The Blacklist 6x20 Thoughts
May. 9th, 2019 10:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaGuillermo Rizal [No. 128]
+ "I'm not conflicted about killing you. I'm conflicted because I can't. Because I can neither kill nor trust, nor forgive." Interesting to see him use "can't" again. As with Dom his use of 'can't' feels more like there's something outside himself stopping him rather than simply his feelings for her.
+ So it appears that Liz's strategy post truth fallout is to try and brazen it out. I guess I should have figured that considered how the last episode ended. She knows she screwed up and regrets it. The whole Dembe situation played out because she was terrified that Red would never forgive her. Now he knows the truth and Red is responding by freezing her out. We see in her scenes with him her trying to get back their relationship via refusal to accept his anger as the end state of their relationship. In their final scene she shows him false confidence that he will forgive her. Because, calling back to Harold's discussion with her, he's like a father to her and as her time with Dom showed, fathers always forgive their daughters. So he has to forgive her. But we see in the previous scene how upset and worried she is that he won't.
+ When I realised that she was watching Agnes it definitely felt like a peace offering to Red, an apology. A part of me wonders if the timing is more about trying to keep Red tied to her, to bulldoze through his anger, by using his uncomplicated love for Agnes?
+ "And that's who you are to us." So Liz thinks of Red as her father? Meh. I don't buy it. I mean clearly that's not how I saw their relationship developing, doesn't go with what I saw on screen, which of course could just be because of my biases; but also in the last episode we have Liz telling Dom that he and Agnes are her only family soo I'm choosing to believe, for now, that that was Liz trying to hold on to Red, to tie them together as she feels him slipping away.
+ You know, everything Red says in this episode has actually made me retroactively more forgiving about how the Mr. Kaplan situation played out. I was angry that he shot her and with his hypocrisy over the entire situation. Even though it was completely consistent with how we've seen Red work (and continue to see). Even though it was clear at the time that he didn't want to do it and afterwards deeply regretted it. This episode just really showcases for me how screwed up he is and how wielded to this code that of course even Kaplan couldn't break him out of it. Dembe and Liz might not even manage it!
+ "No one would blame you if you chose to walk away from him. But you never will. And not because you can't but because you don't want to. ... In spite of everything, he's committed to you. He loves you. He has faith in you. And I think you have the same in him." ♥ And she does.
+ Okay, wait. Red gave Sam instructions for how to raise Liz to prepare her for what her future would hold... what? Is this some Alias Project Christmas stuff? Where did that even come from? There has been no hint of that before, I swear. I thought Red provided money, got pics but had nothing really to do with her otherwise. Now he gave Sam instructions to... do what? Train her? I hope this is actually addressed because otherwise this is very weird throw-away exchange.
+ "I'm pretty sure I had the right to know the truth and I'm absolutely sure that no one else does." - Liz. I really loved this. I really like how undoubting Liz has been on her right to know the truth. She's never moved on this point. I liked how at the same time she's also protecting Red - it's his secret and she doesn't think anyone else deserves to know. That's great. Which of course makes it an interesting and weird and deeply confusing choice on her part that she then immediately fills Ressler in on the truth. ... the hell? Why does he not fall in the 'everyone else' pile? She's now trusting him to keep that secret. She is putting Red's life in his hands. Ressler! I am deeply confused about this choice in relation to everything else.
+ Ressler not being satisfied with the Ilya backstory and especially that that is what Red has lied and killed to keep quiet makes complete sense. I feel that. There is definitely something else there and I think Liz knows it too. But this is post almost losing Red and realising it wouldn't be worth it, post her desire for the truth or her need for vengeance, and this is a Liz who's already thinking of getting back her daughter so I understand her willingness to be satisfied with that answer and move on. I feel like Ressler is not going to be as willing and it will blow up in their faces if he acts on it.
+ "I left Agnes with Scottie because I was afraid of who you were, but I'm not anymore." Uhhhhh, no? That is not how I remember that going. Liz initially sent Agnes to Scottie because she didn't trust herself in the aftermath of Tom's murder and her coma. She was angry and didn't think it was good for Agnes to be around her. She left Agnes with Scottie because she was obsessed with Red's bag of bones and her obsession with learning the truth and getting revenge. Plus in the beginning Liz still thought Red was her father, and who he was wasn't in question. This little retcon is annoying. I think it easily fits in with her evolving motivations but as the definitive reason? No.
+ I really hope that when we see Liz and Agnes reunited, and we'd better see that first re-meeting, that it involves Agnes running up to Liz with a happy "mom" and with it the implication that Liz has in fact been visiting her daughter over the last couple years (?), and that they have a relationship.
+ "Forgave him for what? Not following your rules? Your dos and don'ts?" YES, thank you, Brimley! I like him as a fun side-character but this was the most I've enjoyed him. I loved him tweaking Red about Dembe and then giving him some truth. Dare I hope that Red actually thinks about this? That it starts him thinking about Dembe's side in this? Please come back Dembe!
+ "Nothing hurts so bad as when a child disappoints. Like being impaled by a unicorn." - Brimley. Heee.
+ Two nice Aram/Liz moments - I loved the little smile they shared during their final scene and I really liked Liz's faith in Aram's interrogation skills.
+ It makes no sense that Ressler would go down alone and Liz would stay to get the children out of their cells. They were safe enough where they were and SWAT was coming. Liz is his partner and they had no idea what was down there or how many bad guys. Seeing how it played out I don't understand that choice at all. It felt like they were pushing Liz out of the way so Ressler could get the big final confrontation with the bad guy. It's such a small thing but I'm finding it deeply annoying.
+ "No one would blame them from walking away from those kids." Uh, yes they would. They raised those kids for over a decade and loved them - if learning that they weren't biologically theirs is enough to get the parents to abandon their kids then I, and many people, would judge the hell out of them.
