Any TBL ep with appearances from Deirdre Lovejoy & Brimley is must watch Blacklist. Deirdre just has a knack of integrating into both the task force & Red Reddington. Have to think Reddington has an eternal soft spot for the slick-talkin' southern lass with the tough exterior - and the heart of gold. Brimley's arsenal of the macabre is always a special treat - no exception tonite!
Cake for Ressler - and all those around him!

Honey West wrote:

Lucy and Ethel. Of course, what else would he name his little rat helpers?

Nice to see a story about Panabaker, she’s always a good character to have around and she always has good scenes with Red.

And we got a little dusting of the quest to find Liz's killer; just enough to keep it moving.

IW, I was still eating a late dinner, but for "dessert" I had a small handful of Sizzling Cinnamon Jelly Bellys. (For those not from the West Coast, those are jelly beans, made famous by Ronald Reagan having them on his desk in the Oval Office. The factory is about 40 miles from here)

If they weren't so damn expensive to ship I'd badger you HW for a lb. of those mmmm-good Sizzlin' Cinnamon Jelly Bellys. I'm borderline diabetic so perhaps don't need the sugar load.
Anyways, brings a crazy TBL-like story. Went to an ear, nose 'n throat specialist over a month ago for dry mouth symptoms. Doc said he couldn't cut the dry outta my mouth so he recommended a candy called Jolly Ranchers to stimulate saliva production and keep glands rolling. So I trotted down to a store and loaded up with a couple bags of Jolly Ranchers.
Had a teeth cleaning with my dental hygienist Joan about 3 weeks back. Told her what the ENT Doc advised me about Jolly Ranchers. She just about fainted outta nowhere - NOOOOOOO, them Jolly Ranchers are loaded with sugar, they'll create mega-plaque on your teeth.
Yikes, who to believe!
Scump or Biden - thats easy!
Dental Hygienist or ENT surgeon??? Still thinkin' . . . 
But I must say those Jolly Ranchers are superb tasting individually wrapped candies!
Hygienist said go to pharmacy and ask for similar products w/ zero to limited sugar! 
 
HELLO DARKNESS, MY OLD FRIEND . . . LOL

Haven't been active here for a while, as I haven't been too impressed with the season so far. However, I must say that this episode left quite the impression. The blacklist case is one of the more engaging and thought-out cases in a while, which ends in a tense conclusion. It would've been as interesting without the link to Panabaker, but having her in the episode is always a plus. 

Herbie (I believe this is the first time we see him) is a great addition to Red's long list of helpers and his scenes were incredibly funny and also fitted the overall theme of the episode. 

Then the scene where Ressler feels betrayed in the end, which has some of the best acting and camera work of the show. It definitely brings Ressler's struggle across and the final reveal ends a heavy episode on a bright note. 

More of these episodes please!

For me this TBL episode was one of the most difficult to process in real time. Only after two viewings did some mists clear and dots connect.
First, Panabaker had little or no Southern accent in half her lines. Puzzling. Distracting.  
Second, we saw the early misdirection of imprisoned mothers who in reality were receiving vigilante justice for abusing their own daughters.
Third, with my only prior contact with Munchhausen being the Terry Gilliam movie (he of Monty Python fame), few dots connected until a second viewing, dialogue replays plus Wiki research.
Fourth, the echoes. Mother-daughter conflicts were complex, tense, frequently destructive. This ever-repeating theme pervades 9 TBL seasons.   
Fifth, more echoes. A young, agitated daughter witnesses a heated argument and impulsively shoots the adult yelling at her mother. Also reappearing was another reference to genetic bases for violent impulses. Ring any bells?
Sixth, even more echoes. RR again reveals maternal expertise in calming a crying, colicky infant (see TBL Chairman episode). 
Seventh and overarching: overprotective mothers who trick and manipulate their daughters play with fire.
One takeaway: Panabaker owes Red big time