Fone Bone
Matt Zimmer
My Reviews this season were surprisingly measured. Until the finale. Holy crap was that awful. Read on if you are a glutton for punishment.
The Blacklist "The Night Owl"
Aram isn't a series regular anymore? That bums me out. He looks good without the beard.
I feel like Red's secret should have been leaked LONG before this. It did not feel credible to me that the guy has been a confidential informant for 10 years, and the idea that he was working with the FBI NEVER leaked. Forget Marvin Gerard. It's amazing freaking GUS never said anything.
Red's cooperation ironically put the premise of the series on a clock. For the final season, it is at last acknowledging that fact. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Whaler"
Ressler continues to be the worst character on the show now that Liz has gone. Basically him telling Malick she couldn't handle it was completely unprofessional on his end. He's like "I don't want to see you get sucked into this." That's her freaking job, Ressler. You don't get to decide that for her. He's coming across as a sexist pig.
I was concerned about bad storytelling occurring with Red watching Agnes get bullied on the soccer field. But I keep forgetting the selling point of Red: Carrots not sticks. He doesn't threaten the bully girl. He pays her father's boss to move her family out of town. Stuff like that is why I like Red. It would be cheaper to throw the fear of God into that brat. Instead Red's approach is actually best for all concerned.
The show is the show is the show, and it won't really be getting any better or worse. But it does feel like it's been on the air too long. I'm glad this is the last season. ***.
The Blacklist "The Four Guns"
I liked it a lot.
Even though the show eschews our real world politics for fictional U.S. leaders, I found the plot about the traitorous secret service agent rather topical. There have been recent and alarming real-world questions about the current loyalty of the Secret Service, which puts me on edge. Good for the show for pushing these buttons.
I liked the Blacklisters this week. The guy who was obsessed with watches was great fun (there's a guy who doesn't actually NEED a defense attorney) and them being used as a colorful gambit to break Robert out of prison was great. Stacy Keach and James Spader are SO much fun together. The ending tickled me pink.
I rarely actually enjoy the show. I am pleased to say I most certainly did this week. ****1/2.
The Blacklist "The Hyena"
I'm less concerned about the ending than the writers are hoping I'll be. I forget the name of the Chinese guy assembling Blacklisters against Red. But recruiting Robert is a BIG mistake. I'm sure it's possible he can turn him. But seeing how Robert and Red were during the episode, I am confident Red could turn him BACK, and make him an asset on the inside of that group against him.
I don't think he's aware of how much personal fondness Robert and Red share. Both have screwed each other over in the past as well, so I doubt Robert will take this as personally as the other Blacklisters do.
I am very pleased they tried to recruit him, honestly. Last season means all bets are off. If Robert gets inside, Red actually has a chance to survive the final season. I was getting worried on that last bit.
It was a good episode too. I liked Robert's suggestion to send a third of the inheritance to the kind sister. And the fact that Red goes along with it is the reason I don't think trying to set Robert against Red to destroy him would ever work. It's simply not their dynamic. It wasn't even when they were tricking each other and screwing each other over.
I like how the lady who played the triplets played them entirely differently. That reminds me. I need to see Orphan Black at some point.
Very enjoyable episode. ****1/2.
The Blacklist "The Dockery Affair"
There is NO way Robert isn't Red's new Inside Man. If he wasn't, there's no way Red would let him leave alive. Whatever Red told him (probably the secret Liz found out) was probably convincing. For the record, I don't like the ending being played as a tension and a worry for the viewer. It demeans both the characters and the viewer to actually pretend they are trying to fool us there. But as far as insulting viewers goes, The Blacklist is an expert. And it's the main reason I don't actually like the show.
It's a shame because the case of the week was a decent enough. A little too pat a mystery resolution (as is the show's custom) but decent for all that. And Herbie is a pretty great and lovable character. Ressler is the most loathsome person on the show with Liz gone, and I like him being put in his place that this Foosball champion must be doing something right if he's married to a hot rock star.
Decent-(ish) but the show is fooling no-one with Robert. It actually makes me unhappy that they are actually making the attempt. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "Dr. Laken Perillos, Pt. 2"
Things just got personal.
I'm devastated by Robert's death. And yeah, I was right that he was Raymond's Inside Man. I especially love the idea that he was delighted by the Task Force idea and considered it every criminal's dream. I loved the character because he saw things like that that way. And even though they've used him the most this season, I'm still going to miss him.
Perillos is creepy on every level. She scares the crap out of me.
I'm upset about Robert which is a good thing. It means the show effected me. It doesn't do that enough. ****.
The Blacklist "The Freelancer, Part 2"
This is why I'm not in law enforcement, and why I watch and judge television instead. But to be brutally honest, it is not in the task force's best interest to stop the third attack. It's a tough decision, but if they are serious about continuing their alliance with Red, they should have let that last one play out. I am brutal. I am coldblooded. And because it is fiction I am allowed to be.
Herbie is adorable and useful in equal measure. I don't understand why the task force is annoyed by him. I take after Red in being delighted by him instead.
Speaking of Red, the thing I love is that he's a wonderful houseguest. He's a wonderful friend. He even pays the woman who betrayed him what he promised. Red uses carrots far more often than sticks. So much so that the loyalty he's amassed is usually not from other criminals. Regular people like Herbie feel valued and as if they can do some good. Wu Jing is trying to prove Red is working for the Feds. It's totally believable because Red is Lawful Evil on his worst day.
