The Blacklist 5x22 Thoughts
Jun. 18th, 2018 08:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaSutton Ross [No. 17]
I really enjoyed it, and it's made me more excited for the show than I've been in awhile.
• Imposter Red! It's a theory I've been behind for a long time and it was the only explanation for the bones that made sense to me so it was great to have it confirmed. I also love the choice to have Liz learn the truth while having Red think he'd managed to hide it.
• I was torn at first about how the episode ended with Red/Liz because all I wanted was the return of them being close, which is when I think they are at their best, and instead we got the opposite with Liz now secretly working against Red and plotting to destroy him. And yet... I'm excited about it. This episode really emphasised Red's devotion to Liz, and despite everything, I believe that Liz will eventually allow herself to once again believe his love is real. As per her talk with ‘Tom’ Liz knows that Red will always come for her and would do anything for her. She’s seen him willing to trade his life for hers many times. The anger is clouding things right now but it won’t always. I have faith that in the end Liz’s love for Red, which is also real, will win through the anger. There will be a lot of angst, pain, anger and working against each other first (which tbh, I am totally here for too) but in the end they’ll end up closer than ever before. I'm willing to sit back and enjoy the ride. [Unless it ends in angst/death/unhappiness and then I'll be unhappy.]
• One of my favourite things about this episode was how much we got to see Red's love for Liz. There were so many scenes showing his devotion towards her
- The way he without hesitation says "Turn around." when Liz crashes and only after that initial reaction seems resigned and regretting (letting Sutton go) when he tells Dembe again to turn around. His first reaction is always going to be about protecting Liz.
- I love the way he approached her when she was sitting dazed in the car. The way he held her head and said "let me look at you", and the deep concern.
- Once again Red immediately offering himself in exchange for Liz. His life for hers, always. "Done", there is no other choice for him. I also really loved the way he said "I want to talk to her."
- "You have nothing to apologise for. Not to me, ever."
- "Elizabeth. It's over." The way he held her, the way he caressed her head, the way he refused to let go for a long moment.
If there is one thing on this show we know is 100% true it's that Red loves Liz and this episode was very purposeful in showing that. Red and Liz are in for some rough times but I'm sure they'll over-come it because the most important thing about Red for Liz - that his love for her is true - is real.
• At the moment I am confused about why Red has been so determined to keep this secret from Liz. How could knowing the real Raymond Reddington is dead be a danger to Liz?
• I'm really sympathetic towards Liz right now. I get why she’s so pissed off and why she’s ending the season vowing to destroy Red. He says he never lies to her, but while he never actually said the words he still let her think, for over a year, that he was her father. Of course she feels hurt and betrayed to learn that he’s not. If he 'lied'/tricked her about that then what else is false about their relationship? Is anything about it true? I mean at this point in their relationship she has come to a point where she loves and is able to acknowledge that; where she trusts him; where she’s opened up to him and forgiven him. To learn that this major aspect of their evolving relationship was wrong? Of course she feels duped by him. He purposefully deceived her in a way that affected how she saw their relationship.
Then there’s Tom and his death. For me that was clearly more on Tom but Red did play a part in it and I can kind of see why she’s blaming Red entirely for it now. She forgave Red for his part in Tom’s death in large part because he was her father. Now he’s not. She was focused on revenge against Garvey and she got it... and it didn’t change anything. The show failed to explore this post-Garvey death (which annoys me) so this is supposition but Liz finally killed Tom’s murderer and nothing changed. The rage and pain was still there. Then she learned the secret Tom died for, and it left her feeling betrayed by Red, so I can see how easy it would be for that now undirected and undealt with rage to be redirected at Red. I can understand if everything Red has said and done is now getting a suspicious eye from her. On top of that, they’ve just gone through months competing against each other to hunt down Garvey and the dufflebag. It caused a noticeable strain in their relationship. You have the fact that Red told her that the bones and their secrets didn’t concern her when they were her father’s bones.
There are a lot of layers to Liz's anger at Red and I'm excited to see that explored. I'm also excited to see just how Liz approaches her new goal.
• Honestly I think this could actually be really great for Red and Liz’s relationship in the long run. They need to get to a place where they are equals, where Red stops keeping everything from her and where they can learn to trust each other with all their cards on the table.
