The Enemy Within episode 7 review: Who is Shepherd really with?

Moral dilemmas. They’re a tale as old as television itself. A show like The Enemy Within really lives and dies with them, which makes sense given the backstory from one Erica Shepherd. She’s someone who’s already allowed people to die for the sake of protecting her daughter, so it really shouldn’t surprise anyone that tonight, she was going to be okay losing an innocent man if it meant getting closer to stopping Tal once and for all.

As you would imagine, though, some other members of the team had some other plans. This was a story about ideological differences — saving Decker was a tough decision, but for Keaton, there was really no decision. He refused to end things today for the sake of capturing Tal and in the aftermath of that, Shepherd was not happy about it. Hence, the confrontation at the end of the episode where she accused him of not being able to handle the consequences of some of what matters.

That’s when we got one of the biggest confrontations we’ve seen between these two so far. Keaton’s quote that was perhaps the most hardcore was “you don’t need to be a murderer” to catch one, reminding her that he’s still willing to do the job … just do it his own way. That may not be enough for Shepherd, given that she chose to place an important phone call at the end of the episode … one that she made directly to Tal.

So what should you take away from that moment? Is Shepherd really about to fall back in with Tal? The Enemy Within is about misdirection and finding a way to get you to look one way while they deliver some big-time shocker elsewhere. We can see Erica thinking that contacting him and tricking him directly is one of the best ways to handle the problem, especially if she’s getting to this point where she doesn’t think that Keaton is able to do the job anymore. We don’t know how she thinks this will help her reputation within the team or the ability to communicate with her daughter, but we’re not really sure that she’s thinking all that much through right now. Shepherd can develop tunnel vision like the best of them and if she had a way to make things right (or at least her definition of right), she’s going to make that happen.

CarterMatt Verdict

There’s such a distinction between how Keaton and Shepherd operate and we’re not sure an episode of The Enemy Within has shown that better than this one. Think a little bit more in terms of Shepherd playing both sides and being willing to kill, while Keaton does his part to deal more in terms of avoiding grief. He’s been there and he’s felt that pain, and that therapy scene at the end is perhaps the best representation of where he stands that we’ve seen.

What’s next on The Enemy Within?

Be prepared for a big flashback episode! You can get some more details all about it over at the link here.

What did you think about The Enemy Within episode 7 overall? Share right now in the attached comments and check back soon for more news soon. (Photo: NBC.)