Kensi Blye

Kensi Blye
First appearance	"Legend (Part 1)" (NCIS episode)
Portrayed by	Daniela Ruah
Other appearances	Hawaii Five-0 NCIS
Information
Full name	Kensi Marie Blye
Nickname(s)	Kens Wikipedia Fern (by Deeks) Kensilina (by Deeks) Kay-Kay (by Deeks)
Gender	Female
Occupation	Junior Field Special Agent (NCIS)/Special Agent (NCIS)
Title	Special Agent
Family	Donald Blye (father; deceased) Julia Feldman (mother)
Significant other(s)	Jack Simon (ex-fiancé) Marty Deeks (boyfriend)
Nationality	American

Kensi Marie Blye (/ˈkɛnzi ˈblaɪ/; portrayed by Daniela Ruah) is a fictional character in the show NCIS: Los Angeles. She is a Junior Field Agent in the NCIS Office of Special Projects Team stationed in Los Angeles.

Casting

Kensi was originally named "Kensi Lo" and described as "a twenty-something Asian-American whose academic record in Forensics and Criminology got her recruited young by the Feds";^[1] a change was necessitated when Portuguese actress Daniela Ruah was cast. Like G. Callen, Sam Hanna, Eric Beale and Nate Getz, Kensi was first introduced in the backdoor pilot "Legend" from NCIS.

Background

Personal background

Kensi came from a U.S. Marine Corps family and still drives to Camp Pendleton every weekend. At some point her father was stationed at Camp Lejeune during her childhood. She is fluent in Portuguese, French, and Spanish, can lip-read and knows Morse code. In the episode "Borderline" she also stated that her father taught her how to "track, shoot, fix an engine, play poker, wire a house; basically anything you teach a son",^[2] and that her father was her best friend. In that same scene she reveals that her "father didn't have any sons, just me" implying that she is an only child. She has admitted to having Chaetophobia (fear of hair), specifically fear of men's back hair.^[3] She collects gel bracelets and is known to have at least seventy-two.

When she was fifteen years old and out seeing the movie Titanic with friends, a movie Kensi considers to be her favorite, her father was murdered. His body was so unrecognizable that he had to be identified through the use of dental records. It had been a cold case for many years, but in the episode "Blye, K Part 2" it was finally solved and Kensi was able to move on with her life at last. It was subsequently revealed that after her father's murder, she spent a year living on the streets.

Professional background

Kensi joined the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in 2006, after having graduated from college with a degree in forensic science.

In "The Only Easy Day", Kensi says that when she was the new girl, she had to climb through air ducts because she was the smallest, and also had to wear bikinis on assignment when needed. She's very talented with undercover work, and Callen and Sam have called her a "natural operator".

Storylines

Season 1

On-screen, her first partner was Agent Dom Vail. She was particularly upset when Dom went missing and she was seen afterwards washing dishes at his apartment. Kensi has been officially partnered with Marty Deeks since season two, although their first experience working together was in the season one episode "Fame".

Season 2

It is revealed in the season two episode "Disorder" that she was once engaged to a Marine named Jack, but that their relationship ended after his return from Iraq suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and his subsequent disappearance. Kensi tried to be there for him (stating that she helped with his medication, and even went to his psychiatric appointments), but all of her efforts weren't enough since Jack was too affected. It is said that he eventually left her without even telling her. She is even shown crying in the interrogation room to the suspect (proving that she obviously had a deep connection to him, and is still greatly affected by the loss). Although Deeks and Kensi have a somewhat antagonistic relationship at first, they have warmed up considerably over time, and she was visibly concerned when Deeks was shot in the episode "Personal". Kensi asks Hetty if she can stay with Deeks in the hospital rather than assist in the investigation of his shooting, as she didn't want to risk not seeing him alive again, as had happened with Vail. Deeks is also a flirter and he has demonstrated some interest in Kensi on a personal level. In the episode "The Job", while undercover, she had to flirt with a good-looking thief. Deeks showed jealousy, as noted by Callen and Sam.

Kensi is visibly annoyed sometimes when Deeks flirts with other women or when he attempts to use her as a wingman. During some episodes, though, Kensi appears slightly jealous when Deeks flirts with other women or when they come across someone he once had feelings for while undercover. Over time it becomes obvious that Kensi is developing feelings for Deeks, though she often hides them. Like Deeks, Kensi also has a comic book collection. In the season two episode "Plan B" Kensi earns the nickname Wikipedia for her encyclopedic knowledge. In the season two finale, Kensi resigns from NCIS along with Callen and Sam in order to follow Hetty's trail to Prague without Director Vance's authorization.^[4]

