Reddington did not kill the Stewmaker for killing that woman whose photograph he stole from the trophy book. The dialogue clearly established that Elizabeth was his first kill. The Stewmaker's only crimes were kidnapping and multiple accounts of abetting murder and improper disposal of corpses. Tom Noonan was hired to play him as creepy, and he was murdered for being creepy. Killing people you don't like is commonly regarded as a happy thing. Having Reddington do something fun makes us like him.
Ressler is not robotic, nor emotionless, nor by the book. In the pilot episode, he threw a beaten opponent off a building. So far from being emotionless, Ressler is nearly always angry, something openly alluded to in some dialogue between Elizabeth and him. But Ressler's dominant characterization is that he's stupid, which is necessary so that Reddington can always win.
Meera is played by Parminder Nagra. Women characters rarely get characterization, and women of color get even less. Chances are she'll never be anything much more than a cipher.
Also, to nitpick, she's not FBI, but CIA.
The boss, played by Harry Lennix, gets short shrift on screen time, but he is not by the book. Despite all the bluster, designed to highlight Reddington's victory, the guy has signed off on the whole cockamamie premise of the series. Plus of course, there's the incident in Kuwait. Not legalistic.
Tom of course is played in every scene as something of a wet dream of a feminist husband. As they say, sweet enough to induce a diabetic coma.
Elizabeth is of course the third FBI character and the co-star. Her characterization vis-a-vis Reddington is not emotionless, legalistic, robotic nor by the book. She stabbed him in the neck! The thing about her characterization is that she's supposed to be, according to Reddington, a simple-minded bimbo living her life being screwed by a criminal! And this even as she is supposed to be a talented "profiler," which means that off work she's just as dumb as Ressler.
I think this is self-contradictory and it's why Megan Boone is having trouble with the role. I suspect the writers fundamentally see the value of women as sexual, so the problem isn't visible to them. They may not think any such thing consciously, but they are turning out commercial product, which is meant to appeal to "the masses." Remember that in Hollywood, the masses tend to appear nowadays as "The Walking Dead."
Reddington's characterization is James Spader's success in manifesting (with the aid of the script making everyone else either an adoring employee or an idiot...or should I just say a Ressler?) an unfailing air of boudnless confidence. Many approach drama seeking someone to identify with. Confidence is for winners. There is a popular morality where winning is everything. Ergo, Reddington is the hero, no matter what he does.
Ressler is not robotic, nor emotionless, nor by the book. In the pilot episode, he threw a beaten opponent off a building. So far from being emotionless, Ressler is nearly always angry, something openly alluded to in some dialogue between Elizabeth and him. But Ressler's dominant characterization is that he's stupid, which is necessary so that Reddington can always win.
Meera is played by Parminder Nagra. Women characters rarely get characterization, and women of color get even less. Chances are she'll never be anything much more than a cipher.
Also, to nitpick, she's not FBI, but CIA.
The boss, played by Harry Lennix, gets short shrift on screen time, but he is not by the book. Despite all the bluster, designed to highlight Reddington's victory, the guy has signed off on the whole cockamamie premise of the series. Plus of course, there's the incident in Kuwait. Not legalistic.
Tom of course is played in every scene as something of a wet dream of a feminist husband. As they say, sweet enough to induce a diabetic coma.
Elizabeth is of course the third FBI character and the co-star. Her characterization vis-a-vis Reddington is not emotionless, legalistic, robotic nor by the book. She stabbed him in the neck! The thing about her characterization is that she's supposed to be, according to Reddington, a simple-minded bimbo living her life being screwed by a criminal! And this even as she is supposed to be a talented "profiler," which means that off work she's just as dumb as Ressler.
I think this is self-contradictory and it's why Megan Boone is having trouble with the role. I suspect the writers fundamentally see the value of women as sexual, so the problem isn't visible to them. They may not think any such thing consciously, but they are turning out commercial product, which is meant to appeal to "the masses." Remember that in Hollywood, the masses tend to appear nowadays as "The Walking Dead."
Reddington's characterization is James Spader's success in manifesting (with the aid of the script making everyone else either an adoring employee or an idiot...or should I just say a Ressler?) an unfailing air of boudnless confidence. Many approach drama seeking someone to identify with. Confidence is for winners. There is a popular morality where winning is everything. Ergo, Reddington is the hero, no matter what he does.
)