I love that that Dembe and Ressler are unpleasantly shocked that a guy as out of shape as the Freelancer can not only fight, but fight amazingly, and beat them both. One of the rare pleasures of fiction (it's rare because few projects bother to do it) is when a small time baddie you don't think much about turns out to be masterful in an unknown way and gets the best of the heroes because they didn't expect it either. That describes the shockingly learned prison guard in Titan A.E., and it describes the mega slippery Freelancer here too.
I liked it. But I would have let the bomb go off so you shouldn't trust my judgment. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Troll Farmer, Pt. 2"
Quite good week. Lots of moving parts, satisfying twists and turns (and callbacks), and freaking Herbie being adorable. Red and Agnes with the cake was delightful. Less successful was Red's story to his doubtful partner about the green door and the goat. Usually stories like this from Red are great allegories, because they get across the larger truth in a plain manner, but since he's using the story to dissemble instead, it's much less effective than the rest of his shtick.
Dembe suggesting that he and Red keep secrets from each other to protect each other is a cool notion because it sounds true.
Strong week. This show has stopped making me cringe week in and week out, and it's been that way for a year and a half. God bless the decision to kill off Liz Keene. The show is tolerable now. ****1/2.
The Blacklist "The Troll Farmer, Pt. 3"
That was a brilliant.
Amazingly well-plotted and thought-out plan for Red from the writers. I love that the Troll Farmer always worked for him. I kind of suspected the Task Force was guarding the wrong Post Office at some point though. Still just because I guessed PART of the bluff doesn't make it any less brilliant.
I love how Red reasoned with Sven. And everything he said was true. It being true also alarmed me a bit. But what I took notice of is Red's insistence that there SHOULD be "honor among thieves" and the people he's fed the FBI are people who have violated the bare minimum boundaries criminals ought to operate under. And whether he's using the FBI or not (and it looks like he is) that is also a damn good point.
I have mixed feelings about Harold's anger. While I do agree him messing with the database goes far over any line Red has crossed before, I also think Red was correct in believing if he did things this way the Task Force would have plausible deniability. Red saw it as protecting Harold, and I do think that was a big part of it. Whether Harold can or should forgive that is an open question, but I acknowledge there isn't an easy answer there. It would be better if there were.
I loved every inch of it. *****.
The Blacklist "The Postman"
That was great. The case was SO damn good, and I liked Harold's personal tie to it. I don't think Red's justifications at the beginning of the episode about last week were as convincing as they needed to be. For a guy who last week talked the merc hired to kill him into working for him by suggesting his working with the FBI was necessary, I expected a better argument than "It is what it is." For the record.
The rest of the episode is Aces. Although I MUST sternly point out the guy they got to play Young Harold looks nothing like Harry Lennix. In fairness I don't think there ARE many actors who look like Harry Lennix. It was probably an impossible ask.
I like that Dembe joins Herbie for foosball at the end. Why not? It sounds like fun. Why do Ressler and the new lady act like they have pressing dental appointments instead? I will never get why nobody on the task force seems to like Herbie. He's as endearing as Aram, without any of Aram's emotional baggage. Who wouldn't dig that?
So yeah. Another good week. I AM glad it's the last season and the show seems to be quitting while it's ahead. ****1/2.
The Blacklist "The Man In The Hat"
I think we needed that. The viewer has been SO concerned over the lines Red's been recently crossing it's good to get confirmation that when push comes to shove, he DOES help people. And even if threatening the hostages he saved would work, being nice works out better, and it's something he can afford to do. It's not surprising Ressler didn't understand they were b.s.ing him on the details of Red's escape because they wanted what he offered, not because they were afraid of him. What surprises me is that Dembe never surmised that. He mentions that it's unlike Red to threaten civilians, but doesn't go to the next logical step of that meaning he didn't.
Red's handing over of the blackmail file he had on Panabaker being the thing that changed her mind might be considered manipulative. But I think the thing Panabaker recognized when he did it, is that the reasons he gave for it were actually true. Whether that bit of kindness was done to get in her good graces or not is almost irrelevant. It was the right move for the Task Force at large.
Great episode title.
Herbie is giving some great advice to Malick all throughout the episode. It's a damn shame she doesn't take it. His perspective is so relatable and real. I'm having a hard time understanding why everyone on the Task Force dislikes him, or are at least annoyed by him.
Another good week. ****.
The Blacklist "Dr. Michael Abani"
It was good. It's good to see Dembe's complicated past, especially because the past is complicated because he's a good man. If he weren't, he'd never have the struggles he does.
I'll tell you, Ressler's nosiness and forwardness about Aissa was pissing me off. Ressler clearly believes he and Dembe are closer friends than they actually are if he's giving him a hard time over that. That sort of thing is endemic to television characters and it pisses me off about all of them. Why aren't fictional characters allowed to be cool or understanding, or show their friends a measure of grace instead of rubbing their nose in how uncomfortable they currently are? What kills me is this is not an unreasonable ask on my end. TV has simply been doing wrong by audiences for decades and nobody was smart enough to complain. I'm complaining now. I hate this crap.
I loved Red's stuff with Agnes, especially how honest he was with her. And I especially love that Agnes doesn't pressure him for more answers than he's comfortable giving. Are we sure this cool character is the daughter of the most despicable unfair person on the entire series? Because I don't know where she got that coolness. It's not something she learned from either Harold or Red either. She's just chill. And she is clearly not her mother's daughter.
