The Blacklist 1.10 Review: Separation Anxiety

For all those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of The Blacklist, entitled ‘Anslo Garrick (No. 16) Conclusion’, then now is a great time for you to go and do that. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Well, we got our conclusion to Anslo Garrick storyline this week, including a very nicely executed death scene that Red carried out. There were a lot of great moments to this episode, but for the most part I just found myself confused. I mean, who was the guy that was talking to Red? What does Red have on them? Have we met them before? So many questions that it was almost difficult to enjoy this episode.

That being said, there were some good points to this conclusion. We got to see a lot more Aram, similar to last week’s episode, which was great. We also got to see Keen take down that man in the building across from hers effectively well. More suspicion, at least for our eyes, arose surrounding her husband, which is a tantalizing story I look forward to investigating further. Also, Dembe is most assuredly alive, and that is something I am very happy about. Getting to see Ressler kind of happy when his engaged ex-fiancé visits him in the hospital was almost worth the pain he went through. And one other thing was how comically good that team “Mr. Kaplan” used to take out that warehouse. They were really good. So, really, there was a lot of great stuff to this week’s episode, it just didn’t all seem to fit cohesively together as much as it normally does. The story was kind of a mess.

Overall, this episode was just messy. I did enjoy Aram and Keen working together, and getting to see Red say goodbye for now to Keen, with his parting words being to watch her husband. Again, the oddity of Ressler smiling was astounding in that he’s always the broody, dramatic character, and I definitely want to see more of that, particularly with interactions with Keen. I still have yet to see Cooper evolve into a fully formed character; for the most part he seems like a leader that doesn’t really have any more to him. The cameras in Keen’s apartment came to a head a lot earlier than I expected, and I’m not sure how I’m feeling about this series going forward, but I do think that of all ten episodes, this is merely the weakest, and I’m okay with that. Still, I have one question, and that’s was Red lying when he said he wasn’t Lizzie’s father, or was that a definitive answer? It didn’t sound like one to me, so I’m hoping he was lying.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“If you can’t save her, you’re of no use whatsoever.” – Red tells Ressler, after having saved his life.

“Anslo, what are you doing here?” – Red questions the man, knowing he was there all along.

“But I suppose I could make us a copy.” – Aram says to Keen, knowing it will be breaking the rules.

Okay, I’m off to review The Originals in a minute. Afterwards check back in for reviews of Supernatural and Trophy Wife.

The Blacklist 1.08 Review: Who's Her Daddy?

For all those that have yet to watch yesterday night’s episode of The Blacklist, entitled ‘General Ludd (No. 109)’, now would be a good time to do so before proceeding ahead. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

This series is amazing. Despite being a show about the FBI capturing criminals, although notorious criminals it’s not exactly a unique idea, this series always seems to be able to hold my focus all the way through the episode. It’s great because I have yet to think ‘when will this be over already’, and am more often thinking ‘it’s over already?’. Sure, it has its weaknesses that it eventually needs to get over, but nothing that’s really holding this series back.

Last night’s episode introduced to us Elizabeth Keen’s father – albeit adopted father – none other than Sheriff Valenti (that’s a Roswell reference for all those that don’t know). While I had thought he was supposed to be a criminal, perhaps it was who she thought her biological father was. But then, the man did know Reddington, so obviously there was something in his past. The fact that Keen’s father wanted to tell her something that Reddington refused to let her know inferred to the fact that Reddington may be her actual father. I was convinced of that, mostly, from the start, but then the young woman Red decided to search up in that violent criminals database confused me. She could either be his actual daughter, or someone else on his blacklist. This series really keeps going back and forth on the whole daughter situation, but I’m still hoping Red is Keen’s biological father, otherwise his connection to her seems a little loose.

There were a lot of great moments to this episode. I absolutely adored when Red went over to the kids swing and began swinging, such a childlike thing to do. Also, I enjoyed when Keen entered the soccer mom’s garage looking for Red and she was making up counterfeit money. That entire interaction between Red and Tom was also quite intriguing, although it was difficult to tell when Tom recognized Red as who he was, or just recognized another criminal with veiled threats against him. Further evidence that makes me second-guess whether or not Tom’s a criminal, because honestly, why would Red say he was if he wasn’t. This episode did bring up an intriguing criminal organization that wanted the middle class to succeed over the one percent. They definitely had a moral desire for righteousness, but not a great way of going about bringing it. But probably my favourite moment in this week’s episode was the subtle moment between Donald and Keen when she gets the call that her father has passed away, and his face look’s like his heart is breaking for her. I really love the idea of these two together, eventually. They fit much better than her and her husband. While I did enjoy the moments her and her husband shared last week, and in the beginning of this week’s, I just think Ressler is better suited for her, being that they both work in the same unit.

All in all, this was a really good episode. We got more evidence to both support the fact Red may be Keen’s father, as well as clues to him possibly not. We were able to meet the man who raised her and helped her become who she is today, and were given clues to the possibility her husband isn’t who he says he is. Although Keen told Red all they were was partners last week, we were still able to see a nice human moment shared between them a few times this week. There is a lot of great back and forth between these two characters that I really enjoy. I just can’t believe we’re already up to episode eight; soon we’re going to have to take a break if they don’t split up these episodes. A Monday without The Blacklist is a thought that makes me sad.

My rating: 8 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“The you’ll just have to find another criminal to talk to Elizabeth Keen and make fun of Agent Ressler.” – Reddington explains to Cooper.

“I have no interest in cases I have no interest in.” – Reddington states.

Okay, I’m all caught up from yesterday now. I’m going to go take a shower and eat something while I wait for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to come on. After that it’ll probably be Trophy Wife, followed by The Originals and Supernatural. As I said in my statement last week, I will no longer be reviewing New Girl; it got the chopping block this season with me.

The Blacklist 1.06 Review: Love Blinds Us

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.