This episode appears to arc S16 E24 - Daughters to S17 E8 - Musical Chairs and creates a sort of, "Lost episode" taking place either in parallel with or just after S17 E8. The episode does not appear to be a flashback as there are no time/episode references past S17 E8, save for the, "Episode disconnected" opening scene.
The scenes referencing S17 E8 that try to build the story arc are not particularly in depth but, if you squint, you can sort of see where the story is going. Once you make these story arc connections, you should be able to see where the opening scene will fit in via a future episode. (one hopes)
I agree with james_abbey in that the focus is all over the place and that the episode looks like it was a pieced together story using S17 leftovers. With a bit more care this could have been the Gibbs/Fornell episode it was intended to be. For how great the writing and production of this series have always been, this episode disappoints. Haste can make waste.
The scenes referencing S17 E8 that try to build the story arc are not particularly in depth but, if you squint, you can sort of see where the story is going. Once you make these story arc connections, you should be able to see where the opening scene will fit in via a future episode. (one hopes)
I agree with james_abbey in that the focus is all over the place and that the episode looks like it was a pieced together story using S17 leftovers. With a bit more care this could have been the Gibbs/Fornell episode it was intended to be. For how great the writing and production of this series have always been, this episode disappoints. Haste can make waste.