+ "I'm not conflicted about killing you. I'm conflicted because I can't. Because I can neither kill nor trust, nor forgive." Interesting to see him use "can't" again. As with Dom his use of 'can't' feels more like there's something outside himself stopping him rather than simply his feelings for her.
+ So it appears that Liz's strategy post truth fallout is to try and brazen it out. I guess I should have figured that considered how the last episode ended. She knows she screwed up and regrets it. The whole Dembe situation played out because she was terrified that Red would never forgive her. Now he knows the truth and Red is responding by freezing her out. We see in her scenes with him her trying to get back their relationship via refusal to accept his anger as the end state of their relationship. In their final scene she shows him false confidence that he will forgive her. Because, calling back to Harold's discussion with her, he's like a father to her and as her time with Dom showed, fathers always forgive their daughters. So he has to forgive her. But we see in the previous scene how upset and worried she is that he won't.
+ When I realised that she was watching Agnes it definitely felt like a peace offering to Red, an apology. A part of me wonders if the timing is more about trying to keep Red tied to her, to bulldoze through his anger, by using his uncomplicated love for Agnes?
+ "And that's who you are to us." So Liz thinks of Red as her father? Meh. I don't buy it. I mean clearly that's not how I saw their relationship developing, doesn't go with what I saw on screen, which of course could just be because of my biases; but also in the last episode we have Liz telling Dom that he and Agnes are her only family soo I'm choosing to believe, for now, that that was Liz trying to hold on to Red, to tie them together as she feels him slipping away.
+ You know, everything Red says in this episode has actually made me retroactively more forgiving about how the Mr. Kaplan situation played out. I was angry that he shot her and with his hypocrisy over the entire situation. Even though it was completely consistent with how we've seen Red work (and continue to see). Even though it was clear at the time that he didn't want to do it and afterwards deeply regretted it. This episode just really showcases for me how screwed up he is and how wielded to this code that of course even Kaplan couldn't break him out of it. Dembe and Liz might not even manage it!
+ "No one would blame you if you chose to walk away from him. But you never will. And not because you can't but because you don't want to. ... In spite of everything, he's committed to you. He loves you. He has faith in you. And I think you have the same in him." ♥ And she does.
+ Okay, wait. Red gave Sam instructions for how to raise Liz to prepare her for what her future would hold... what? Is this some Alias Project Christmas stuff? Where did that even come from? There has been no hint of that before, I swear. I thought Red provided money, got pics but had nothing really to do with her otherwise. Now he gave Sam instructions to... do what? Train her? I hope this is actually addressed because otherwise this is very weird throw-away exchange.
+ "I'm pretty sure I had the right to know the truth and I'm absolutely sure that no one else does." - Liz. I really loved this. I really like how undoubting Liz has been on her right to know the truth. She's never moved on this point. I liked how at the same time she's also protecting Red - it's his secret and she doesn't think anyone else deserves to know. That's great. Which of course makes it an interesting and weird and deeply confusing choice on her part that she then immediately fills Ressler in on the truth. ... the hell? Why does he not fall in the 'everyone else' pile? She's now trusting him to keep that secret. She is putting Red's life in his hands. Ressler! I am deeply confused about this choice in relation to everything else.
+ Ressler not being satisfied with the Ilya backstory and especially that that is what Red has lied and killed to keep quiet makes complete sense. I feel that. There is definitely something else there and I think Liz knows it too. But this is post almost losing Red and realising it wouldn't be worth it, post her desire for the truth or her need for vengeance, and this is a Liz who's already thinking of getting back her daughter so I understand her willingness to be satisfied with that answer and move on. I feel like Ressler is not going to be as willing and it will blow up in their faces if he acts on it.
+ "I left Agnes with Scottie because I was afraid of who you were, but I'm not anymore." Uhhhhh, no? That is not how I remember that going. Liz initially sent Agnes to Scottie because she didn't trust herself in the aftermath of Tom's murder and her coma. She was angry and didn't think it was good for Agnes to be around her. She left Agnes with Scottie because she was obsessed with Red's bag of bones and her obsession with learning the truth and getting revenge. Plus in the beginning Liz still thought Red was her father, and who he was wasn't in question. This little retcon is annoying. I think it easily fits in with her evolving motivations but as the definitive reason? No.
+ I really hope that when we see Liz and Agnes reunited, and we'd better see that first re-meeting, that it involves Agnes running up to Liz with a happy "mom" and with it the implication that Liz has in fact been visiting her daughter over the last couple years (?), and that they have a relationship.
+ "Forgave him for what? Not following your rules? Your dos and don'ts?" YES, thank you, Brimley! I like him as a fun side-character but this was the most I've enjoyed him. I loved him tweaking Red about Dembe and then giving him some truth. Dare I hope that Red actually thinks about this? That it starts him thinking about Dembe's side in this? Please come back Dembe!
+ "Nothing hurts so bad as when a child disappoints. Like being impaled by a unicorn." - Brimley. Heee.
+ Two nice Aram/Liz moments - I loved the little smile they shared during their final scene and I really liked Liz's faith in Aram's interrogation skills.
+ It makes no sense that Ressler would go down alone and Liz would stay to get the children out of their cells. They were safe enough where they were and SWAT was coming. Liz is his partner and they had no idea what was down there or how many bad guys. Seeing how it played out I don't understand that choice at all. It felt like they were pushing Liz out of the way so Ressler could get the big final confrontation with the bad guy. It's such a small thing but I'm finding it deeply annoying.
+ "No one would blame them from walking away from those kids." Uh, yes they would. They raised those kids for over a decade and loved them - if learning that they weren't biologically theirs is enough to get the parents to abandon their kids then I, and many people, would judge the hell out of them.
