NCIS Los Angeles review: Raising the Dead

Photo credit: @NCISLA 

Here’s my review of NCIS Los Angeles season twelve episode “Raising the Dead.” Please note that this isn’t a recap of what happens. I’m assuming that you’ve already seen the episode. There are spoilers in this review.

While the previous episode “Cash Flow” may have been a lighthearted run-of-the-mill episode, “Raising the Dead” was a dark and dreary story, probably giving viewers whiplash after watching the two episodes back to back. But this episode finally gives us the most character-centric story so far this season, so that’s a point in its favor.

Longtime viewers probably are able to tell that Frank Military penned this episode just because of how dark it is. That’s his signature style after all. The episode itself is pretty simplistic: Kensi interrogates a prisoner who can tell them how to find an escapee who wants to kill the president. There’s no murder to solve. No real witnesses to talk to. No undercover work necessary. It’s just find the answers and find the guy.

The twist, however, is that the guy Kensi must question is a psychopath scumbag named David Kessler who she put in prison over a decade ago. He’s very obsessed with her. And his interactions made my skin crawl. (Military’s scripts are often a bit too dark for my personal tastes, so there was a lot I just didn’t enjoy watching in this episode.)

Still, what I did enjoy about this episode was how streamlined it was. Up until the final twist, everything was quite straightforward. Kensi did the negotiating, Callen did the ex-girlfriend interviewing, Sam and Rountree did the searching, etc. It made it easy to follow, yet also still pretty engaging to watch.

Kensi is the focus in this episode, having to face someone from her past who just won’t leave her alone. Kessler taunts her, threatens her, tries to “get in her head,” but she never cracks under the pressure. Though Daniela Ruah’s excellent acting skills show that Kensi is definitely a bit shaken, especially when Kessler uses the phrase “touché” (something she and Deeks often say) and he asks about children. She hides it pretty well but the audience can tell this isn’t a pleasant experience for her.

Even though I don’t particularly like this plot, I do like stories that drive character growth and change. I’ll be interested to see if this interrogation affects Kensi in future episodes. And, after Kessler’s dastardly release from prison, I’m interested to see what happens if he actually makes another appearance later too.

And, of course, there’s also the matter of Deeks. Though he wasn’t around as much in this episode (due to actor availability I believe), his few scenes were memorable. Along with being frustrated he isn’t working with Kensi on this tough case, he also learns that his liasion job has been completely cut. Everyone has been hoping that things will work out, but it doesn’t seem likely from his conversation with Nell. This could also open up some interesting storylines for him this season. I hope we get to see what’s planned for him soon.

“Raising the Dead” was an episode dealing with a lot of dark themes. But it was structured well enough to keep the audience interested, and then the big twist at the end opened up plenty of possibilities for future episodes.

Notes from the Boat Shed

• I didn’t really touch on the reveal about Michelle Boucher in the review, mostly because it was the thing I hated the most about the episode. She was portrayed at first with all the classic signs of being a victim, but the reveal that it was all an act really soured that for me. In real life, there’s often a problem of not believing real victims because the mindset is that they are, like Michelle, just acting. I don’t like when television shows reinforce this mindset instead of trying to break it down. But this is just a personal preference for me.
• In addition to writing this episode, Military also portrayed David Kessler himself! The last time I actually saw Frank Military onscreen was a fantastic two part episode of Star Trek Deep Space Nine entitled “Past Tense.” He was a minor character, but I highly recommend the episodes themselves.
• I feel like all the reasons Nell said Deeks couldn’t come back were really stupid lol. But oh well! Personally I think Deeks should become a private consultant and the team can hire him for all their cases 😀 or maybe… he should just go back to being a lawyer
• Rountree rambling about spiders might have been my favorite thing from this episode 😆😊
• I enjoy the dynamic of Sam and Rountree partnered up. Also, I really would have liked more of a focus on their conversation about calling out racism. Maybe in future episodes.
• At one point, Kessler says Kensi is really bad at negotiating, and… in this episode I kinda agree. They really did give him everything he wanted.

So what did you think? Like it or hate it? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.