Sam's Biggest Mistake Ever On NCIS: Los Angeles

[TMC]

https://www.looper.com/800259/sams-b...s-los-angeles/

Sam's overly-strict parenting ends up making his life harder

During Episode 10 of Season 12, "The Frogman's Daughter," Sam's daughter Kam is kidnapped after organizing and participating in multiple protests in the area by an unknown person who's looking to stop her activism dead in its tracks. Sam must go scorched earth to keep his daughter from being murdered by her mysterious assailants.

It all feels like a horrible flashback to Michelle's murder, but in this case Sam's family has been subjected to a wholly avoidable trauma. It turns out that Kam is keeping multiple secrets from her father — the fact that she's got a boyfriend, and the fact that she's been leading Students for Humanity protests on her campus. Kam had in fact been in the process of walking to Sam's house to tell him the truth when she's kidnapped and placed in a defunct jail alongside her fellow high-profile protesters.

Sam has always been portrayed as a strict though caring dad, doling out "Hanna house rules" to his kids to keep them in line. But in this case, if Kam had felt free to be truthful with Sam about the fact that she's growing up and has an interest in activism, a lot of time might have been saved during the investigation. Kam might not have been subjected to physical and psychological torture. All of this happens because she feels the need to lie to Sam.

It's impossible to argue that Sam's a bad parent — his kids have turned out well and they love him. But even though Kam survives the day and subsequently insists on attending the protest in spite of the danger, one can't ignore the fact that Sam's strictness has added a few emotional scars to Kam's psyche, making it a big mistake.