For all those that have yet to
watch last night’s episode of The
Blacklist, titled ‘Gina Zanetakos (No. 152)’, that are hoping to do so
spoiler free, I suggest you divert your gaze from this blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
Proceed at your own discretion.
Not as solid of an episode as this
series has debuted the last few weeks, but there were still a number of good
things to this episode. It brought to a head the mystery box in Keen’s
floorboards, as well as her husband’s possible hand in a Russian defector’s
death. For now it appears that the issue may have been settled, but I can’t
help but believe Reddington over Keen’s husband and Zanetakos. Why would the
man leave clues that point directly at him? Reddington is smarter than that,
and I thought Keen was to. But I suppose love blinds even the smartest people,
and I expect this to come back around eventually.
The performances this week, I
found, were a bit uneven. While I believe Megan Boone has improved her
portrayal of Keen this week, James Spader’s take on Reddington this week made
me feel like the guy is understated but comes off a little bland. I enjoyed the
subtlety between Donald and Keen, but I would have thought Harry Lennix’s
character Cooper would have gotten more interesting by now. His role on Dollhouse was still much better than
this one. I do have to say that I was glad to see Aram back again this week,
although he wasn’t nearly as funny and interesting as he was last time.
Maybe my paranoia is getting the
better of me, but I just don’t think Tom is innocent. The writers are better
than that to have planted little things in each episode to build to this, only
to have had Reddington be the cause, so I can’t believe that this is the end of
it. Not only that, but there’s no way Reddington is going to put that much
effort into making sure he works with Keen, only to have it foiled by Zanetakos’s
word that he was the one that paid for the hit and thus set up Tom, dissolving
any trust Keen had in him. The way that was written was well done, so I expect
there to be more.
While I am very much a believer in
the chemistry between Keen and Donald, certainly over her chemistry with her
husband, it was the relationship between Keen and Reddington I found most
interesting this week. Struggling with the fact her husband may have committed
murder, Keen clings to her relationship with Reddington and seeks comfort in
him (not in that way, get your mind out of the gutter) as a fatherly figure. I
still say that if he isn’t her dad, there’s too much of that relationship
between them that just isn’t realistic to me any other way, even if he feels
indebted to her actual father. But anyways, to see the one eighty of her
seeking his time and company, to her telling him to go to hell, there was a
phenomenal amount of subtlety to the interactions. While she may not trust him
now, I am intrigued by where they are, as I hope for many seasons of this
mostly brilliant series.
One thing I have to remark on
before I go was the brilliance of the music as Donald and Gina fought in the
elevator, to the silence of Keen looking through the phone in the hotel room. Just
a subtle addition that this series seems to do well in, for the most part, that
they are able to work with such subtle nuances and acting and writing, and tie
it brilliantly well.
My rating: 7.5 out of 10.
Best Lines:
“Delivering criminals to you is a hobby.” – Reddington informs
Cooper.
“That’s my girl.” – Reddington remarks, referring to Keen’s
ability to put things together. (Can I get an ‘awe’ moment right there, before
she tells him to go to hell?)
Alright, that’s all for tonight. I’m off to get some sleep;
I have a bit of an early morning for me. Check back in tomorrow for reviews of The Originals, Supernatural, and Trophy Wife.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and New Girl will be back with new episodes
next week.
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