I love Netflix and I randomly start to watch shows that I haven't had the chance to see yet. This time, I picked the Blacklist which is currently on it's 4th season. Of course, I have now caught up on the series and I am going to provide my own personal review! I know you have been waiting for this to happen!
The Blacklist follows the story of criminal Raymond "Red" Reddington after he randomly turns himself into the FBI and demands to only speak to newbie agent Elizabeth Keen. Red is played by lord James Spader, who is one of the best and most underrated actors. Red provides them details on his own personal Blacklist to help them find and arrest big criminals, and to also help him with whatever personal mission that he is on. Red is based off the real life mobster Whitey Bugler who's life was loosely depicted in the movies "Black Mass," and "The Departed." A taste force is formed around this Blacklist including the very man who has been working to find and arrest him, Agent Donald Ressler. The rest of the Scooby Gang is rounded out by people from the FBI, CIA, and people that Red personally placed into the taste force. You never know what Red's intentions are, but you sure want to be around for the journey.
In the meantime, Elizabeth is struggling with her husband Tom Keen after this whole new life with Red has changed everything, including finding out that he is actually a spy hired by Red at one point. Her whole life has been a fraud, seeing as she was given up for adoption, and has been lied to and not told about anything in her past to protect her for an unknown, awful truth. The audience is unsure of what the relationship between Red and Liz really are, but many speculate Father and Daughter. What we do know is this "sort of" tale. Red was heading home for Christmas during a time when he actually worked for the government. He had presents for his wife, and his daughter or daughters. That is a bit confusing because some shows say that he had a daughter, while others elude that he had at least two. He suddenly disappears with his car abandoned at the side of the road. Red turns up years later as a criminal and is number 4 on the FBI most wanted list. Red also placed Elizabeth in the hands of her adoptive Father who raised her from the time that she was at least 4 years old until his death when she was in her late twenties. It is not clear if Red had any contact with Liz directly while she was growing up directly, but he definitely manipulated the people around her.
While this lifestyle is exciting and full of unknown, it is also dangerous and has come at great cost to both Elizabeth and Red. Elizabeth kills the Attorney General of the United States in cold blood even though he was threatening her and people she loved .It wasn't a physical threat and probably could have been dealt with in another way. Liz also holds her husband hostage after shooting him in self-defense, and allows him to kill a man under the veil of protecting her. She actually almost goes to trial for his murder but Red has a master plan to help her out of the situation. Liz bounces back and forth between wanting and needing Red's help, to despising him and wanting him away from her and her family. She went so far as to fake her own death and flee with her baby, although she needed Red's help to rescue them both. Red holds a lot of information very close to his chest including the truth of her Mother who may or may not be alive, who her Father is and what actually happened to him. In a flashback, Liz is shown shooting and possibly killing someone and who we are lead to believe could be her Father. Liz's Mother was a spy and at one point was said to be dead by killing herself. Later, Red says he really doesn't know what happened to her, but it seems as though she would probably be more dangerous than both Red and Liz.
Liz is a very unlikable character at many points. While she has a right to be hurt, angry, and upset about her life being full of lies, and turned upside down, she is both demanding and repulsed by Red. Every action that he has taken seems to be for her benefit, and she doesn't even seem to care when he has given her so much including shelter, an escape from many different terrible circumstances, and a clean record even though she murdered people on more than one occasion. If she is not Red's daughter, then she is someone he is keeping an eye on for a very good reason. Although he might be a dangerous criminal, he also is very much like Whitey in the fact that he also has a good side, protecting those who cares about, and the community around him. He promised someone that Liz would be taken care of, and he is doing everything that he can to follow through.
To me, the story revolving around if Liz and Red and Father and Daughter is not that important. It would be nice to see why he has this affection for Liz. However, she has become so unlikable that I really don't like the direction that she is going in and can't understand why I should care for her character. Liz is sloppy, ungrateful, and ruthless. She makes terrible choices so often that it is hard to want to see her succeed or even get out of the situations that she put herself into. Red is the real story here, but he needs to be shrouded in mystery or he wouldn't be someone that we constantly want to hear about or root for. The longer it is for us to figure out Red, the more interesting the story! Liz is just a footnote, but since he is involved with her, so are we as an audience. Red once compares Liz to the North Star because when he looks at her, he sees his way home. Is she his way home, or his path to Hell?