I liked most of it, although the ending was a bit predictable. But it was also the right ending, and left the characters off on the right place. And I love that Dembe doesn't actually lean in for the kiss. She would have accepted it. But it would have made things messy for no good reason and he's not putting that on her because he's a gentleman. I like that.
Good week. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Sicilian Error Of Color"
It technically a filler episode but there is something nice about spending an hour with Red while he does kind and charitable things.
Herbie continues to have the best insights. Anyone who suggests Ressler's always crappy advice should be ignored is all right in my book.
I like Malick too. She is very unlike other members of the task force introduced over the years in being relatively pleasant. It's a nice change of pace.
The episode was nice too. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Nowhere Bride"
I like that Red's entire reason for his business that week was searching for Weecha. When he finds her, he gets the passionate kiss, but not much else.
I am glad Red told Siya the whole story. My question is how did he know it? It doesn't sound like something Mira would have EVER told another person, and as far as we knew, she was the only person who knew the agent was going to die. Doesn't fit comfortably.
Even though the criminal probably wasn't actually on the Blacklist, she probably should have been. She was detestable. Especially gross was her using the misogony inherent in wedding dowries as an excuse to destroy innocent women's lives. Interesting that a major part of her undoing was one of the con husbands actually falling for his bride (fat lot of good it actually did him at the end). Another great slip-up was the fingerprint under the toilet seat. Herbie is unashamed of your shade, Dembe and Ressler. Dude changes diapers every day.
Solid week. ****.
The Blacklist "The Hat Trick"
The mystery of how the three cases tied together was interesting, but it was sort of underwhelming to learn they were just the bad parts of a charity Red wanted to support.
I did really like the notion that when Red found out Hudson was on the level, he decided to give up trying to get leverage against him. He asks who he is to hold up his career to his and suggests he'd actually vote for him. That's cool.
There was something interesting about the guy Red talked to about the photo. He decided against the carrot. He went straight to the stick. That happened to be the one unlucky bastard in a hundred Red decided to threaten to shoot in the kneecaps instead of giving his son sports tickets. He must have been in a foul mood. It's very unusual.
Dembe checking in with Red at the end reminds me how much I've missed the two of them together.
Cool episode. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "Blair Foster"
That Blacklister was shameless. I did not like her going free at the end, and thought it was a mistake. The cliffhanger says I am right.
The worst thing about how things are falling apart for Hudson is that he can't take the freaking hint. It never occurs to him some things are actually off-limits to him, and there are consequences involved in whacking a hornet's nest. For someone looking for transparency, the guy's attitude reeks of privilege and entitlement. Especially because he doesn't seem to be doing it for the right reasons anymore. He seems more outraged that somebody actually dared to tell him, "No." Don't they understand that's not how it works? Hudson's the good guy! He always is supposed to win and get everything he wants and every question he has answered! That's how this is supposed to go! The guy's sense of entitlement is so bad I predict he's going to get along a LOT better with a monster like Foster than he could have ever predicted.
I love David Zayas. One of the most likable actors I can think of. Gotham was crazy and stupid to kill his character off. He's amazing.
Pretty good. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Morgana Logistics Corporation"
Yeah, Red's dying. Him taking down his own criminal masterpiece while protecting all his employees and treating them to the grace and wealth he did says he's tying up loose ends. In a way selling priceless stuff at a garage sale does not. That behavior is alarming but essentially harmless. What Red did tonight was actually closing a major chapter of his life.
It's so funny that he planned the party for them so openly in front of the FBI and they STILL had no clue what he was up to, even after the fact. And it was freaking Dembe of all agents he organized all that in front of! I love that.
I have a hard time accepting Cooper's judgment that this is the biggest case and win Red ever handed them. Most Blacklisters are seriously evil people. But this was essentially a conglomerate of smugglers of items trying to avoid taxes. Yeah, the network they shut down was huge. But nobody was hiring a string of hitmen to pop each other off to rid the world of compulsive gamblers or anything insane like that.
I thought the John Doe suspect was a cool cucumber in interrogation. And it's cool Red paid 3 million to free him, especially because he was actually scared to death of his employer. But he still refused to talk, and Red paid back that loyalty. Who says there is no honor among thieves?
Query: Is Hudson's interpretation of the idea that Red has corrupted an entire FBI task force actually wrong? I don't agree with it, but a legit argument could be made that that's the case. I'm glad the episode showed Hudson taking the high ground in his investigation. I feared him going down the rabbit with Blair Foster from last week. There being a controversy involved in whether or not his mission is righteous is not just narratively better, it's more interesting too.
Liked it. The show is going out on a high note. And I like that it is granting Red the same thing. ****.
The Blacklist "Wormwood"
There were a couple of interesting things, but the stuff with the pesky Congressman getting the dude Ressler sponsors to spy on him was weak and predictable, and the case of the week no great shakes either.
Liked two things:
1. Red's insistence that Agnes' ballet was worth risking his life over. Yes, he is clearly dying.
2. When the girl says she's sorry, Red's response is, "Many killers are." That's really all that needs to be said.
But the show has done better, and in the home stretch NEEDS to do better. **1/2.
The Blacklist "Room 417"
It felt big and final. And it felt a little too pat that THAT was the exact damning conversation the Congressman overheard on tape. The series is pressing all the right buttons. But I don't know. I feel like good drama should just be good drama. You shouldn't need to push buttons to make it.
