Curtis is also good with a long gun from hunting.

The twist is personal. Curtis, played by Malik Yoba, is a figure from Sam’s old neighborhood in Queens. When Sam was around 15 or 16, Curtis stopped him from getting into a car with friends heading out to rob a crack house, and those friends ended up with 12-year prison sentences.

Sam has long considered Curtis the reason he is not in prison. Even so, when evidence mounts, he insists he can separate gratitude from the job. His position is that being good to him does not make Curtis a good man.

When someone hacks the dispatch system again while Jackson is still in custody, the team realizes it cannot be him. They set a trap with a fake robbery, and Sam takes down the sniper, who turns out to be Curtis. Sam deliberately shoots to wound rather than kill, and Curtis complains that he was supposed to be a better shot. Sam replies that he hit exactly what he was aiming for.

The meaning of that moment is the heart of the episode. Sam later tells Wells that looking through the site was like looking at his old self, and that he wasn’t sure he could take the shot. He arrests Curtis and turns down time off, saying he has more to do.

That choice shows Sam honoring Curtis’s gift without letting it excuse a crime. It also fits the show’s larger theme about homecoming. Sam is still a hero to many people in his old neighborhood, and by the end he commits to going back to keep doing the work.

The finale of the episode leaves Sam more rooted in New York than he was in the premiere, when he still felt like a stranger. Season 1 is currently listed at 8 episodes, and episode 5 is scheduled for November 3. Fans will be watching to see how Sam’s arrest of Curtis affects his standing in Queens.

The episode also reinforces the dynamic between Sam and Nick. Nick quietly investigated Curtis early on, even though he knew how much the man meant to his partner. That balance of trust and professional distance is likely to define their partnership going forward.

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