NCIS: LA Review: Raising the Dead (Season 12 Episode 5)

When you watch shows like Law & Order: SVU or Criminal Minds, you expect to get episodes that keep you up at night. This week that honor belongs to NCIS: LA.

On NCIS: LA Season 12 Episode 5, “Raising the Dead,” Kensi must seek information about an imminent threat from a man she put away 30 years ago. This is the case that led Hetty to recruit her for the Office of Special Projects.

Kessler is a drug dealer and human trafficker who’s been obsessed with Kensi since she put him away for 30 years.

He has information about Sinclair, an escaped former CIA agent who is planning to kill the president. Of course, he will only give that intel to Kensi.

First things first, kudos to guest star Frank Military, who also wrote the episode, on his creepy as hell portrayal of Kessler.

At one point, he tells Kensi he’s in her head now. We can’t speak for Kensi, but he’s definitely in ours.

Though there are other elements to the story, this really boils down to a two-hander between Military and Daniela Ruah.

Ruah is amazing as she constantly shows the full range of Kensi’s emotions while she deals with this tense situation. She’s doing her duty to protect the president, but it’s always clear she’d rather be anywhere else.

Her tough federal agent persona is front and center, but the fear is also there in her eyes the whole time.

Ruah is performing a tense high wire act without a net, and she’s so good that never once do we worry about her falling.

It’s always a bit of a shock when NCIS: LA goes dark. Traditionally, it leans more on action and comedy, so when we get one of these unsettling episodes, it hits even harder than it does on other shows.

The one bright spot comes in a fascinating yet quick moment between Sam and Roundtree.

While searching the forest for Sinclair, the duo is forced to work with a condescending FBI agent. He doesn’t hide his disdain, as he uses all the racist code words the two Black agents instantly recognize.

In 12 seasons, we can’t remember the last time we got to see Sam have an honest conversation about race with one of his colleagues.

That moment finally comes as he and Roundtree talk about how they can’t call out racism every time it happens because they’d never get anything done. Roundtree says his goal is just to be better.

It was one of those short impactful scenes between an experienced agent and a rookie, who have walked the same path and overcome the same obstacles.

We finally get an answer to our question about Deeks when Nell informs him that despite all Hetty’s efforts, his position has been permanently eliminated. There’s also the added gut punch that he’s apparently too old for FLETC.

Really nice work from Eric Christian Olsen and Renee Felice Smith as they make it feel like this was really Deeks’s goodbye from the team.

We’ve watched enough TV to know this isn’t the end, but that didn’t make this any less emotional.

Back in creepy town, Kessler finally tells Kensi where Sinclair is, but first, he gets to talk to the president. He’s then released by presidential executive order, leaving Kensi and Deeks to fear for their lives.

Now that Kessler is out and can pop up to terrorize Kensi at any point, we’ll be sleeping with the lights on.

While this episode is so disturbingly good, it’s the kind you only watch once.

What did you think of this episode of NCIS: LA? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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NCIS: LA airs Sundays at 8:30 pm ET/8 pm PT on CBS.

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