Hey, look! It's Die Hard, part 1! Damn good episode, actually. Felt bad for Reddington's people. The whole thing felt very "24 like." I kept waiting for Red to yell "DAMMIT!" Joe Carnahan sure does love the bloodshed.
If a usable percentage of straight men could recognize wigs as easily as all women do, women wouldn't dare use them any more. It's an arms race. We figure out how the sausage is made. They build a better sausage. Otherwise we'd make our own sausage.
^^^It is a biological fact that men and women are the same species, not Martians and Venerians. The to-ing and fro-ing with the guns is somewhat tedious. The real point of the episode is Red's speech about wanting to live and his efforts to save lives. What I mostly took away from the first was not that Reddington's had an insanely superior joy in life, but that he had a visceral commitment to exotic and expensive entertainments. Plainly he took up a life of crime to pay for them. The hint that the black list was ultimately for redemption so he could sleep the sleep of the just, as opposed I guess to the sleep of the two (or more) bottles of wine drinker was delivered to Ressler, i.e., a blank wall, which I guess means it was supposed to be a glimpse into the real man. But was it believable that Reddington is feelings the pangs of conscience? That's what's going on with the black list, but Reddington keeps on doing all the stuff a conscience should feel bad about? He's either BSing Ressler while Ressler can't think clearly, or the black list is some crazy bargain with his conscience. Reddington's efforts to save Ressler, and the unknown woman, and Dembe also are supposed to show that our glorious psychopath actually does have a heart, even to the point he would come out of the box. The Reddington we've seen surely knew that this would happen and also would be able to predict Cooper's stubborness. So, which on-screen Reddington do we believe? This one or the one who we've seen all year?
This episode was certainly the most shocking episode they've done, but not the best. The bad guys managed to take over the facility way too easily. Hardly any resistance at all! Also, too bad about Red's people, killed so that the episode could be a shocker. In general, I'm not opposed to 'main' characters being killed off, but I don't like it if it's just for the shock value of it. I have a feeling that nothing will come out of it and we'll be stuck with Red and bland FBI agents, but I'll watch the next few episodes to see whether it will impact the series in any way (who am I kidding, I'll probably continue watching the show no matter what )
I enjoyed it, I was worrying that they were going to give us some kind of easy 'Voyager-esque" episode wrap up since we were getting real close to the end without any resolution in sight. I'm glad it's a two parter. As far as the actual episode goes, I enjoyed it, I clicked on this thread and saw the "Look it's Die Hard 1" comment, so I knew what to expect as far as the premise was concerned. I did like that they didn't shy away from the violence and actually showed the gunshots hitting the targets (something television does shy away from a lot). I wasn't as shocked about Red's people getting killed. Not only because I read it here, but because I knew they weren't going to show any actual FBI agents being killed through inaction (whether it was Red's inaction or Agent Cooper's).
First, the person most likely to have a mole in the "Post Office" aka Black Site, is Reddington. (And my favored candidate is still Ressler.) Second, since Hawkeye's people have everything bugged and computers hacked, why do they have to have cell phone calls? Just enter an innocuous code that looks like part of business into some hacked computer. Third, I know the writers would rather kill the witnesses rather than have them talk, and the characters would just rather kill. But how could they pass up the opportunity to catch anybody who came in to relieve the watcher? Or even check to see where the surveillance data may have been sent? Not even worthy of an ordinal, the opposite of an anesthetic! And, somehow he's resisting! Anslow Garick was so boring that for once I was pleased to see Reddington kill someone. Alas, the setup was so clumsy and telegraphed it still wasn't a thrilling moment. Despite all the torture and murder, it wasn't very interesting until Hawkeye and Reddington were talking. The moral is that Reddington and a real character always beats Reddington and a mindless script puppet. Oddly enough, the hospital scenes with Ressler were lifelike and charming, like real people. Very out of place. The most dramatically intense scene was Liz and Tom. Megan Boone was deliberately scripted as inarticulate. She must feel trying to act this character is Sisyphean labor. The long vacation may kill this show for me.
I hope they spend the break and the new season really making the FBI seem less stupid. If the FBI and it's characters were anymore boring, idiotic foolish drones the show would have to be called "The Following". Smart move with the renewal, make sure they get it out there it's not dead. I would have done it two days ago so when the fall finale ended they could have went "Blacklist returns in March (or whenever) and the new season starts in Fall 2014.
I am really loving this show. I wasn't sure about it at first and wasn't even certain I was going to watch the premiere, but I'm glad I did. It reminds me of the first season of 24, which I loved. Despite all of the little plot holes you can find, the show is entertaining and captivating enough that I can easily suspend disbelief. And I love that Lizzie now has her own "Chloe" in the form of the awkward yet gifted IT guy. Or perhaps he is the mole? I did think that once or twice.
I'm actually thinking that Parminder Nagra is the mole. I base this on no evidence except for the fact that it'd be shocking and not just be a character they introduced recently to dispose of. Or what I like to refer to as "The Valeris effect"
Yeah, but the "Valeris Effect" was caused by the "Roddenberry Negation Wave". The character was supposed to be Savvik, but he said no, she is liked by the fans. It forced them to create a new Vulcan ("The Vulcan Broken Rubber Instability").
So Alan Alda's character is a US senator? Didn't see that coming... And Spader was awesome tonight. So badass in how he dealt with the people behind the attack on the blacksite. Do NOT fuck with Red Reddington!