Not the usual Blacklist episode - this one was massively Harold-centric, and that's a good thing!

Thought Harold's old buddy from Kuwait, George Carlin was exceptional in his role.

Don't know why Ressler needed Franky Campbell to obtain entry into Michael Moore's gaming shop? Anyone know?

But nice to see Franky back, even but for less than a minute.

BBB, no, not the usual and it was a good thing to have something a bit different.  

I was wondering the same thing about Franky.  Maybe it was to introduce her to the task force?? 

I had a mixed feeling about Hutton.  

Liz...… Sigh...… 
She must suspect something??? Please tell me she does!  

I need to expound on my idea I had the other day.  KR is looking for Ilya.  What if he found out KR was going to double cross him and he left with the money?  What ever was left of it.  Maybe they/the Kgb wants Ilya in trade for her freedom?  Not sure how it would all work?  
I brought up after Rassvet that the K on the tree could be for Koslov.  I do not know how, but if there is some way Red came back, that would explain why the wicked witch wants to know from him where he is?  







 

Eastcoast wrote:

Please tell me that in a future episode that it will show Liz looking at her camera seeing what she is doing...

I so hope so!
Pumpkin roll sounds good! If I get enough walking in this weekend, I'm going to have one piece of pumpkin pie on Monday.
 

BBB - I think Frankie was there to bring the cash. I don't think he'd give the Task Force access to his money while he's out of the country.  That probably has to be handled by someone working for him.

I thought the parallels to Huttton's story and the original Reddington story were interesting (and deliberate). He didn't start out being a traitor, he felt betrayed by how the gov't treated him for doing the right thing and then abandoning him so he became a criminal.  Just like Reddington. I wonder if  this Red stole Hutton's story to tell the FBI when he was brought in. Or if it's just supposed to be a reminder to the audience.

And the last part with "Katarina" looking for Ilya.  That means either Red isn't Ilya, because the real Katarina would know if he was or wasn't, or Katarina isn't Katarina.  Because the real Katarina wouldn't be looking for Ilya if Dom's story was true and she and Ilya did the switch to have Ilya become Reddington. So I'm not sure which it is. Is this not Ilya (Dom's story is not true) or is that not Katarina?  (I say neither is who they say they are, but I'll leave that for now... )


 

Last edited by KathyN (10/25/2019 10:19 pm)

I taste a bit of Allspice!  Lol Another highlight :-) 

I wonder if Katarina & her killer cohort are deciding to kill one or both of Agnes & Liz?

Wouldn't KR exact the largest revenge by killing Agnes?

Either Liz is the world's stupidest spy or the universe's greatest profiler - the way the writers are packaging her gullibility.

I'm wondering if Daniel Hutton/Samoon was the blacklister tonight, but since Red didn't present him as such he didn't get a number. Here's where I'm going with this: Did Red know Hutton was Samoon and did he set the whole thing up like he does so many blacklisters, because it furthers his (Red's) own agenda?  Red could have gotten word to Hutton through his international criminal network that there was a bounty on Cooper knowing Hutton wouldn't be able to resist the revenge and the money. And Hutton came in from the cold, just like Red hoped he'd do.   If so, he got rid of the Blacklister (Samoon) and as a major benefit,  Cooper became indebted and grateful to Red with the end result being Cooper deciding not to turn Red over to main justice.

I think it's too coincidental that Harold brought up the name when Red was held hostage, and he shows up a few weeks later alive in Iran looking for Cooper.  The misdirection for the viewer is we were told as the story is introduced that he just escaped from captivity, and we take that for granted - but if you do go back and question it you realize he didn't just escape from captivity!  He was a terrorist who orchestrated this whole thing to get Cooper. So why now?  And why in Iran?  If Red set it up he could have made sure the bounty info also contained the CIA safe house info in Iran as the best way to get Cooper's attention.  Red would have chosen Iran because Iran is a country that the US gov't/military can not run an operation in, meaning Cooper would have to use Red, which means Red maintains control of the entire operation. Perfect Red plan.  And for the audience, it's an open question that the writers don't have to clean up or clarify. Ultimately it's not important - the end result is the same - a major terrorist is dead, Cooper is released from his nightmare guilt and Red can stay on the task force.   For some in the audience, it's a great coincidence, the timing is perfect and they leave it at that. For the Red fans, they get to believe Red did it again - got a blacklister out of circulation while getting a huge benefit out of it for himself!


