The Enemy Within

In the episodes given to critics for review, it remains escapist fare with a self-serious veneer of danger. Carpenter brings the emotional weight; let’s hope the show lives up to her performance.

If its characters continue to be dumb about someone in their midst (hey, see how that title comes into play), it could diminish them and the show. ... [Unlike ABC's Whiskey Cavalier,] this show goes beyond the standard cloak and dagger to ask some serious ethical questions about methods and how even the most seemingly benign operation can lead to civilian collateral damage. For treating us like grown-ups, you might be willing to make friends with “Enemy.”

Chestnut does a fair bit of what might be called grunge-rock acting, going from soft to loud in an instant, sometimes to unintended comic effect. Carpenter, by contrast, builds her character from behind a wall of impassivity. They’re generally good company, though.

Enemy Within conjures enough twists and serialized crumbs within its threat-of-the-week capers to sustain interest across the three episodes previewed, thanks in part to an overarching plot involving the shadowy figure that Shepherd went to prison for aiding.

Carpenter and Chestnut solidly play their roles, but Enemy Within doesn’t crackle the way The Blacklist did in early episodes. There’s nothing particularly special going on here, and it’s hard to muster the enthusiasm to say much more than that.

If the show can find more unique ways of harnessing its star’s power going forward, it might find a more interesting groove. Until then, “The Enemy Within” will remain more of a shrug than a must watch.

The Enemy Within is a predictably thin and hyped-up network concoction. But connoisseurs of gothic silliness can appreciate it as a gender-switched homage to “The Silence of the Lambs.”

It turns out Erica’s betrayal was not diabolical, but the excuse she offers is weak and only proves the whole series is based on a preposterous contrivance.

It's also a dull world. Agent Keaton operates a squad played by a reasonable assortment of actors who, through the first and third episodes sent to critics, mostly dwell in the background. ... Chestnut isn't that much more interesting.