Most people don't agree with that sort of viewpoint, but I feel if they had to work SO damn hard to get Harold to say something so incriminating on tape, they probably should have went with a different idea for a finale. It's ridiculous the narrative hoops the story jumped through to get to that. It did not feel organic or realistic. I didn't actually believe it.
It's amazing how addicted to creating "realism" television and the movies have gotten. As far as making sets and costumes and locations feel authentic, THAT is the priority. But asking characters to behave in a believable fashion? For some reason all of the hype for realism goes out the window then. And it's not just this show. But it's this show doing it right now, which makes it fair game to discuss. But I have made this exact point before many times. And I wish I didn't have to keep complaining about it.
On paper that hit the right notes. But I ain't gonna compliment a player piano for doing so, especially if the music actually sucks. **1/2.
The Blacklist "Arthur Hudson"
You know the entire series was sort of building towards Red being the last name on the Blacklist at Number 1, and I'm glad to see the series went down the proper way there. I knew all the way back during season one the last episode would need to be titled "Raymond Reddington (No. 1)". And Red's permission at the end for Harold to try and catch him takes this very difficult and impossible choice Harold has to make and turns it into something fun and not at all personal. Red doing that on the way out shows he IS a true friend.
My TV need more Dan Butler on it. It's been sad he's not been on it more. Either he hasn't been cast in a lot of stuff lately, or I've been watching the wrong stuff. But my TV likes it when he's on it, and so do I.
Malick expressing disgust at Hudson over his morbid interest in the plane crash bodies is great because despite the fact that Hudson believes he's a boy scout, and he's gotten everybody else to think that, I don't think he's aware of the fact that he's an awful person. He advocates for the right causes, I suppose. But for entirely selfish and vain reasons. He's working on the side of angels while his immortal soul is headed to Hell for the amount of darkness it contains. I have to say so far, I appreciate that the show has basically just gone that far with him, and no farther. A lesser show would have turned him into a criminal to make it clear to the viewer the task force are the good guys. But the task force are the good guys because they have good intentions. While the boy scout's heart is entirely black when on his personal crusade to destroy the careers of good agents he actually knows nothing about.
I think the death of John is a good place to leave Ressler. Ressler always wanted to bring in Reddington. Before that final chase begins, I want him to understand that John was cynical casualty that Hudson used and discarded once he had no further use for him. If Ressler has to hunt Reddington next week, I want him to have the context that's on behalf of people who destroyed a good friend of his he was trying to help for no other reason than he was temporarily useful. I want Ressler to understand that as far as deals with the devil go, Red is not the only demon's name on that specific contract. At least not since Hudson entered the picture.
I was a little disappointed in how unlikely and unbelievable last week's damning tape conversations were. And while there are still some unlikely coincidences present in how screwed Harold found himself, the truth is I ain't never gonna turn up my nose at the teaser ending with Dan Butler saying in an annoyed voice over the phone, "The President can wait." I am NOT freaking made of stone. I actually DO like and appreciate good things. Dan Butler is a good thing I liked and appreciated very much. ****1/2.
The Blacklist "Raymond Reddington: Pt 1"
I am not 100% on this. We'll see what the conclusion does, but this doesn't feel like the right penultimate episode. If the last episode is a similar disappointment I'll talk about it then.
I am very glad Hudson was killed. But I'm also not glad the show had him go so insane. The controversy was supposed to be that on some level he had the high ground. Taking it away and then having him shot in the head is not a good thing for the second to last episode. That was a dark ending. We'll see how things wind up. Now. **.
The Blacklist "Raymond Reddington: Goodnight"
I have been extremely generous to the show for its final season. That is probably the worst finale I could have imagined for it. Frankly, back when the show actually sucked and was infuriating me every week, I couldn't imagine a finale this bad.
There is no wrap-up or resolution for the characters on the task force. Red is killed by a bull of all things. And they couldn't even have Aram cameo? What kind of series finale IS this? But really the most unforgivable thing is that Red's actual identity and secret were not even brought up in the episode. The last episode is when it should have been revealed. And I said in the first review I was a little leery of that, because the episode wasn't about Red or his mystery. I would never have guessed they would have done that. Not in a million years.
Maybe you are surprised to hear me upset about that. I talk up both Lost and Twin Peaks for letting me make up my own mind and come to my own conclusions about those shows' mysteries. The Blacklist was never built like those two shows. We had been led to believe there were solid answers we deserved and would eventually get. That's what Liz's entire infuriating arc was actually about.
I also should disclose one final thing. I'm not TRULY too upset or feel TOO betrayed. That would involve me liking the show more than I did or trusting the producers more than I did. I am not gonna have a restless night because the ending upset me the same way as the first time Twin Peaks ended. But even if I wasn't emotionally upset, I recognize that the show did wrong by the characters and the mysteries they've been teasing for seasons on end. If I actually cared about this show I would be sickened. It's a blessing in disguise the show lost me a few years ago and never fully won me back. My enjoyment of the last couple of Liz-less seasons were always on a provisional basis. Again, I'm glad about that.
And what are they going to tell Agnes? This was not the show to end suddenly on a shocker moment.
This was the worst finale possible. The show had a LOT of parallels with the shady show Blindspot, and it sort of feels fitting it ended on an equally sucky note. I think I'm staying away from other shows with similar premises from now on. Network television procedurals with long-term mystery arcs are now off my Watchlist. For good. 0.
