Barthes' Hermeneutic Code

NCIS Season 7 Episode 11 - Ignition                                                                                          12-9-17

In this episode a navy pilot is found dead in a secluded area, the team must battle a no-nonsense attorney with a hidden agenda.

Well, at the beginning of the episode a navy pilot is found dead attached to a jet pack in a secluded area. The Hermeneutic Code is used in the opening scene when there is a discovery of a body and it's straight away not clear whether it was a murder or an accident. Immediately, numerous questions are raised by the viewers because of this uncertainty.

As the episode progresses, more enigmas are revealed. The show reveals that the body discovered at the beginning of the episode was a murder which is obvious as if he died from natural causes then the CSI team wouldn't be investigating the situation. Throughout the process of analysing DNA and the evidence more questions are raised for example, the team find out information that the two CEOs of the company just divorced and the person who was murdered was working and being paid by both CEOs. They also reveal that Sayers (person who was murdered) was poisoned before he was attached to the jet pack.

The enigma raised towards the end is who killed Sayers'. In the end, the show reveals that Powell (who was working with Sayers) wanted 100 percent of the profits earned so he needed to eliminate Sayers. Just like most crime shows, enigmas are revealed towards the end of the episode. Just like most, there were many enigmas throughout the show and all of the questions raised were answered.