The Blacklist

Who has two thumbs and could ever have predicted Marvin Gerard? This guy!

I freaking hate television.

Don't get me wrong. It was a great episode, and a great reveal, and it tied together perfectly. But I still resent the fact that I always knew it was Gerard because Fisher Stevens is the biggest name in the guest cast, and he's been so heavily featured, despite being largely absent for the past couple of seasons. I don't like television because you can predict major twists based on a cast list and nothing more. Fiction should NOT have to work that way. Ever. It was a solid mystery. Except for the fact that the REAL clues were nothing but pure television.

That was some great television. Which is me damning it with faint praise. I freaking HATE television. ****.

Very big episode. Played up the melodrama. Like at the end when Red says he's cutting ties with Harold. "Dah-ramma!"

I was surprised that Gerard was there during Liz's death and actually cried, but maybe I shouldn't have been. Him claiming that Red was his friend also shows how complicated this all is.

I don't know if Red was right about Gerard's true nature at the end, but were I Gerard I would have been as pissed as he was at Red saying it.

Red's tree metaphor with Harold about what a threat Gerard was was apt. Gerard essentially IS the Reddington Empire. You can't take down one without the other unless you simply kill him.

Big stuff that landed that gangbusters. A great week. *****.

Who has two thumbs and could ever have predicted Marvin Gerard? This guy!

I freaking hate television.

Don't get me wrong. It was a great episode, and a great reveal, and it tied together perfectly. But I still resent the fact that I always knew it was Gerard because Fisher Stevens is the biggest name in the guest cast, and he's been so heavily featured, despite being largely absent for the past couple of seasons. I don't like television because you can predict major twists based on a cast list and nothing more. Fiction should NOT have to work that way. Ever. It was a solid mystery. Except for the fact that the REAL clues were nothing but pure television.

That was some great television. Which is me damning it with faint praise. I freaking HATE television. *.

Very big episode. Played up the melodrama. Like at the end when Red says he's cutting ties with Harold. "Dah-ramma!"

I was surprised that Gerard was there during Liz's death and actually cried, but maybe I shouldn't have been. Him claiming that Red was his friend also shows how complicated this all is.

I don't know if Red was right about Gerard's true nature at the end, but were I Gerard I would have been as pissed as he was at Red saying it.

Red's tree metaphor with Harold about what a threat Gerard was was apt. Gerard essentially IS the Reddington Empire. You can't take down one without the other unless you simply kill him.

Big stuff that landed like gangbusters. A great week. **.

First finale in years that didn't make me want to puke. It wasn't great, but just the fact that it wasn't terrible was a victory.

The most appalling thing about the idea of the Marvin Gerard Task Force is that it's actually a good idea on paper. That's the sickening thing.

So Gerard's last act is to destroy the Blacklist. Red really should have killed him in the judge's office.

The one thing in the episode that pissed me off is that the Task Force is dumb enough to believe Red is gonna break into prison to kill Marvin. That was SO obviously the dummy plan. How long have these jackasses actually worked with Red? How is it they could EVER believe he'd do something that dumb? It was so dumb I'd call it the stupidest bluff Red ever tried if it hadn't worked. The fact that it did was shameful. But apparently I overestimate the team and Red doesn't. They're all morons.

But really other than that, the episode was all right. Which is more than I can say about any of the other finales in recent memory. ***1/2.

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. 3 1/2 stars.

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. 3 stars.

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 removed link

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 removed link

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 removed link

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. ****.

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.

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.

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. *****.

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.

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. ****.

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 removed link