The Blacklist 2x18 Thoughts
Apr. 8th, 2015 12:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaVanessa Cruz (No. 117)
I liked it.
• That final scene was a doozey but awesome. Of course we know that despite how bad it looks, and it looks really bad, Red won't die but that doesn't lessen my excitement to see what happens next. And I am really excited because Red will be out of commission, the Alliance will be gunning for him and now Lizzie is going to have to step up. What is she going to do? How is she going to save Red? She has the Fulcrum, is she going to confront the Alliance?
Then there's her relationship with Red which took yet another rapid downturn only for him to then be shot. She's pissed and exasperated at him, feeling betrayed yet again (this is a very well known feeling for her) and yet now he's dying. That changes things. Possibly Red will have to thank the Director for the assassination attempt because I think it's going to do a lot to force Lizzie to think about and face her feelings about Red.
I'm also interested in seeing what Dembe does. I hope he's given something to do for once because if there's ever a time for it that time is now.
• I love that Red doesn't even look at the Fulcrum when Liz tries to give it to him. All his attention is on her. I also liked that he knew instantly what she was going to ask and didn't even give her a chance to before answering.
• I love the shot of Liz and Dembe's hands over each other trying to save Red. I loved Dembe specifically reaching out to put Liz's hand directly against the wound and covering it with his.
• It's always great to watch Red work and we got to see a lot of it this ep. Vanessa seemed really unconnected from anything but of course Red would be interested in her particular skill set and as per usual the case was all a move to get her into a position where she would be of use. Mr. Kaplan showing up at the bar to woo Vanessa was unexpected but great. I really wish we could see more of Red's network because it actually seems pretty extensive. Anyway, my guess as far as Vanessa goes is that Red is going to be aiming her straight at the Director.
- It's not often Red fails horribly but he certainly did here. It cost him a friend/ally in Hobbs (and that's a payoff that happened sooner than I was expecting, too bad he's probably dead) and got him shot. But despite that he didn't necessarily make a mistake. His attempt to woo Jasper over to his side was pretty well done and seemed to have worked. He realised immediately when Jasper called that things had gone south and he had a plan in place to disappear.
Okay, wait, his mistake was in meeting Lizzie, out in the open, knowing that the Alliance had decided to kill him. Why not a parking garage or abandoned factory? Something with cover.
• Red threatening Jasper was awesome.
• "But he has a moral code. I don't like it but at least I know what it is. And it does not include lying to me." - Liz. When she said this I had an immediate 'lol whut?' reaction. Because I suppose that while it's technically true that he has never lied to her (which I do love) he obscures, misleads and keeps secrets all the freaking time. He keeps his motivations, his plans, his past opaque and he often sidesteps when she asks him things point blank. This is their whole relationship! And it's the biggest stumbling block in their relationship! He doesn't tell her the truth (but doesn't lie!) or hides a hidden agenda, Liz finds out and becomes pissed off and cuts him off. Rinse, repeat.
• Two episodes ago Connelly stated just how important Red is to the US government so I wonder what their reaction is going to be. Possible they'll be protecting him while he's recovering?
• I enjoyed the Tom/Liz scenes. I loved Lizzie's line about Tom being her greatest failure. I also loved her line about being Tom's "ball and chain" (it works several different ways even.) I liked that Liz gave Tom a chance to be honest with her, that he failed and her kissing him. I liked the moment they shared before that where he opened up to her and was honest about some of his desires.
• So Red pulls his gun on Tom, Lizzie pulls hers on Red and then Dembe pulls his - on Lizzie? Would he really shoot her if she shot Red? Because I'm pretty sure Red would be super fucking pissed about that. And Dembe knows that. Was it pointed at Tom? But then he didn't pull it until Liz pulled hers. Weird.
Dembe is always so attuned to Red, his desires and needs. I mean even when Red was shot at the end Dembe made sure to grab the Fulcrum. Which I loved by the way. It just makes that small moment at Lizzie's even more bizarre to me. Even if it was just instinct he would have moved the gun away from her after lifting it but it never wavered.
