Freedom (NCIS)

At one point, Ducky suggests sending Ziva to talk to Wooten, noting that the former had "been through things you and I can't even imagine" and knew how it felt to be controlled, and was therefore the only one who could relate.

The team finds numerous suspects, including the murder victim's pregnant girlfriend, but eventually narrow it down to a bar owner who was a friend of the wife.

In total viewers, "Freedom" easily won NCIS and CBS the night as the episode became the most watched in the history of the series (not surpassed until "Shiva" almost 2 years later).

[7] "It’s simply amazing that a show in its eighth season continues to perform at such an elite level", CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler said.

[8] Steve Marsi from TV Fanatic gave the episode 4.0 (out of 5) and stated that "As far as the murder mystery, 'Freedom' was fairly boilerplate stuff, lacking a bit of the urgency and some of the lightning-quick twists we've grown accustomed to.

As they say (or at least I do), an average episode of NCIS is still better than a good installment of almost anything else...What was most intriguing about the case was not the evidence or the unfolding mystery but the fact that this powerful woman, a Marine martial arts trainer, was an abuse victim.

It seemed like a prime opportunity for Ziva's character to shine - relating to a suspect similarly strong, powerful, yet vulnerable - but the plot quickly moved in other directions.