This episode left a bad taste in my brain. The episode synopsis promised Liz's actions would lead to something catastrophic. I expected something tragic, or maybe Liz FINALLY facing some consequences for betraying Red again. Aside from Marvin Gerard being punished for something he didn't do, the only thing tragic thing about this episode was the amount of sheer stupidity.
It felt like bad tumblr fan fiction written by the most pro-Liz fan on earth, desperate to make her seem competent and bad ass. I get the feeling this episode was supposed to make us surprised and impressed with Liz's actions, to view her as a formidable opponent for Reddington. Instead I'm here shaking my head at how badly they had to dumb everyone else down for her to get away with all of this. I have tried to appreciate Liz, but she has been increasingly insufferable since getting Red caught and put on death row. They have kept her as a plot device for 7 years. Instead of the plot unfolding because of Liz's character development and actions, her character does what the plot demands, logic be damned. We're in season 8, it's getting harder to find these weak spots funny instead of irritating.
The opening scene was terrible. The kiss a couple episodes back was bad enough, this was the most nauseating sex scene I've ever seen. Liz and Ressler have zero charisma, aren't very likable on a good day, and frequently imcompetent but hey, they'd make sense as a couple, right? You'd think maybe, but the whole thing comes off gross. Liz is heartlessly using him. If she turns up pregnant, I may quit watching. One kid sge barely acknowledges is more than enough. Ressler is a dumb sap who'd rather get some than try and stop his supposed close friend from the dangerous path she has embarked on. There's also about as much romantic chemistry between them as there is between Dembe and Agent Park.
Liz tells Cooper she's tired of there always being a man saying he wants to protect her. How many times has Red bailed her and her FBI friends out of messes big & small? How much has Cooper done to protect and help her? How many times did Tom go through hell to help her and feds? If this was an attempt at making Liz sound like a strong, independent female being viewed unfairly by Cooper and the other men in her life, IT FAILED. Liz has been a flip-flopping, irrational, especially unsympathetic weasel since her "mother" showed up. The mother who abandoned her. The mother who speaks of Liz as if she's no more than a tool when she's not around. The mother who killed several innocent FBI agents in season 7. Liz lied to Cooper's face when she said Katarina must face justice for those murders, but curse him for still trying to look out for her. Boo! He's totally upholding a damaging patriarchal system that views women as weak! Girl power, Liz and her murderous mommy were never wrong! Since season 6, Liz flip flops depending on who the writers want her to seek approval from that week. Yet they don't understand why the viewers struggle with her chatacter. It's not simply "Liz went against Red. Bad Liz." It's several years of Liz being the worst written character on a show where she's the co-lead. Had she turned fully anti-Red shortly after Tom's death, it would have been far more believable, compelling, sympathetic and conflicting for the viewers (like the Kaplan vs Red ordeal). Instead, they played the Mommy card, and they played it badly.
Red falling for Liz and Skip's scam was the biggest smack in the face. Their scam wasn't even clever. Not for one second did I believe Marvin was the one who betrayed Red. Red is too intelligent to fall for such a half-ass manipulation. I almost think Liz wanted Red to see through it and catch her, but the writers would never give her such nuance or depth. Nope, she's just brilliant because they say so. "But Red's illness, it's distracting him and he has a weakness for Liz". Nope. This is just bad writing.
The episode wasn't all bad. There was a goat! That was fun, until we saw what it was used for. Marvin was awesome, he was one of the few people not horribly dumbed down this week. Aram playing with Agnes was adorable, he's probably spent more time on screen with her than Liz has. There were brief Tom flashbacks! We got confirmation that Red is N13? Who knows, they'll probably change their minds on that within the next eight episodes.
The overarching story/mythology of The Blacklist has been especially poorly handled since the alleged Katarina faked her death during season 7. After this episode, I am officially grading this show on the same lowered scale I use for soap operas and Riverdale. Low to no expectations, just sit back and enjoy the unusual crimes, Spader, and most of the supporting cast. 5/10
It felt like bad tumblr fan fiction written by the most pro-Liz fan on earth, desperate to make her seem competent and bad ass. I get the feeling this episode was supposed to make us surprised and impressed with Liz's actions, to view her as a formidable opponent for Reddington. Instead I'm here shaking my head at how badly they had to dumb everyone else down for her to get away with all of this. I have tried to appreciate Liz, but she has been increasingly insufferable since getting Red caught and put on death row. They have kept her as a plot device for 7 years. Instead of the plot unfolding because of Liz's character development and actions, her character does what the plot demands, logic be damned. We're in season 8, it's getting harder to find these weak spots funny instead of irritating.
The opening scene was terrible. The kiss a couple episodes back was bad enough, this was the most nauseating sex scene I've ever seen. Liz and Ressler have zero charisma, aren't very likable on a good day, and frequently imcompetent but hey, they'd make sense as a couple, right? You'd think maybe, but the whole thing comes off gross. Liz is heartlessly using him. If she turns up pregnant, I may quit watching. One kid sge barely acknowledges is more than enough. Ressler is a dumb sap who'd rather get some than try and stop his supposed close friend from the dangerous path she has embarked on. There's also about as much romantic chemistry between them as there is between Dembe and Agent Park.
Liz tells Cooper she's tired of there always being a man saying he wants to protect her. How many times has Red bailed her and her FBI friends out of messes big & small? How much has Cooper done to protect and help her? How many times did Tom go through hell to help her and feds? If this was an attempt at making Liz sound like a strong, independent female being viewed unfairly by Cooper and the other men in her life, IT FAILED. Liz has been a flip-flopping, irrational, especially unsympathetic weasel since her "mother" showed up. The mother who abandoned her. The mother who speaks of Liz as if she's no more than a tool when she's not around. The mother who killed several innocent FBI agents in season 7. Liz lied to Cooper's face when she said Katarina must face justice for those murders, but curse him for still trying to look out for her. Boo! He's totally upholding a damaging patriarchal system that views women as weak! Girl power, Liz and her murderous mommy were never wrong! Since season 6, Liz flip flops depending on who the writers want her to seek approval from that week. Yet they don't understand why the viewers struggle with her chatacter. It's not simply "Liz went against Red. Bad Liz." It's several years of Liz being the worst written character on a show where she's the co-lead. Had she turned fully anti-Red shortly after Tom's death, it would have been far more believable, compelling, sympathetic and conflicting for the viewers (like the Kaplan vs Red ordeal). Instead, they played the Mommy card, and they played it badly.
Red falling for Liz and Skip's scam was the biggest smack in the face. Their scam wasn't even clever. Not for one second did I believe Marvin was the one who betrayed Red. Red is too intelligent to fall for such a half-ass manipulation. I almost think Liz wanted Red to see through it and catch her, but the writers would never give her such nuance or depth. Nope, she's just brilliant because they say so. "But Red's illness, it's distracting him and he has a weakness for Liz". Nope. This is just bad writing.
The episode wasn't all bad. There was a goat! That was fun, until we saw what it was used for. Marvin was awesome, he was one of the few people not horribly dumbed down this week. Aram playing with Agnes was adorable, he's probably spent more time on screen with her than Liz has. There were brief Tom flashbacks! We got confirmation that Red is N13? Who knows, they'll probably change their minds on that within the next eight episodes.
The overarching story/mythology of The Blacklist has been especially poorly handled since the alleged Katarina faked her death during season 7. After this episode, I am officially grading this show on the same lowered scale I use for soap operas and Riverdale. Low to no expectations, just sit back and enjoy the unusual crimes, Spader, and most of the supporting cast. 5/10