The Blacklist "The Night Owl"
Aram isn't a series regular anymore? That bums me out. He looks good without the beard.
I feel like Red's secret should have been leaked LONG before this. It did not feel credible to me that the guy has been a confidential informant for 10 years, and the idea that he was working with the FBI NEVER leaked. Forget Marvin Gerard. It's amazing freaking GUS never said anything.
Red's cooperation ironically put the premise of the series on a clock. For the final season, it is at last acknowledging that fact. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Whaler"
Ressler continues to be the worst character on the show now that Liz has gone. Basically him telling Malick she couldn't handle it was completely unprofessional on his end. He's like "I don't want to see you get sucked into this." That's her freaking job, Ressler. You don't get to decide that for her. He's coming across as a sexist pig.
I was concerned about bad storytelling occurring with Red watching Agnes get bullied on the soccer field. But I keep forgetting the selling point of Red: Carrots not sticks. He doesn't threaten the bully girl. He pays her father's boss to move her family out of town. Stuff like that is why I like Red. It would be cheaper to throw the fear of God into that brat. Instead Red's approach is actually best for all concerned.
The show is the show is the show, and it won't really be getting any better or worse. But it does feel like it's been on the air too long. I'm glad this is the last season. ***.
The Blacklist "The Four Guns"
I liked it a lot.
Even though the show eschews our real world politics for fictional U.S. leaders, I found the plot about the traitorous secret service agent rather topical. There have been recent and alarming real-world questions about the current loyalty of the Secret Service, which puts me on edge. Good for the show for pushing these buttons.
I liked the Blacklisters this week. The guy who was obsessed with watches was great fun (there's a guy who doesn't actually NEED a defense attorney) and them being used as a colorful gambit to break Robert out of prison was great. Stacy Keach and James Spader are SO much fun together. The ending tickled me pink.
I rarely actually enjoy the show. I am pleased to say I most certainly did this week. ****1/2.
The Blacklist "The Hyena"
I'm less concerned about the ending than the writers are hoping I'll be. I forget the name of the Chinese guy assembling Blacklisters against Red. But recruiting Robert is a BIG mistake. I'm sure it's possible he can turn him. But seeing how Robert and Red were during the episode, I am confident Red could turn him BACK, and make him an asset on the inside of that group against him.
I don't think he's aware of how much personal fondness Robert and Red share. Both have screwed each other over in the past as well, so I doubt Robert will take this as personally as the other Blacklisters do.
I am very pleased they tried to recruit him, honestly. Last season means all bets are off. If Robert gets inside, Red actually has a chance to survive the final season. I was getting worried on that last bit.
It was a good episode too. I liked Robert's suggestion to send a third of the inheritance to the kind sister. And the fact that Red goes along with it is the reason I don't think trying to set Robert against Red to destroy him would ever work. It's simply not their dynamic. It wasn't even when they were tricking each other and screwing each other over.
I like how the lady who played the triplets played them entirely differently. That reminds me. I need to see Orphan Black at some point.
Very enjoyable episode. ****1/2.
The Blacklist "The Dockery Affair"
There is NO way Robert isn't Red's new Inside Man. If he wasn't, there's no way Red would let him leave alive. Whatever Red told him (probably the secret Liz found out) was probably convincing. For the record, I don't like the ending being played as a tension and a worry for the viewer. It demeans both the characters and the viewer to actually pretend they are trying to fool us there. But as far as insulting viewers goes, The Blacklist is an expert. And it's the main reason I don't actually like the show.
It's a shame because the case of the week was a decent enough. A little too pat a mystery resolution (as is the show's custom) but decent for all that. And Herbie is a pretty great and lovable character. Ressler is the most loathsome person on the show with Liz gone, and I like him being put in his place that this Foosball champion must be doing something right if he's married to a hot rock star.
Decent-(ish) but the show is fooling no-one with Robert. It actually makes me unhappy that they are actually making the attempt. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "Dr. Laken Perillos, Pt. 2"
Things just got personal.
I'm devastated by Robert's death. And yeah, I was right that he was Raymond's Inside Man. I especially love the idea that he was delighted by the Task Force idea and considered it every criminal's dream. I loved the character because he saw things like that that way. And even though they've used him the most this season, I'm still going to miss him.
Perillos is creepy on every level. She scares the crap out of me.
I'm upset about Robert which is a good thing. It means the show effected me. It doesn't do that enough. ****.
The Blacklist "The Freelancer, Part 2"
This is why I'm not in law enforcement, and why I watch and judge television instead. But to be brutally honest, it is not in the task force's best interest to stop the third attack. It's a tough decision, but if they are serious about continuing their alliance with Red, they should have let that last one play out. I am brutal. I am coldblooded. And because it is fiction I am allowed to be.
Herbie is adorable and useful in equal measure. I don't understand why the task force is annoyed by him. I take after Red in being delighted by him instead.
Speaking of Red, the thing I love is that he's a wonderful houseguest. He's a wonderful friend. He even pays the woman who betrayed him what he promised. Red uses carrots far more often than sticks. So much so that the loyalty he's amassed is usually not from other criminals. Regular people like Herbie feel valued and as if they can do some good. Wu Jing is trying to prove Red is working for the Feds. It's totally believable because Red is Lawful Evil on his worst day.