• I love that Dembe (and so many other people) have been telling Red this whole time to just tell Liz the truth and he has refused, he has killed to keep his secret, and now it's out in the very worst of circumstance. There were so many times before now when he could have told her and it could have been fine, when it wouldn't have mattered. But now? When Liz is still dealing with the grief and rage of her husband's death which she blames Red for, after Mr. Kaplan's death, after over a year of letting Liz think he was her father, after months of strain on their relationship as they fought over the dufflebag and its secrets? No, this is the worst way it could have happened. Especially now that Liz has Jennifer in her corner, Jennifer who hates him and who will be pushing Liz's anger at him and gunning for his destruction. Of course Liz is furious and ready to destroy him, and it's all of his own making.
• So Liz isn't Red's daughter, right? I was pretty sure at the time of the reveal she wasn't and I'm pretty sure now and yet... after being jerked around for 5 seasons I feel like I have to keep second guessing myself. It could still possible that Red is her father depending on just how far back it was that he took over the life of Raymond Reddington but honestly the fact that they did the original dna test from so far back is enough to make me sure he's not her father.
When it was revealed I found myself thinking back to that moment in season one when Liz asked him if he was her father and he hesitated a moment before saying 'no'. Because Raymond Reddington is her father but Red isn't and he never lies to her.
That does of course still leave us with, for me, the biggest and most fundamental question of the show, as stated by Sutton Ross: "after all, what is she to you, really?" Who is Elizabeth Keen to Red? Her being his daughter has always been an easy explanation for his interest, without it why is he so devoted to her? It can't simply be him transferring his love/devotion towards Katarina to her daughter, can it?
• I am so here for the sisters Reddington teaming up to find out the truth about their father's death. I really hope the issues between them aren't smoothed over. Liz killed Garvey, the man Lilly saw as her beloved foster father, which has to cause tension. Liz is angry at Red now but she also loves him and has a past with him full of both positives and negatives whereas Lilly only knows him as this boogeyman who has haunted her whole life and who she blames for the deaths of everyone she loved (father, Garvey, mother), which has to cause conflict as their scheme proceeds. I can see Lilly's hatred towards Red boosting Liz's anger towards him at first but as they get closer to defeating him Liz finding herself unwilling to actually hurt him could cause issues.
• Tom! For a second there they got me. Weirdly I was actually excited at the idea that his death was faked and he was back. It was nice to see his face again. That said I am glad he was a hallucination and isn't actually back. I was getting annoyed with him at the end of his run, I want this upcoming storyline to be all about Liz and Red, and I think when he's on the show he takes up far too much of the story and Liz becomes too much about him.
The thing I actually find most interest about Tom's 'return' was this line from Liz: "I learned that from you too. How to pray on the emotions of those that love you most." Wow. Ouch! That was really harsh, if also true. It's just an interesting thing for Liz to say. She loved him, she's still grieving for him, and she forgave him. And yet. It actually gives me hope for Liz/Red's relationship eventually healing.
• I do enjoy Liz getting one over on Red and her using his feelings for her to fool him and it working because his greatest weakness has always been her was great.
• I loved the Red/Liz aspect of the car chase. I found their call really fun.
• I was confused about how the crash happened. It looked like Liz got distracted by Red being right on her tail, had to swerve to miss the truck and crashed. But then her anger and especially Ressler's line made me think that Dembe hit her car? If that's what we were supposed to think it did not come across well. Overall for all that I loved the chase the crash was disappointing. It could have been so easy to make it more interesting - have more of Sutton's men show up and cut her off with gunfire, or even just have them purposefully run her off the road. Throw in more danger and awesome, it's the finale! It would have also made Liz crashing come off less dumb. I swear sometimes I think the writers purposefully make the choice that makes Liz look the least competent and it's annoying
• "God only gives you burdens you can bear. Losing Raymond and Elizabeth? I couldn't bear that." Oh, Dembe. I found it interesting that for him it's losing both that would be too much implying that if Red was lost but Liz was fine it's something he could bear.
• I am genuinely surprised that Dom knows the truth about Red. I really didn't expect that because I was so sure he had no idea about Red's secrets. I need to re-watch but, for instance, I was sure that he thought Red was Masha's father and now we know that he isn't.
• I liked the sequence of all the people who died knowing the truth.
• Oh Aram, of course he would the first to break and give up the code. I am curious about why Red was so sure that Sutton was bluffing and wouldn't hurt Liz.