I liked it.
• That final scene was a doozey but awesome. Of course we know that despite how bad it looks, and it looks really bad, Red won't die but that doesn't lessen my excitement to see what happens next. And I am really excited because Red will be out of commission, the Alliance will be gunning for him and now Lizzie is going to have to step up. What is she going to do? How is she going to save Red? She has the Fulcrum, is she going to confront the Alliance?
Then there's her relationship with Red which took yet another rapid downturn only for him to then be shot. She's pissed and exasperated at him, feeling betrayed yet again (this is a very well known feeling for her) and yet now he's dying. That changes things. Possibly Red will have to thank the Director for the assassination attempt because I think it's going to do a lot to force Lizzie to think about and face her feelings about Red.
I'm also interested in seeing what Dembe does. I hope he's given something to do for once because if there's ever a time for it that time is now.
• I love that Red doesn't even look at the Fulcrum when Liz tries to give it to him. All his attention is on her. I also liked that he knew instantly what she was going to ask and didn't even give her a chance to before answering.
• I love the shot of Liz and Dembe's hands over each other trying to save Red. I loved Dembe specifically reaching out to put Liz's hand directly against the wound and covering it with his.
• It's always great to watch Red work and we got to see a lot of it this ep. Vanessa seemed really unconnected from anything but of course Red would be interested in her particular skill set and as per usual the case was all a move to get her into a position where she would be of use. Mr. Kaplan showing up at the bar to woo Vanessa was unexpected but great. I really wish we could see more of Red's network because it actually seems pretty extensive. Anyway, my guess as far as Vanessa goes is that Red is going to be aiming her straight at the Director.
- It's not often Red fails horribly but he certainly did here. It cost him a friend/ally in Hobbs (and that's a payoff that happened sooner than I was expecting, too bad he's probably dead) and got him shot. But despite that he didn't necessarily make a mistake. His attempt to woo Jasper over to his side was pretty well done and seemed to have worked. He realised immediately when Jasper called that things had gone south and he had a plan in place to disappear.
Okay, wait, his mistake was in meeting Lizzie, out in the open, knowing that the Alliance had decided to kill him. Why not a parking garage or abandoned factory? Something with cover.
• Red threatening Jasper was awesome.
• "But he has a moral code. I don't like it but at least I know what it is. And it does not include lying to me." - Liz. When she said this I had an immediate 'lol whut?' reaction. Because I suppose that while it's technically true that he has never lied to her (which I do love) he obscures, misleads and keeps secrets all the freaking time. He keeps his motivations, his plans, his past opaque and he often sidesteps when she asks him things point blank. This is their whole relationship! And it's the biggest stumbling block in their relationship! He doesn't tell her the truth (but doesn't lie!) or hides a hidden agenda, Liz finds out and becomes pissed off and cuts him off. Rinse, repeat.
• Two episodes ago Connelly stated just how important Red is to the US government so I wonder what their reaction is going to be. Possible they'll be protecting him while he's recovering?
• I enjoyed the Tom/Liz scenes. I loved Lizzie's line about Tom being her greatest failure. I also loved her line about being Tom's "ball and chain" (it works several different ways even.) I liked that Liz gave Tom a chance to be honest with her, that he failed and her kissing him. I liked the moment they shared before that where he opened up to her and was honest about some of his desires.
• So Red pulls his gun on Tom, Lizzie pulls hers on Red and then Dembe pulls his - on Lizzie? Would he really shoot her if she shot Red? Because I'm pretty sure Red would be super fucking pissed about that. And Dembe knows that. Was it pointed at Tom? But then he didn't pull it until Liz pulled hers. Weird.
Dembe is always so attuned to Red, his desires and needs. I mean even when Red was shot at the end Dembe made sure to grab the Fulcrum. Which I loved by the way. It just makes that small moment at Lizzie's even more bizarre to me. Even if it was just instinct he would have moved the gun away from her after lifting it but it never wavered.