I love that that Dembe and Ressler are unpleasantly shocked that a guy as out of shape as the Freelancer can not only fight, but fight amazingly, and beat them both. One of the rare pleasures of fiction (it's rare because few projects bother to do it) is when a small time baddie you don't think much about turns out to be masterful in an unknown way and gets the best of the heroes because they didn't expect it either. That describes the shockingly learned prison guard in Titan A.E., and it describes the mega slippery Freelancer here too.
I liked it. But I would have let the bomb go off so you shouldn't trust my judgment. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Troll Farmer, Pt. 2"
Quite good week. Lots of moving parts, satisfying twists and turns (and callbacks), and freaking Herbie being adorable. Red and Agnes with the cake was delightful. Less successful was Red's story to his doubtful partner about the green door and the goat. Usually stories like this from Red are great allegories, because they get across the larger truth in a plain manner, but since he's using the story to dissemble instead, it's much less effective than the rest of his shtick.
Dembe suggesting that he and Red keep secrets from each other to protect each other is a cool notion because it sounds true.
Strong week. This show has stopped making me cringe week in and week out, and it's been that way for a year and a half. God bless the decision to kill off Liz Keene. The show is tolerable now. ****1/2.
The Blacklist "The Troll Farmer, Pt. 3"
That was a brilliant.
Amazingly well-plotted and thought-out plan for Red from the writers. I love that the Troll Farmer always worked for him. I kind of suspected the Task Force was guarding the wrong Post Office at some point though. Still just because I guessed PART of the bluff doesn't make it any less brilliant.
I love how Red reasoned with Sven. And everything he said was true. It being true also alarmed me a bit. But what I took notice of is Red's insistence that there SHOULD be "honor among thieves" and the people he's fed the FBI are people who have violated the bare minimum boundaries criminals ought to operate under. And whether he's using the FBI or not (and it looks like he is) that is also a damn good point.
I have mixed feelings about Harold's anger. While I do agree him messing with the database goes far over any line Red has crossed before, I also think Red was correct in believing if he did things this way the Task Force would have plausible deniability. Red saw it as protecting Harold, and I do think that was a big part of it. Whether Harold can or should forgive that is an open question, but I acknowledge there isn't an easy answer there. It would be better if there were.
I loved every inch of it. *****.
The Blacklist "The Postman"
That was great. The case was SO damn good, and I liked Harold's personal tie to it. I don't think Red's justifications at the beginning of the episode about last week were as convincing as they needed to be. For a guy who last week talked the merc hired to kill him into working for him by suggesting his working with the FBI was necessary, I expected a better argument than "It is what it is." For the record.
The rest of the episode is Aces. Although I MUST sternly point out the guy they got to play Young Harold looks nothing like Harry Lennix. In fairness I don't think there ARE many actors who look like Harry Lennix. It was probably an impossible ask.
I like that Dembe joins Herbie for foosball at the end. Why not? It sounds like fun. Why do Ressler and the new lady act like they have pressing dental appointments instead? I will never get why nobody on the task force seems to like Herbie. He's as endearing as Aram, without any of Aram's emotional baggage. Who wouldn't dig that?
So yeah. Another good week. I AM glad it's the last season and the show seems to be quitting while it's ahead. ****1/2.
The Blacklist "The Man In The Hat"
I think we needed that. The viewer has been SO concerned over the lines Red's been recently crossing it's good to get confirmation that when push comes to shove, he DOES help people. And even if threatening the hostages he saved would work, being nice works out better, and it's something he can afford to do. It's not surprising Ressler didn't understand they were b.s.ing him on the details of Red's escape because they wanted what he offered, not because they were afraid of him. What surprises me is that Dembe never surmised that. He mentions that it's unlike Red to threaten civilians, but doesn't go to the next logical step of that meaning he didn't.
Red's handing over of the blackmail file he had on Panabaker being the thing that changed her mind might be considered manipulative. But I think the thing Panabaker recognized when he did it, is that the reasons he gave for it were actually true. Whether that bit of kindness was done to get in her good graces or not is almost irrelevant. It was the right move for the Task Force at large.
Great episode title.
Herbie is giving some great advice to Malick all throughout the episode. It's a damn shame she doesn't take it. His perspective is so relatable and real. I'm having a hard time understanding why everyone on the Task Force dislikes him, or are at least annoyed by him.
Another good week. ****.
The Blacklist "Dr. Michael Abani"
It was good. It's good to see Dembe's complicated past, especially because the past is complicated because he's a good man. If he weren't, he'd never have the struggles he does.
I'll tell you, Ressler's nosiness and forwardness about Aissa was pissing me off. Ressler clearly believes he and Dembe are closer friends than they actually are if he's giving him a hard time over that. That sort of thing is endemic to television characters and it pisses me off about all of them. Why aren't fictional characters allowed to be cool or understanding, or show their friends a measure of grace instead of rubbing their nose in how uncomfortable they currently are? What kills me is this is not an unreasonable ask on my end. TV has simply been doing wrong by audiences for decades and nobody was smart enough to complain. I'm complaining now. I hate this crap.
I loved Red's stuff with Agnes, especially how honest he was with her. And I especially love that Agnes doesn't pressure him for more answers than he's comfortable giving. Are we sure this cool character is the daughter of the most despicable unfair person on the entire series? Because I don't know where she got that coolness. It's not something she learned from either Harold or Red either. She's just chill. And she is clearly not her mother's daughter.
