That didn't wrap up much of anything, did it?

After creating chaos on NCIS: Los Angeles Season 9 Episode 23, Mosley got her son back on NCIS: Los Angeles Season 9 Episode 24.

But at what cost? 

I guess we'll be waiting until next fall to find out the answer to that question.

Maybe this will finally get Mosley reassigned. Five agents missing and assumed dead on an off-the-books operation has got to be a career ender, at the very least.

So, let's look at all the missteps that led to that ending.

Related: NCIS: Los Angeles Season 9 Episode 22 Review: Venganza

I mean, the Vietnam mission to rescue Hetty on NCIS: Los Angeles Season 9 Episode 14 was better planned and executed, halfway around the world. I bet the team wished they had Hetty's geriatric Vietnam buddies in Mexico with them.

Starting out with a firefight rather than the usual scene of Deeksian stream of consciousness about nothing was a welcome change of pace. 

That opener also gave the team an unnecessary handicap, a wounded Sam, although it didn't slow down him, or the team, very much.

If the powers that be had been of a mind to, they could have wrapped up this storyline within the two hours, with but a lot less of the intra-squad bickering.

But once a series has been renewed, where's the incentive to do that? It's cliffhanger time, come hell or high water.

The entire first hour seemed to be feeding off the adrenaline of the opening firefight. Mosley, once she found where her ex, Spencer, was at, was barreling over everyone, protocol and regulations be damned.

So what if she had been a stickler for those throughout much of the season. Hypocritical much?

Related: Watch NCIS: Los Angeles Online: Season 9 Episode 22

The whole argument for and against a rescue mission to retrieve Derrick really came down to those who feel parental (Sam, Hetty, Kensi) versus those who don't (Callen, Deeks).

Was this just an hyper-elevated custody battle or something more?

I'd argue it's the latter. Williams took his son out of the country without Mosley's permission, so it's parental abduction at the very least. Then there's the whole him being a weapons dealer thing, so he's on somebody's radar (the ATF, for sure) for illegal activities.

Mosley was morally right to try to get back her son. But to invade a foreign country, one of the most violent on the planet, with no intel and no resources, was just plain reckless.

Also, it should have been voluntarily, instead of getting everyone on the team involved, in most cases without knowing why she was acting psychotic.

You know things are off kilter when Deeks was the big-picture thinker. Deeks the lawyer pointed out all the reasons legally that what they were doing was wrong. That got him fired for his contributions.

He also chose the wrong moment entirely to have a serious talk with Kensi about what their future holds. You would have thought they would have had this talk previously. That got him un-engaged for his bad timing.

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Was that the end of Densi? I seriously doubt it. Still, there's now an excuse to push back the wedding well into NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10. Yay! More intermittent wedding planning!

But at least Deeks still had everyone's back, even Mosley's, once he got the full picture of what her deal was.

Now on to that half-baked rescue mission.

Hidoko went in as the self-appointed advance scout, never to be seen again. I haven't minded Hidoko, and I'm hoping she didn't get killed off so perfunctorily.

When you bring in a character played by Max Martini from The Unit, I expect an action hero out in the field, not a supply sergeant. There must be more to come from him ... next season.

While I understand a great part of the team's appeal is their ability to improvise, that was severely taxed on this mission. Four agents, only two of whom spoke the language, in a country full of cartels and corrupt police and military.

With no intel, it was a string of half-assed strategies. I liked Callen's idea of playing dead, then driving into the compound in disguise and unleashing every bit of weaponry they had. Escaping on horseback was a lovely touch.

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But, news flash, they're up against an army on the army's home ground. It's little wonder they ended up in a burning hulk.

It looks like Hetty was right when she said that Mosley would put all those agents in jeopardy if it would get her son back.

The good news is that the show is set for the first month of next season. Who's dead? Who's injured and how badly? What's the fallout? Is Densi still a thing?

Let's just hope things smooth out and aren't nearly as dysfunctional afterward.

To review the season, watch NCIS: Los Angeles online.

What did you think of the inevitable rescue mission? Will Deeks and Kensi reconnect? Is any character written off (which isn't the same as which ones do you want gone)? 

Comment below!

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