The Enemy Within episode 7 video: Keaton’s life-or-death choice
To set the stage here, CarterMatt has the official synopsis for you below:
When the FBI intercepts stolen NSA software intended for Tal, Keaton uses the technology as an opportunity to go on the offensive and sends Shepherd undercover to pass the technology to the intended recipient, a 19-year-old computer genius (guest star Stephen Friedrich). Keaton must choose between catching Tal or saving the life of an innocent teenager.
In between this and also the promo below, you can get a pretty strong inkling as to where things stand. This 19-year old computer genius is going to find himself targeted by Tal, and Keaton has the ability to ensure that he is safe. Yet, if he does swoop in and try to help him, that will signal to Tal that he’s being watched and convince him to flee and then law enforcement may never see or hear from him again. This is their opportunity, but their opportunity comes at the expense of someone’s life, someone innocent. For Shepherd, she advocates for using this poor young guy as bait — not because she wants to see the poor sap get killed, but because she understands tough choices and the idea of the greater good.
Of course, Shepherd’s also hardened by her own tough decisions of her past, including letting others lose their lives just so that those who mattered the most to her remained safe. Her perception of the greater good and sacrificing lives are therefore a little bit skewed.
If you’re Keaton, one thing you may be considering here is the strength of your entire department as a whole. If you are confident enough in your intelligence, are you going to be okay with taking a risk here? Can you save this person, and then feel like you can still track down Tal? We don’t exactly think that we’re going to see the guy get captured during this episode in the first place. We’re at episode 7 here, after all! We’re not at the point in the season where there’s some pressing need to move the needle forward and have him arrested. The only reason to have that happen here is if you really want to set things up in some sort of way for Tal and Emily to have some dramatic scenes for a few weeks where you start to question her loyalty again and the entire Enemy Within world gets set on fire. Now that we’re thinking about it, we’re certainly making a compelling argument for the show to move forward in this particular direction!
What do you think is coming up on The Enemy Within episode 7, and could we be seeing a position here where Keaton sacrifices the kid’s life? Share your thoughts and theories now in the comments. (Photo: NBC.)