I liked most of it, although the ending was a bit predictable. But it was also the right ending, and left the characters off on the right place. And I love that Dembe doesn't actually lean in for the kiss. She would have accepted it. But it would have made things messy for no good reason and he's not putting that on her because he's a gentleman. I like that.
Good week. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Sicilian Error Of Color"
It technically a filler episode but there is something nice about spending an hour with Red while he does kind and charitable things.
Herbie continues to have the best insights. Anyone who suggests Ressler's always crappy advice should be ignored is all right in my book.
I like Malick too. She is very unlike other members of the task force introduced over the years in being relatively pleasant. It's a nice change of pace.
The episode was nice too. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Nowhere Bride"
I like that Red's entire reason for his business that week was searching for Weecha. When he finds her, he gets the passionate kiss, but not much else.
I am glad Red told Siya the whole story. My question is how did he know it? It doesn't sound like something Mira would have EVER told another person, and as far as we knew, she was the only person who knew the agent was going to die. Doesn't fit comfortably.
Even though the criminal probably wasn't actually on the Blacklist, she probably should have been. She was detestable. Especially gross was her using the misogony inherent in wedding dowries as an excuse to destroy innocent women's lives. Interesting that a major part of her undoing was one of the con husbands actually falling for his bride (fat lot of good it actually did him at the end). Another great slip-up was the fingerprint under the toilet seat. Herbie is unashamed of your shade, Dembe and Ressler. Dude changes diapers every day.
Solid week. ****.
The Blacklist "The Hat Trick"
The mystery of how the three cases tied together was interesting, but it was sort of underwhelming to learn they were just the bad parts of a charity Red wanted to support.
I did really like the notion that when Red found out Hudson was on the level, he decided to give up trying to get leverage against him. He asks who he is to hold up his career to his and suggests he'd actually vote for him. That's cool.
There was something interesting about the guy Red talked to about the photo. He decided against the carrot. He went straight to the stick. That happened to be the one unlucky bastard in a hundred Red decided to threaten to shoot in the kneecaps instead of giving his son sports tickets. He must have been in a foul mood. It's very unusual.
Dembe checking in with Red at the end reminds me how much I've missed the two of them together.
Cool episode. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "Blair Foster"
That Blacklister was shameless. I did not like her going free at the end, and thought it was a mistake. The cliffhanger says I am right.
The worst thing about how things are falling apart for Hudson is that he can't take the freaking hint. It never occurs to him some things are actually off-limits to him, and there are consequences involved in whacking a hornet's nest. For someone looking for transparency, the guy's attitude reeks of privilege and entitlement. Especially because he doesn't seem to be doing it for the right reasons anymore. He seems more outraged that somebody actually dared to tell him, "No." Don't they understand that's not how it works? Hudson's the good guy! He always is supposed to win and get everything he wants and every question he has answered! That's how this is supposed to go! The guy's sense of entitlement is so bad I predict he's going to get along a LOT better with a monster like Foster than he could have ever predicted.
I love David Zayas. One of the most likable actors I can think of. Gotham was crazy and stupid to kill his character off. He's amazing.
Pretty good. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Morgana Logistics Corporation"
Yeah, Red's dying. Him taking down his own criminal masterpiece while protecting all his employees and treating them to the grace and wealth he did says he's tying up loose ends. In a way selling priceless stuff at a garage sale does not. That behavior is alarming but essentially harmless. What Red did tonight was actually closing a major chapter of his life.
It's so funny that he planned the party for them so openly in front of the FBI and they STILL had no clue what he was up to, even after the fact. And it was freaking Dembe of all agents he organized all that in front of! I love that.
I have a hard time accepting Cooper's judgment that this is the biggest case and win Red ever handed them. Most Blacklisters are seriously evil people. But this was essentially a conglomerate of smugglers of items trying to avoid taxes. Yeah, the network they shut down was huge. But nobody was hiring a string of hitmen to pop each other off to rid the world of compulsive gamblers or anything insane like that.
I thought the John Doe suspect was a cool cucumber in interrogation. And it's cool Red paid 3 million to free him, especially because he was actually scared to death of his employer. But he still refused to talk, and Red paid back that loyalty. Who says there is no honor among thieves?
Query: Is Hudson's interpretation of the idea that Red has corrupted an entire FBI task force actually wrong? I don't agree with it, but a legit argument could be made that that's the case. I'm glad the episode showed Hudson taking the high ground in his investigation. I feared him going down the rabbit with Blair Foster from last week. There being a controversy involved in whether or not his mission is righteous is not just narratively better, it's more interesting too.
Liked it. The show is going out on a high note. And I like that it is granting Red the same thing. ****.
The Blacklist "Wormwood"
There were a couple of interesting things, but the stuff with the pesky Congressman getting the dude Ressler sponsors to spy on him was weak and predictable, and the case of the week no great shakes either.
Liked two things:
1. Red's insistence that Agnes' ballet was worth risking his life over. Yes, he is clearly dying.
2. When the girl says she's sorry, Red's response is, "Many killers are." That's really all that needs to be said.
But the show has done better, and in the home stretch NEEDS to do better. **1/2.
The Blacklist "Room 417"
It felt big and final. And it felt a little too pat that THAT was the exact damning conversation the Congressman overheard on tape. The series is pressing all the right buttons. But I don't know. I feel like good drama should just be good drama. You shouldn't need to push buttons to make it.