I really enjoyed it, and it's made me more excited for the show than I've been in awhile.
• Imposter Red! It's a theory I've been behind for a long time and it was the only explanation for the bones that made sense to me so it was great to have it confirmed. I also love the choice to have Liz learn the truth while having Red think he'd managed to hide it.
• I was torn at first about how the episode ended with Red/Liz because all I wanted was the return of them being close, which is when I think they are at their best, and instead we got the opposite with Liz now secretly working against Red and plotting to destroy him. And yet... I'm excited about it. This episode really emphasised Red's devotion to Liz, and despite everything, I believe that Liz will eventually allow herself to once again believe his love is real. As per her talk with ‘Tom’ Liz knows that Red will always come for her and would do anything for her. She’s seen him willing to trade his life for hers many times. The anger is clouding things right now but it won’t always. I have faith that in the end Liz’s love for Red, which is also real, will win through the anger. There will be a lot of angst, pain, anger and working against each other first (which tbh, I am totally here for too) but in the end they’ll end up closer than ever before. I'm willing to sit back and enjoy the ride. [Unless it ends in angst/death/unhappiness and then I'll be unhappy.]
• One of my favourite things about this episode was how much we got to see Red's love for Liz. There were so many scenes showing his devotion towards her
- The way he without hesitation says "Turn around." when Liz crashes and only after that initial reaction seems resigned and regretting (letting Sutton go) when he tells Dembe again to turn around. His first reaction is always going to be about protecting Liz.
- I love the way he approached her when she was sitting dazed in the car. The way he held her head and said "let me look at you", and the deep concern.
- Once again Red immediately offering himself in exchange for Liz. His life for hers, always. "Done", there is no other choice for him. I also really loved the way he said "I want to talk to her."
- "You have nothing to apologise for. Not to me, ever."
- "Elizabeth. It's over." The way he held her, the way he caressed her head, the way he refused to let go for a long moment.
If there is one thing on this show we know is 100% true it's that Red loves Liz and this episode was very purposeful in showing that. Red and Liz are in for some rough times but I'm sure they'll over-come it because the most important thing about Red for Liz - that his love for her is true - is real.
• At the moment I am confused about why Red has been so determined to keep this secret from Liz. How could knowing the real Raymond Reddington is dead be a danger to Liz?
• I'm really sympathetic towards Liz right now. I get why she’s so pissed off and why she’s ending the season vowing to destroy Red. He says he never lies to her, but while he never actually said the words he still let her think, for over a year, that he was her father. Of course she feels hurt and betrayed to learn that he’s not. If he 'lied'/tricked her about that then what else is false about their relationship? Is anything about it true? I mean at this point in their relationship she has come to a point where she loves and is able to acknowledge that; where she trusts him; where she’s opened up to him and forgiven him. To learn that this major aspect of their evolving relationship was wrong? Of course she feels duped by him. He purposefully deceived her in a way that affected how she saw their relationship.
Then there’s Tom and his death. For me that was clearly more on Tom but Red did play a part in it and I can kind of see why she’s blaming Red entirely for it now. She forgave Red for his part in Tom’s death in large part because he was her father. Now he’s not. She was focused on revenge against Garvey and she got it... and it didn’t change anything. The show failed to explore this post-Garvey death (which annoys me) so this is supposition but Liz finally killed Tom’s murderer and nothing changed. The rage and pain was still there. Then she learned the secret Tom died for, and it left her feeling betrayed by Red, so I can see how easy it would be for that now undirected and undealt with rage to be redirected at Red. I can understand if everything Red has said and done is now getting a suspicious eye from her. On top of that, they’ve just gone through months competing against each other to hunt down Garvey and the dufflebag. It caused a noticeable strain in their relationship. You have the fact that Red told her that the bones and their secrets didn’t concern her when they were her father’s bones.
There are a lot of layers to Liz's anger at Red and I'm excited to see that explored. I'm also excited to see just how Liz approaches her new goal.
• Honestly I think this could actually be really great for Red and Liz’s relationship in the long run. They need to get to a place where they are equals, where Red stops keeping everything from her and where they can learn to trust each other with all their cards on the table.
