Even though Ziva's gone, she's still haunting the team.

Fortunately, that didn't stop Gibbs and company from finding the murderer of an ex-Marine on NCIS Season 17 Episode 3.

In the continuing effort to find a legitimate role for Jack on the squad, she ended up informally interviewing everyone about how they felt about Ziva's visit, under orders from Vance.

Following their stoic boss's lead, McGee, Bishop, and Torres didn't offer up much about their feelings. They don't need no stinkin' feelings.

Instead, logically, they were more concerned about how their teammates were handling Ziva's resurrection and drama from NCIS Season 17 Episode 1 and NCIS Season 17 Episode 2.

It was amusing how each saw the others suffering from fallout.

McGee correctly pointed out that Ziva was an NCIS rock star and Bishop had the misfortune of having to work in Ziva's shadow.

Related: NCIS Season 17 Episode 2 Review: Into The Light

Bishop thought Torres was off after Ziva beat him in a fight and his alpha-male vanity was wounded.

Torres denied that was the case, then deflected that Jack should talk to Gibbs since they had an affair going anyway.

Were he and the others correct in perceiving that Jack and Gibbs have a thing?

First off, they, along with Vance, are the adults in the room.

Jack and Gibbs have a military background in common. So it's natural they can relate better to each other than their younger proteges.

Gibbs has a preference for redheads but 16 seasons have shown that hair color isn't a dealbreaker in Gibbs' romantic attractions.

Since we know very little about Jack in her short two-plus seasons with the team, it's hard to say to what kind of man she is attracted.

But Gibbs is appealing to most straight females, right?

Jack managed to get Gibbs to talk about his feelings, specifically about Ziva, which was a major accomplishment with that sphinx.

Gibbs admitted to being majorly conflicted about how he handled Ziva's death, her reappearance and subsequent disappearance.

Based on her experience with her biological daughter that she put up for adoption, Jack wisely counseled Gibbs to give Ziva her space.

Now wouldn't romance just muck up what seems to be a fast-growing friendship? 

Would there be any point? And yet, Jack almost seemed ready to bring up the idea with Gibbs before he got called away.

Hopefully, she sleeps on it and lets it die a natural death.

A more ambitious goal would be finding more for Jack to do.

With armchair psychologist Ducky still wandering the halls, Jack seems somewhat redundant in her role as forensic psychologist. 

Isn't there some way to get her out in the field more? A veteran like her could surely contribute in that manner as well.

It was a lovely moment at the end, when Gibbs replaced the inkblot he hated on Jack's wall with Esther's elephant painting with the "Merry Christmas" Post-it.

Will Ziva's visit have an lasting impact?

Probably not. McGee, Gibbs, Jimmy, and Vance are surely relieved to learn she's still alive. Bishop and Torres got to experience her. Kasie seemed indifferent to her presence.

That doesn't mean it won't be great to have her return for another couple of episodes. Maybe with Tony and Tali this time?

Related: Watch NCIS Online: Season 17 Episode 2

It was a good, bizarre case of the week, with all kinds of red herrings. I reminded me more of an episode of Elementary with all the misdirection.

You can never go wrong with taking the team into an oddball community such as the mobile-home park.

The straight-laced NCIS agents, especially Gibbs, just don't fit into the intrigues of suburbia.

I spent too much time on Google trying to identify the older actress playing Esther.

It turns out that Ellen Geer is the daughter of Grandpa Walton, Will Geer. I thought she might have been Grandma Walton, but that was Ellen Corby.

Ask your parents, kids.

Enough TV trivia for one episode.

That one trailer park housed Esther, dubbed the ringleader, but also an arms dealer and a former mobster turned protected witness. That's a colorful place in Nowhere, Virginia.

There was even a shady property guru just because.

And let's not forget Felix, the garden gnome.

They were weaving a complicated web. Two brothers buy a mobile-home park hoping to get rich, but double the rents and anger the tenants.

Vince, the mobster, turned peaceful gardener has a severe asthma attack, which led to the discovery of the harmful chemicals on the property.

Ducky the Science Guy and Gibbs team up to browbeat a pair of chemical-company executives into admitting their fire polluted that land.

These days, any episode with Ducky is a win. I understand David McCallum may be cutting back but it's not something NCIS fans readily endorse.

But the final solution came down to the oldest motive in the world -- greed. One brother killed the other to keep him from ruining their get-rich-quick scheme.

Related: Get CBS All Access via Amazon Channels for Hit Shows, Exclusive Originals & Live TV!

Should the brother have been a suspect sooner, despite the colorful characters in the trailer park? Probably.

Then Jack had the last word, getting everyone to realize they need to talk to each other and not about each other. 

Maybe that is Jack's role: facilitator.

To review Jack's history, watch NCIS online.

How much did Ziva's visit affect the agents?

Should Jack and Gibbs get together?

Would you like more Ducky?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.