 

So many good comments!
I really enjoyed this episode. I had the opportunity to meet Harry Lennix last year and may I say, he is a true gentleman. He is originally from Chicago, my kind of town (I grew up right outside the city) and he frequently returns. He's a musician and just classic. So I was thrilled they were finally going to feature him prominently in an episode. And he delivered.

The parallels were striking. In fact, I think there are even more parallels/repeat ideas/characters/themes, etc. this season than any other and we're only 4 episodes in.

KathyN - yes, this reminds me so much of Reddington turning himself into the FBI in the Pilot. Same concept - a missing military man presumed killed (at some point) turns himself into Harold Cooper, the only one he knows. He was an innocent man who became a criminal - the criminal they already said he was. And Daniel turns out to be the most nefarious criminal force out there, causing harm to Americans.

So here's my two cents - 
Katarina/Fakarina:  This is not Liz's mother. The flashbacks in "Kaplan" and "Rassvet" show us clearly what the real mother was like. She would do anything for her daughter. She would even sacrifice her relationship with her daughter to keep her safe. Those she loves, the only ones she loves, are her daughter and Kate. 
Fakarina is using Liz. She has no interest in protecting Liz or Agnes. She is cold-hearted and conniving. I think others have pointed out more clues this is not the real Katarina.

Red/Ilya: I actually never believed Red was Ilya even though that is the story Dom told Liz. In fact, I believe Dom fed her that story and elaborated as necessary when Liz interjected in the telling of the story. It is more likely that man on the Bench, also called "Stranger" is Ilya Koslov. We met him at the end of last season. We know he and Red and he and Katarina had a very close relationship going back to childhood. We also know that actor will be appearing in several episodes this season.

Red/Katarina: which brings me to the oft rejected "Redarina" theory, that Red is Katarina. I'm more inclined to this theory as we are given more information. In the Katarina/Ilya/Red/Stranger interactions, we know K&I, R&S were friends when they were 6 years old, very close, who loved and trusted each other very much. Ilya/Stranger is in the role of deeply trusted friend to Katarina/Red, both of whom trust no one. I also found it interesting that Red tells Cooper that whoever Red once was, he is now Raymond Reddington and that's as it should be. He's perfectly comfortable and actually happy being RR. For those who have protested the idea that someone would change their gender for any reason other than that they feel they were born in the wrong body, as a mother, I know I would do anything to protect my children. As a spy, Katarina would have known the only way she could protect her child was to still be alive, but that the only way she could stay alive was to hide herself in plain sight. What better way than to become someone completely different. Becoming Reddington. And in doing so, she had access to both sides of the fence, the criminal world, the government intelligensia and everything in between.

I hear that Megan Boone is doing some more of her charity work and asked to have less screen time, so other actors and stories will/should be featured more for at least a few more episodes.

I will say though, the special effects really made me groan. It is clear they do not have the almost limitless budget they had in 2013-14.  Oh my goodness, that graveyard scene made me flinch!

So glad to have a good, exciting, and different episode last night.

I agree there were a lot of parallels with Hutton turning himself in to Cooper and Red in the pilot, and it was good they let Harry Lennix have an episode to shine.

I agree that Franky was Red's go-between from his money to the task force. The creators said Red's people would be used in different ways than before, including interacting with the Task Force. It's always good to see Franky, so I can't complain about her brief appearance.

I still think Fake Katarina is looking for real Katarina.  My take was that she believes Red is the real RR.  She will now go after Ilya Koslov, believing he can get her to Katarina.  The Stranger is Ilya, and that's why we have Brett Cullen, and a stunt double for him, in an upcoming episode.  In my opinion, the Redarina theory is still standing.

The writers are having Liz oblivious to Maddy's ploy.  If she suspected anything, Liz wouldn't let Maddy take care of Agnes.