THE ENEMY WITHIN Episode 1: Pilot
“THE FBI ESTIMATES THERE ARE ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FOREIGN SPIES WORKING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES TODAY. MORE THAN ANY TIME IN HISTORY.”
From the mind of Ken Woodruff (The Mentalist, Reverie, Gotham) comes a new drama starring Morris Chestnut and Jennifer Carpenter. Advertised as a spy drama series, the show focuses on an FBI Agent (Chestnut) who enlists the help of a former CIA operative, currently imprisoned because the government believes her to be a traitor, (Carpenter) to catch an elusive spy who has killed numerous people a second time around.
The episode starts out in what looks like our Nation’s Capital. Erica Shepherd (Carpenter) walks down a crowded street while others hidden in plain sight look on. Soon, she kneels to the ground and is taken in by the FBI. Flashes of news stories and clippings front the screen. The Deputy Director of Operations at the CIA is apparently a traitor. Our second protagonist FBI Agent Will Keaton is the one to arrest her. The news states that she is responsible for the death of four CIA operatives while conspiring against the United States government.
Three Years Later
We are in a busy Union Station in Washington DC when we pick up, following a man in a business suit. He is being pursued by a man with greasy hair. The man in the suit is aware and starts to rush toward his destination. Meanwhile, the screen cuts again and now we are in Philadelphia where a woman is leaving her baby with the nanny for the day, seemingly to attend work. She gets in her car and starts to drive. We cut to Manhattan, at a busy office building.
What is the connection?
Two motorcyclists begin to pursue the woman in Pennsylvania. They throw a black substance on the front of her car to have her crash. They then shoot her. The greasy hair man in DC is seemingly a distraction. Another man shoots the guy in the business suit. We’re up to two executions before the first cup of coffee… what is happening here? Back in Manhattan, there is a large explosion in the office.
FBI Agent Keaton is running when a SUV pulls up beside him. Another Agent Daniel Zain alerts him that there have been three attacks. He says those killed included the Treasury Deputy Officer, a US District Attorney and three CIA operatives. Keaton does not waste time. He believes it is Mikhail Vassily Tal; they get into the SUV together.
Delving into the Past
Mikhail Vassily Tal is a former Russian SVR Agent and one of America’s biggest threats, according to Agent Keaton at a meeting sometime later. He explains that Tal was responsible for the death of 21 people in 2015 when he set a bomb off on a stationary Boston plane set to take off soon. It was a trial run for a larger attack. He had twenty more bombs like it. The death toll could’ve been much larger.
He further eludes that Tal used Erica Shepherd to find and kill the four operatives behind stopping the bombings. Others at the meeting are hesitant to believe this is also Tal. Agent Zain tells the others that the four killed earlier in the morning were part of a task force that investigated Tal’s finances. Is he cleaning up loose ends?
“There has to be someone who can help you find him.”
Deputy Director of National Intelligence says someone must help Agent Keaton find Tal. The FBI Assistant Director of Counter Intelligence wants to bring in Erica Shepherd, as she knows him better than anyone and at one time was one of the biggest assets to the CIA. Keaton reminds him that she is a traitor and that she killed Lane.
Lane was Keaton’s fiancé. Things just got dicey.
Despite his disdain for the idea, Keaton travels to Colorado, the ADX Maximum Security Prison in which Shepherd is jailed. The room he meets her in is bright and white; they are surrounded by armed guards. There is a tense stare down between the two former colleagues. Keaton says he’s here to make an offer. She says she hasn’t cooperated before why should she now? For her assistance on the case, she gets extra showers and music to start.
If she agrees, she would also be moved to a federal detention center in DC. He tells her there has been chatter about a potential attack, clearly not speaking the truth. There’s a pause.
“Liar.”
Shepherd says that if he is here, there must have already been an attack. Tensions rise; Keaton is clearly getting agitated by her amusement. She says he must look for someone on the inside.
“You have no idea what people are capable of.”
Keaton is thoroughly angry now. He yells, “I know what you’re capable of.” He flips a chair, repeats the statement. The door opens, the Assistant Director comes in, the guards surround them. They are about to take Keaton out of the room when Shepherd shouts “Wait!” She repeats that it must be someone on the inside. She agrees to help and asks when she can leave.
Once fitted with a GSP tracker that is attached to her artery (so if she takes it out she bleeds to death), she is moved.
Our next scene is a flashback between Shepherd and her daughter. They are playful, lots of banter and teasing while getting ready for the day. It is just her daughter in the room. It is a different Shepherd.
Leave a Reply