• I love that Dembe (and so many other people) have been telling Red this whole time to just tell Liz the truth and he has refused, he has killed to keep his secret, and now it's out in the very worst of circumstance. There were so many times before now when he could have told her and it could have been fine, when it wouldn't have mattered. But now? When Liz is still dealing with the grief and rage of her husband's death which she blames Red for, after Mr. Kaplan's death, after over a year of letting Liz think he was her father, after months of strain on their relationship as they fought over the dufflebag and its secrets? No, this is the worst way it could have happened. Especially now that Liz has Jennifer in her corner, Jennifer who hates him and who will be pushing Liz's anger at him and gunning for his destruction. Of course Liz is furious and ready to destroy him, and it's all of his own making.
• So Liz isn't Red's daughter, right? I was pretty sure at the time of the reveal she wasn't and I'm pretty sure now and yet... after being jerked around for 5 seasons I feel like I have to keep second guessing myself. It could still possible that Red is her father depending on just how far back it was that he took over the life of Raymond Reddington but honestly the fact that they did the original dna test from so far back is enough to make me sure he's not her father.
When it was revealed I found myself thinking back to that moment in season one when Liz asked him if he was her father and he hesitated a moment before saying 'no'. Because Raymond Reddington is her father but Red isn't and he never lies to her.
That does of course still leave us with, for me, the biggest and most fundamental question of the show, as stated by Sutton Ross: "after all, what is she to you, really?" Who is Elizabeth Keen to Red? Her being his daughter has always been an easy explanation for his interest, without it why is he so devoted to her? It can't simply be him transferring his love/devotion towards Katarina to her daughter, can it?
• I am so here for the sisters Reddington teaming up to find out the truth about their father's death. I really hope the issues between them aren't smoothed over. Liz killed Garvey, the man Lilly saw as her beloved foster father, which has to cause tension. Liz is angry at Red now but she also loves him and has a past with him full of both positives and negatives whereas Lilly only knows him as this boogeyman who has haunted her whole life and who she blames for the deaths of everyone she loved (father, Garvey, mother), which has to cause conflict as their scheme proceeds. I can see Lilly's hatred towards Red boosting Liz's anger towards him at first but as they get closer to defeating him Liz finding herself unwilling to actually hurt him could cause issues.
• Tom! For a second there they got me. Weirdly I was actually excited at the idea that his death was faked and he was back. It was nice to see his face again. That said I am glad he was a hallucination and isn't actually back. I was getting annoyed with him at the end of his run, I want this upcoming storyline to be all about Liz and Red, and I think when he's on the show he takes up far too much of the story and Liz becomes too much about him.
The thing I actually find most interest about Tom's 'return' was this line from Liz: "I learned that from you too. How to pray on the emotions of those that love you most." Wow. Ouch! That was really harsh, if also true. It's just an interesting thing for Liz to say. She loved him, she's still grieving for him, and she forgave him. And yet. It actually gives me hope for Liz/Red's relationship eventually healing.
• I do enjoy Liz getting one over on Red and her using his feelings for her to fool him and it working because his greatest weakness has always been her was great.
• I loved the Red/Liz aspect of the car chase. I found their call really fun.
• I was confused about how the crash happened. It looked like Liz got distracted by Red being right on her tail, had to swerve to miss the truck and crashed. But then her anger and especially Ressler's line made me think that Dembe hit her car? If that's what we were supposed to think it did not come across well. Overall for all that I loved the chase the crash was disappointing. It could have been so easy to make it more interesting - have more of Sutton's men show up and cut her off with gunfire, or even just have them purposefully run her off the road. Throw in more danger and awesome, it's the finale! It would have also made Liz crashing come off less dumb. I swear sometimes I think the writers purposefully make the choice that makes Liz look the least competent and it's annoying
• "God only gives you burdens you can bear. Losing Raymond and Elizabeth? I couldn't bear that." Oh, Dembe. I found it interesting that for him it's losing both that would be too much implying that if Red was lost but Liz was fine it's something he could bear.
• I am genuinely surprised that Dom knows the truth about Red. I really didn't expect that because I was so sure he had no idea about Red's secrets. I need to re-watch but, for instance, I was sure that he thought Red was Masha's father and now we know that he isn't.
• I liked the sequence of all the people who died knowing the truth.
• Oh Aram, of course he would the first to break and give up the code. I am curious about why Red was so sure that Sutton was bluffing and wouldn't hurt Liz.