Most people don't agree with that sort of viewpoint, but I feel if they had to work SO damn hard to get Harold to say something so incriminating on tape, they probably should have went with a different idea for a finale. It's ridiculous the narrative hoops the story jumped through to get to that. It did not feel organic or realistic. I didn't actually believe it.
It's amazing how addicted to creating "realism" television and the movies have gotten. As far as making sets and costumes and locations feel authentic, THAT is the priority. But asking characters to behave in a believable fashion? For some reason all of the hype for realism goes out the window then. And it's not just this show. But it's this show doing it right now, which makes it fair game to discuss. But I have made this exact point before many times. And I wish I didn't have to keep complaining about it.
On paper that hit the right notes. But I ain't gonna compliment a player piano for doing so, especially if the music actually sucks. **1/2.
The Blacklist "Arthur Hudson"
You know the entire series was sort of building towards Red being the last name on the Blacklist at Number 1, and I'm glad to see the series went down the proper way there. I knew all the way back during season one the last episode would need to be titled "Raymond Reddington (No. 1)". And Red's permission at the end for Harold to try and catch him takes this very difficult and impossible choice Harold has to make and turns it into something fun and not at all personal. Red doing that on the way out shows he IS a true friend.
My TV need more Dan Butler on it. It's been sad he's not been on it more. Either he hasn't been cast in a lot of stuff lately, or I've been watching the wrong stuff. But my TV likes it when he's on it, and so do I.
Malick expressing disgust at Hudson over his morbid interest in the plane crash bodies is great because despite the fact that Hudson believes he's a boy scout, and he's gotten everybody else to think that, I don't think he's aware of the fact that he's an awful person. He advocates for the right causes, I suppose. But for entirely selfish and vain reasons. He's working on the side of angels while his immortal soul is headed to Hell for the amount of darkness it contains. I have to say so far, I appreciate that the show has basically just gone that far with him, and no farther. A lesser show would have turned him into a criminal to make it clear to the viewer the task force are the good guys. But the task force are the good guys because they have good intentions. While the boy scout's heart is entirely black when on his personal crusade to destroy the careers of good agents he actually knows nothing about.
I think the death of John is a good place to leave Ressler. Ressler always wanted to bring in Reddington. Before that final chase begins, I want him to understand that John was cynical casualty that Hudson used and discarded once he had no further use for him. If Ressler has to hunt Reddington next week, I want him to have the context that's on behalf of people who destroyed a good friend of his he was trying to help for no other reason than he was temporarily useful. I want Ressler to understand that as far as deals with the devil go, Red is not the only demon's name on that specific contract. At least not since Hudson entered the picture.
I was a little disappointed in how unlikely and unbelievable last week's damning tape conversations were. And while there are still some unlikely coincidences present in how screwed Harold found himself, the truth is I ain't never gonna turn up my nose at the teaser ending with Dan Butler saying in an annoyed voice over the phone, "The President can wait." I am NOT freaking made of stone. I actually DO like and appreciate good things. Dan Butler is a good thing I liked and appreciated very much. ****1/2.
The Blacklist "Raymond Reddington: Pt 1"
I am not 100% on this. We'll see what the conclusion does, but this doesn't feel like the right penultimate episode. If the last episode is a similar disappointment I'll talk about it then.
I am very glad Hudson was killed. But I'm also not glad the show had him go so insane. The controversy was supposed to be that on some level he had the high ground. Taking it away and then having him shot in the head is not a good thing for the second to last episode. That was a dark ending. We'll see how things wind up. Now. **.
The Blacklist "Raymond Reddington: Goodnight"
I have been extremely generous to the show for its final season. That is probably the worst finale I could have imagined for it. Frankly, back when the show actually sucked and was infuriating me every week, I couldn't imagine a finale this bad.
There is no wrap-up or resolution for the characters on the task force. Red is killed by a bull of all things. And they couldn't even have Aram cameo? What kind of series finale IS this? But really the most unforgivable thing is that Red's actual identity and secret were not even brought up in the episode. The last episode is when it should have been revealed. And I said in the first review I was a little leery of that, because the episode wasn't about Red or his mystery. I would never have guessed they would have done that. Not in a million years.
Maybe you are surprised to hear me upset about that. I talk up both Lost and Twin Peaks for letting me make up my own mind and come to my own conclusions about those shows' mysteries. The Blacklist was never built like those two shows. We had been led to believe there were solid answers we deserved and would eventually get. That's what Liz's entire infuriating arc was actually about.
I also should disclose one final thing. I'm not TRULY too upset or feel TOO betrayed. That would involve me liking the show more than I did or trusting the producers more than I did. I am not gonna have a restless night because the ending upset me the same way as the first time Twin Peaks ended. But even if I wasn't emotionally upset, I recognize that the show did wrong by the characters and the mysteries they've been teasing for seasons on end. If I actually cared about this show I would be sickened. It's a blessing in disguise the show lost me a few years ago and never fully won me back. My enjoyment of the last couple of Liz-less seasons were always on a provisional basis. Again, I'm glad about that.
And what are they going to tell Agnes? This was not the show to end suddenly on a shocker moment.
This was the worst finale possible. The show had a LOT of parallels with the shady show Blindspot, and it sort of feels fitting it ended on an equally sucky note. I think I'm staying away from other shows with similar premises from now on. Network television procedurals with long-term mystery arcs are now off my Watchlist. For good. 0.
