The Blacklist 5x01 Thoughts
Oct. 3rd, 2017 11:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaSmokey Putnam (No. 30)
I liked it overall. Fun little start to the season.
+ Red and Liz on a road trip is always fun and I really enjoyed their dynamic this episode. Things feel so much lighter between them now and it made the episode feel fun and upbeat.
In large part because I think Liz feels like she can trust Red completely now. But also because Liz loves Red, and she has for years, but it's something she's struggled with because of who he is and the pain he's brought into her life and I don't think she felt like she could own her feelings for him. Now that she thinks of him as her father her love and loyalty for him makes sense and is understandable and she can acknowledge it. I think overall it's going to make her a lot less hot and cold in how she reacts to him.
I loved Liz's affectionate exasperation with Red - her reaction when he said she was coming on his bounty hunting trip and her reaction to Smokey trying to bribe Red were my favourites - and her letting herself enjoy spending time with him. The dance at the end was cute.
+ Red too seems a lot freer than we've ever seen him and I thought it was pretty obvious from the beginning that he was having a lot of fun. He was great this ep.
+ Aram being all impressed by Red being Liz's father was great.
+ I was annoyed that Red kept his end goal from Liz for no goddamn reason. I realise that tptb wanted to have a surprise twist at the end and to make Red look clever (though at this point Red revealing how it all works to his advantage at the end is expected) but in the process they ended up having Red once again keeping Liz in the dark and it's super damn irritating. She would have every right to be mad at him and while I'm glad that she was mostly amused I'm still irritated. Literally there is no reason for her not to know and her knowing could only have helped. I'm left wondering why he feels the need to keep her in the dark about even something so tiny as this. I'm also wondering why he isn't trying to make Liz an integral part of his new team.
+ So was that flash of Red killing Tom a flash-forward to what is/could happen or was it simply Tom imagining the worst outcome of the suitcase secret? If it's a flash-forward - wow! This show is not really known for killing main characters which makes me wonder if it's all a trick. Like Tom has a Russian double? If it is real I have so many questions and I'm definitely intrigued by it. If it happens I really hope it ties back to how much Red has always distrusted Tom. Also I don't know how Liz would ever get past Red killing her husband and the father of her daughter. I have a hard time buying Tom being a threat to Liz or Agnes which is the only reason I could see Liz forgiving Red for killing him.
+ Tom deciding not to tell Liz the truth made me sigh. Of course he didn't. I do like that he was about to tell her until the father bombshell but I'm curious about why that made him change his mind. Does he even know what's in the suitcase?
+ There being no mention of Agnes this episode was weird if only because we have Liz contemplating what it means for Red to be her father for herself and Smokey pushing his nature > nurture idea and yet we don't see her considering how Agnes fits into this. She points out to Red that it doesn't matter that much because she is an adult but that should have automatically have lead to the thought that Agnes isn't and Liz being torn over Red continuing to be in their life. I hope the show goes into this at some point.
+ I was bothered too by them throwing in Liz profiling Red only for her to realise that she was wrong at the end. That was her whole thing in the beginning, she was the hotshot profiler, and while they've never done much with it and at points worked against it I still find it rubs me the wrong way for them to throw it back in only to show Liz bad at it.
+ Smokey's bathroom escape made me sigh. Really Liz should have known better.
+ How the heck is Smokey #30 on the Blacklist? It makes no sense. Frankly #130 would still be too high!
+ I have a hard time buying that Red literally has nothing left. I doubt very much that Red doesn't have secret stashes known only by him.
I liked it overall. Fun little start to the season.
+ Red and Liz on a road trip is always fun and I really enjoyed their dynamic this episode. Things feel so much lighter between them now and it made the episode feel fun and upbeat.
In large part because I think Liz feels like she can trust Red completely now. But also because Liz loves Red, and she has for years, but it's something she's struggled with because of who he is and the pain he's brought into her life and I don't think she felt like she could own her feelings for him. Now that she thinks of him as her father her love and loyalty for him makes sense and is understandable and she can acknowledge it. I think overall it's going to make her a lot less hot and cold in how she reacts to him.
I loved Liz's affectionate exasperation with Red - her reaction when he said she was coming on his bounty hunting trip and her reaction to Smokey trying to bribe Red were my favourites - and her letting herself enjoy spending time with him. The dance at the end was cute.
+ Red too seems a lot freer than we've ever seen him and I thought it was pretty obvious from the beginning that he was having a lot of fun. He was great this ep.
+ Aram being all impressed by Red being Liz's father was great.
+ I was annoyed that Red kept his end goal from Liz for no goddamn reason. I realise that tptb wanted to have a surprise twist at the end and to make Red look clever (though at this point Red revealing how it all works to his advantage at the end is expected) but in the process they ended up having Red once again keeping Liz in the dark and it's super damn irritating. She would have every right to be mad at him and while I'm glad that she was mostly amused I'm still irritated. Literally there is no reason for her not to know and her knowing could only have helped. I'm left wondering why he feels the need to keep her in the dark about even something so tiny as this. I'm also wondering why he isn't trying to make Liz an integral part of his new team.
+ So was that flash of Red killing Tom a flash-forward to what is/could happen or was it simply Tom imagining the worst outcome of the suitcase secret? If it's a flash-forward - wow! This show is not really known for killing main characters which makes me wonder if it's all a trick. Like Tom has a Russian double? If it is real I have so many questions and I'm definitely intrigued by it. If it happens I really hope it ties back to how much Red has always distrusted Tom. Also I don't know how Liz would ever get past Red killing her husband and the father of her daughter. I have a hard time buying Tom being a threat to Liz or Agnes which is the only reason I could see Liz forgiving Red for killing him.
+ Tom deciding not to tell Liz the truth made me sigh. Of course he didn't. I do like that he was about to tell her until the father bombshell but I'm curious about why that made him change his mind. Does he even know what's in the suitcase?
+ There being no mention of Agnes this episode was weird if only because we have Liz contemplating what it means for Red to be her father for herself and Smokey pushing his nature > nurture idea and yet we don't see her considering how Agnes fits into this. She points out to Red that it doesn't matter that much because she is an adult but that should have automatically have lead to the thought that Agnes isn't and Liz being torn over Red continuing to be in their life. I hope the show goes into this at some point.
+ I was bothered too by them throwing in Liz profiling Red only for her to realise that she was wrong at the end. That was her whole thing in the beginning, she was the hotshot profiler, and while they've never done much with it and at points worked against it I still find it rubs me the wrong way for them to throw it back in only to show Liz bad at it.
+ Smokey's bathroom escape made me sigh. Really Liz should have known better.
+ How the heck is Smokey #30 on the Blacklist? It makes no sense. Frankly #130 would still be too high!
+ I have a hard time buying that Red literally has nothing left. I doubt very much that Red doesn't have secret stashes known only by him.
