It seems like every time I start to get disillusioned with The Blacklist, something happens that pulls me right back into it. Even though I was frustrated last week with the constant back and forth between Liz and Reddington, this week’s episode reminded me that not only are there other characters on this show, but also that they’re excellent.
This week on The Blacklist: The FBI discovers that there’s a well hidden breach in their system, keeping Alexander Kirk one step ahead. Liz wavers on whether or not she trusts Reddington, and still wants a relationship with her father. Aram hits a snag in his relationship.
Okay first of all (last chance for spoilers if you haven’t watched) I did not see that Aram’s girlfriend twist coming at all. I didn’t even start to pick up on it until the beginning of this episode. Just when this show has me disillusioned, it sucks me back in with a twist. What stemmed from Aram being duped was a really fascinating, well-told story involving Aram, Samar, and Ressler. Sometimes getting preoccupied with Liz and Reddington makes people forget that we have an incredibly talented cast outside of those two characters. It was great to see them get some screen time.
Furthermore, Amir Arison did some stellar work as Aram. We’ve seen Aram be funny and do his genius magic, but to put him in a situation in which he’s essentially having to do field work is a brand new role for him. It was still funny in a very, well, Aram sort of way, but I was very impressed with how well he handled it. When attacked, he didn’t automatically turn into a soldier, either, which is the case with some similar shows. It played out very realistically. Particularly, when Aram told her that he was “in love with someone else” to save his own butt, was a great moment. Especially since we all knew he was talking about Samar!
The Reddington and Liz saga got a little more interesting this week, but it still rang hollow. Red’s right that it’s easy to fake a DNA test. Red said “I have never lied to you”. Honestly, I believe him. Liz just gets really crazy about stuff involving her family. I’m sure that Kirk knew she would find that DNA test. I have to admit that even though most people have given up, I am still very interested in Liz’s parentage story, and what exactly happened. Do I think it’s ridiculous for the show to draw it out? Yes. But, do I still want to know about it? Also yes.
Other thoughts/tidbits:
- “The sole concession to the digital revolution is a Ms. Pac Man machine in the break room.” “Why?” “I like Ms. Pac Man”
- I had almost completely forgotten about Mr. Kaplan. I think that the guy who picked her up is Kirk’s. Or I could be wrong and that story could be almost completely irrelevant.
- “I knew she was too hot for him.”
- I totally ship Samar and Aram. Now that this hacker girl is out of the way, hopefully that romance will bloom before our very eyes.
All in all, this was an impressive return to form for The Blacklist, if for no other reason than it let some of its best characters shine, and finally put Agnes back in her mother’s arms. When they try to draw things out, it doesn’t work well, but when they tell stories in an appropriate amount of time, said stories are excellent.
What did you guys think? Did you enjoy the episode? Let us know in the comments!
The Blacklist airs Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC
Honestly? You didn’t see that “twist” coming? It was obvious from the moment that girl appeared. All that childish (and OOC) behavior of Samar, wanting to leave the task force blah blah, was only there to “prepare” for the moment when the mole was identified. It’s so badly written that it hurts. Literally.
The more important question is: How did Kirk identify Aram as the weakest link in the first place? Just because of doing some surveillance? That’s ridiculous. Once you have a mole–fine, but how to plant the mole? Again, the writers failed to give ANY plausible answers.
And how you saw Ressler being involved in that storyline is a mystery to me. He was THERE for 3 minutes and did–again–nothing at all. It’s a complete waste of that character and the very talented actor.
The case? Unnecessary. It wasn’t even wrapped up. They arrested Elise, but what about the rest of the gang?
The main storyline? Boring and predictable. Red outwitted Kirk in the end, Liz got the darn baby back, and Kirk was arrested. How exciting! And absolutely nothing have changed in Red and Liz’s relationship. She runs around and talks like a zombie, slurs her words, and is angry with him blah blah. Even her hair looks terrible. So, where’s the development?
Why I’m still watching? Well, I watch everything with Diego Klattenhoff and James Spader, even when it is bad. And, unfortunately, I bought a season pass because I thought it couldn’t get worse than last season.
I would advise you to stop watching ASAP. It’s not healthy to hold on to that kind of contempt. I don’t have a problem with dissenting opinions, but I do not accept “bad” or “boring” as valid criticism.
Visitor Rating: 1 Stars