On a side note, I truly do not like Tom Keen as a character either and I think that the spin off is a terrible idea. Red is what makes The Blacklist, James Spader is why we keep watching, but not these characters that are not strong enough to stand on their own.Tom is boring and so predictable. There isn't anything about him that I root for, or even want to see on the screen. I could care less about his story line. I would like to see Liz become a bit more likable and end up with Agent Ressler. As a couple, they make a lot more sense and they do have some chemistry, unlike Liz and Tom which I can't for the life of me understand why they are together. The best episodes of the show are when Red and Liz are on the run together, and working with one another instead of her whining about Red being in her life. There needs to be more focus on those two working together, and with some healthy reservations, but not with Liz's disgust that makes her seem like a spoiled brat. Let's not forget that Liz has a past of her own because she knows how to steal, beat, and murder all on her own without any sort of influence from Red. Where is her past story to explain these things instead of following Tom and his band of misfits?
There are so many questions that I want answered! Where is Mr. Kaplin? She is one of my favorite characters and a person that Red describes as his better half. However, he does shoot her and leave her for dead. Who knows what the real story is behind this attempt and if Red knew what he was really doing with her. The last episode of the winter shows that Dembe, who is like a son to Red, seemingly trying to poison him. I would be pretty pissed if that is the case because if Dembe turns on Red, it is too predictable. Dembe stood behind many terrible things that Red has done, so why would he turn on him now. That would be a terrible direction in a show that is more intelligent than that. I hope that this is just a misdirect and a good cliff hanger. Also, Red stopped Constantine from killing him by something that he whispers in his ear. The only thing that I can think that would stop the killing is Red telling him that Liz's Mother is still alive and well somewhere. Constantine raised Liz as his daughter for a time, and thought she was actually his. What in the world is that all about, and what kind of strange love triangle was she in with Red, if at all? During Red's hallucination at the beach house, we get our first real glimpse of Liz's Mother. She is known to be a Russian spy, and has a load of people coming after her. However, we see that she seemly drowned herself and had some sort of breakdown. Who is this woman, and what really happened? How did Red imagine all of this happening, or in his grief, was he just remembering his last time with a woman that he loved?
In the meantime while waiting for the last bit of the new shows to air, I will probably watch the series over again on Netflix. I'm hoping they come back for another season because look at all the unanswered questions that I have listed above, let alone the huge one about Liz and Red's relationship! The characters involved in The Blacklist are all very good, and you want to know more about them. The fact that Liz is annoying and awful, but I still want to see her somehow do better is a sign of good writing. The fact that a career criminal is still someone that we root for, even after some horrible things that he has done, is admirable. If Red was alive in the Old West, he would have been a cowboy, probably a sheriff, If he born later on, would have been a mobster who took loving care of women, children, animals, and his neighborhood. There are too many unknown factors in this story of the Blacklist, but that's what makes it work, and why it should come back for several more seasons.
***Fun nerdy Easter Eggs:
Andrew McCarthy who stared with James Spader in Pretty in Pink has directed at least 7 episodes of The Blacklist.
Fisher Stevens has starred in several shows from the 80's with James Spader, and now is a recurring character in The Blacklist.
The woman who plays Jan from The Office has a very small recurring role on The Blacklist. James Spader played Robert California on The Office.
The last new episode of The Blacklist talks about the bad guy working out of a warehouse right across the street from a paper company on Scranton, PA. Dunder Mifflin, is the fictional paper company in Scranton, PA where Robert California worked, who was played by James Spader.
Most of the task force has starred together in another show called, "The Americans," and even had involving story lines with one another. They have also appeared together in a show called, "House of Cards."
There are a few references to the tag line from Hydra, "cut off one head and another one will grow in it's place." This was uttered by the Attorney General of the United States in Herald Cooper's office. Hydra is part of the Marvel Universe where the character, Ultron, is played by James Spader.
There is also a reference to gama radiation which is what made Doctor Bruce Banner into the Hulk.
There have been many interesting guest stars from the 80's including Paul Rubens himself, AKA Peewee Hermine.
Actress Megan Boone, who plays Elizabeth Keen was actually pregnant while Liz was in the show. They decided to write it in the story rather than ignore it.
The first Blacklist book has recently been published.
In season 3, Red talks about an investment that he made in a play that almost cost him everything because people were not going to see serious theater in the earlier nineties. James Spader actually produced the same play in real life, and it almost made him bankrupt because people were not going to the theater in the early nineties.
In that same scene, Liz jokes with Red that he is a "terrible actor" because he can't recall the next line in the play he was reciting to Liz. In real life, James Spader has what is called eidetic memory, also called photographic memory. James Spader has also been awarded several times for his acting.
Actress Leslie Jones from Saturday Night Live has a cameo in a scene with Red where she basically hits on him. Reportedly, in real life, Leslie Jones is a Blacklist mega fan and a very good friend of James Spader. She has joked that she enjoys flirting with him.
The Blacklist is one of the most diverse casts on TV right now, seeing as they have main characters who are female, African American, Muslim, and more. They also have female writers, producers, and show runners which is still unusual in this day in age.
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