The series charts the family's life in and out of the public sphere in their suburb, as well as their associations with a fundamentalist compound in the area.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.03 million household viewers and gained a 0.4/1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
Cara Lynn (Cassi Thomson) lies to skip classes with Greg (Christian Campbell), instead hanging out with Gary (Luke Klop).
Ben (Douglas Smith) is surprised when Heather (Tina Majorino) returns, and decides to spend more time with her.
Alby also kicks out Adaleen (Mary Kay Place) out of her house, forcing her to stay with Nicki (Chloë Sevigny).
Bill faces pressure when a doctor tells him that Lois (Grace Zabriskie) is diagnosed with dementia, and also discovers that the Blackfoot Magic Casino has been remodeled without his permission under new leadership.
Bill also surprises his wives by giving them permissions to carry guns, which is why he was constantly asking Margie (Ginnifer Goodwin) for her driver's licence, and this draws mixed reactions from them.
"[4] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "I thought there were some strong performances from Ginnifer Goodwin and Jeanne Tripplehorn, and I liked the Alby/Lura subplot, but mostly I feel about the show the way some people started to feel about Lost in its final seasons, which is that I'm fed up of the writers continually adding new problems to solve without having dealt with any of the pre-existing ones.
“Certain Poor Shepherds” was — well, pretty grim as well, as the family was walloped by some new problems and the repercussions of another bad decision from the past.
"[7] Allyssa Lee of Los Angeles Times wrote, "As if there wasn't enough sugar hitting the fan this season, the Christmas episode, titled “Certain Poor Shepherds,” dropped so many bombs that the whole landscape has started to resemble a battle zone.