Season 3

In the season three episode "Blye, K.", Kensi falls under investigation when Marines from her dead father's sniper unit end up dead in various car accidents. Kensi's father Donald Blye was part of a special operations unit named "Oscar-Sierra". She is taken into custody by Assistant Director Granger when it's revealed that she was the last person a few Marines contacted before their deaths, although her name is eventually cleared when it becomes apparent that the true killer is a former member of her father's sniper unit who faked his own death. In season four, Hetty tells Deeks that Kensi lived on the streets for about a year after her father's death. This event appears to have scarred her emotionally, although she has never gone into details as to the events that took place while on the streets. In "Blye, K., Part II", it is revealed that her mother (remarried as Julia Feldman) lives in Encino and they haven't spoken in 15 years. In the same episode, it is revealed that Kensi joined NCIS in 2006, nine years after the death of her father. She was 24 years old at the time. Granger accuses Kensi of joining NCIS to fulfill her own agenda, i.e. to investigate her father's death. Donald Blye died trying to protect an American journalist named Brad Stevens who was about to expose Peter Clairemont (chief of the Oscar-Sierra unit) who had killed a civilian while intoxicated. At the end of the episode, much to Kensi's surprise, it was revealed that her father and Granger were close associates.

Kensi also has an affinity for Dubstep and techno music. Deeks mentions it early on in season three and she is found listening to it while undercover in episode 22 of season three, "Neighborhood Watch". Kensi also made a guest appearance in the Hawaii Five-0 episode "Ka Hakaka Maikaʻi" where she announced that she has Level 5 security clearance.

Season 4

In the episode "Parley", while Deeks is undercover with a woman named Monica, Kensi appears jealous of how close Monica is to him. While Kensi is preparing Monica for a meeting with an arms dealer, Monica asks whether being Deeks' partner is enough for her. Kensi seems uptight and tries to avoid answering the question. Monica then goes on to tell her that he can't be trusted; Kensi defends Deeks by saying "I trust him with everything". Later Kensi goes to talk to Deeks and he asks her if she's good. She replies by saying she's good and asks Deeks the same question. He replies by saying "I'm good if you're good". Though they both say everything is fine between them, they both seem to be lying and are obviously not fine.

Season 5

In the opening episode of season five, Kensi is both comforted and deeply affected by the fact that Deeks used her as a tether to withstand the torture he had endured. While Deeks is recovering, Kensi states that she attempted to bring him his favorite doughnut/croissant (a.k.a. "Cronut"). She is clearly distraught by his lack of response, even to this gesture. After Nate is called to access Deeks' mental status, it is Kensi who's finally able to give him the sleep he has thus far been unable to attain, when she goes to visit him at his house. In the episode "Recovery", it is implied that Kensi and Deeks have become intimate after he told her he wanted to be with her at his apartment and she stared at him before walking off, with him following right behind her. However, following their night together in the episode "Frozen Lake", things become awkward and full of tension when their entangled emotions begin to have an effect on their performance during field work. When Deeks doesn't take a most-needed shot, Kensi becomes agitated and tells Deeks she is standing on a "frozen lake" and that while she wants what they have more than anything else, it just won't work. Despite this, at the end of the episode, Kensi tells Deeks they'll find a way to work things out between them, admitting they have a "thing", before asking him to be patient with her as they talk things through. He agrees to that and they make plans to meet again that night. As Kensi waits for Deeks later on, though, Hetty tells her she's been reassigned to a new and classified mission and will have to leave until the job is finished, much to her disappointment. As she prepares to leave, she receives a text message from Deeks saying he is almost there. She appears genuinely upset and walks off.

In Afghanistan, she receives her mission - she is to kill an American man who lives under the alias "White Ghost". Over time, she discovers the "White Ghost" is a man named Jack Simon – the same Jack Simon who was her fiancé nine years previously. Jack Simon had PTSD returning from the war and left her on Christmas morning (season two "Disorder"). Because of her personal connection to him, she isn't able to kill him and she eventually gets captured. It is revealed that all of this was a plan crafted by Hetty to protect Jack from the CIA, because Jack is in fact innocent. When the team hears news of Kensi's capture they rush to her aid, only to find her pale, weak and having been very severely beaten. This is a direct parallel to what Deeks went through at the beginning of season five. Kensi prefers not to talk about it, although she does confide in Deeks and he embraces her when she says "It was really bad".

Season 6

In season six, she and Deeks agree to make their relationship official.

Season 7

In season seven, Kensi decides to move in with Deeks. At the end of the season Deeks proposes to Kensi.

Season 8

In season eight, Callen, Sam, Kensi and Deeks go to the desert to capture a terrorist and their plane gets shot down and in the wreckage Kensi gets stuck under the nose of the plane and goes into a coma. The aftermath of the injury results in a spinal cord injury with a very slim chance of recovery.

References