The Blacklist - Episode 1.19 - The Pavlovich Brothers (No. 119 - 122) - Review

"I had a dream last night
And when I opened my eyes
Your shoulder blade, your spine
Were shorelines in the moon light
New worlds for the weary
New lands for the living
I could make it if I tried
I closed my eyes I kept on swimming"
- Change Of Time - John Ritter


I've often said that this show contains the perfect harmony between "crime-of-the-week" and a serialized format, which is one of the reasons, I believe, The Blacklist is so popular. Each week there is a new villain from the blacklist given to the FBI by Reddington and sprinkled onto and around that story is the mythology surrounding Liz, and why she is so important to the leading men in her life. The Blacklist is now in the home stretch of its inaugural first season and each subsequent episode will most likely raise pertinent questions for the much anticipated season finale on May 12th. Only two episodes remain until the finale and last Monday's episode was sort of a set up for the final lap. The cliffhanger at the end is something everyone will be talking and writing about until next Monday night and the speculation as to what Liz pulled out of that orange envelope has a wide range of possibilities.

The Pavlovich Brothers are the blacklisters this week, occupying numbers 119 to 122. Apparently, we have seen them before in episode number one aiding the first blacklister we saw, Ranko Zamani, kidnap the daughter of General Daniel Ryker. The Pavlovich Brothers specialize in abductions of high value targets, something that is a great asset in the world of espionage. In this occurrence, they are tasked with abducting Xao Ping Li, a woman involved in a chemical weapons project known as White Fog. The brothers manage to intercept Li from the people trying to get her to a safe location and take her to one of their hideouts. Once there and knowing that she will be transported by boat, Li manages to scribble a formula (buoyancy) on the wall, hoping that someone will be able to decipher what she is trying to tell them. Red, as usual, leads Liz to find the answer and she and the team figure out where the hideout is located. When they arrive Ressler immediately sees the writing on the wall left by Li (a little too easy if you ask me), but the brothers have already left with Li in tow. Aram brilliantly decodes the formula to mean that Li will be traveling by sea and with the aid of Red, once again, the team manages to find the brothers and kill them in the ensuing shootout, securing the safety of Xao Ping Li.

I'll admit the 'criminal-of-the-week' portion of this episode was not the most thrilling we've seen, but it was necessary to show us the brothers capabilities when it came time to the serialized part of the story. There are not many times when the differing parts of each episode bleed through, but this worked seamlessly when Red needed the Pavlovich's help securing Tom for Liz when he fled. Which brings us to the other story of the episode where Tom discovers that Liz knows his secret and needs to get out of town. Red is just as interested in getting to the bottom of who Tom is and what his motivations are as Liz and does all he can to get him back for her. Well, maybe Liz is a little more interested than Red.

Tom, sensing that Liz is onto him, left the apartment and called his "handlers" for an extraction, stating, "Mockingbird knows. Requesting immediate evac. She knows". Liz tries to make sense of it by speaking with Red, conveying her feelings to him and letting him know that she is through being patient and will get to Tom with or without his aid. Liz is acting very impatiently, but I suppose, given what has just transpired in her marriage, she has every right to be. Red helps her nonetheless, and him and Dembe go looking for Tom. This is where the Pavlovich Brothers come into play. Red has had ordinary looking citizens follow Tom and one finds out where his evacuation team has been holding him. To get to Tom, Red employs the brothers to kidnap him and the following chase scene (in the Mustang that Tom Ryan Eggold now advertises for, lol) was well executed and fun to watch. They bring Tom back to Liz's apartment, handcuffed and tied to a chair. I'm thinking this is the same chair that Tom was tied to in episode one when Zamani came in and stabbed Tom before Liz walked in to see. This time it was Tom that was doing the stabbing; he stabbed Liz right through the heart with the story he told of the first time he felt sorry for her. Not cool Tom, not cool. It was the moment he knew that he had her and his mission would be a piece of cake. Although she was dealt a significant emotional blow, Liz was determined to get answers, but apparently she never learned enough about torture from the FBI and broke Tom's thumb, hastening his escape from the cuffs. Liz and Tom get into a brawl, but Tom overpowers her in the end and forces Liz to handcuff herself to the banister. Before he leaves, for the last time, he informs Liz that his job was never to hurt her and that Red is not who she thinks he is and he can prove it (Here we go again). Tom says he knew that Liz found the key under the lamp and implies that if she takes it to the security box (No. 3929 in the Radford Bank) at the bank she will get her proof that Red is not who she thinks he is.

The episode ends on the cliffhanger of that very scene. Liz opens the security deposit box and inside is a large orange envelope with the same symbol that is on Tom's spy box as well as the scar that Liz has on her wrist. We can only guess at what is in the envelope until we find out for sure next Monday night. So, I am asking that everyone comment below with your guesses so we can see how close we get. Overall, I thought the episode was ok. Ryan Eggold is doing a fantastic job as Tom and his scenes are some of my favorites. I think I laughed at every scene Red was in also, as usual. It was definitely one of the weaker episodes and The Blacklist does not have many of those. The car chase scene was, by far, my favorite part and it was executed very well. There are only three episodes left this season and I'm pretty sure we will get at least one filler episode and my guess is that it will be next Monday nights, but The Blacklist is such an incredible show that it will still be extraordinary. There is still much we do not know and I think the writers prefer it that way for the two part season finale where we will hopefully get our fill of answers; and with the title of each being "Berlin", I think that is exactly what we will get.


Thoughts and Discussion

- Did you notice...the line Red says to the package drop-off guy - "We want to make sure we know where to reach you, Geoffrey P. Seevers." His initials are GPS.

- Who does Seevers work for? Who hired him? Is it "Berlin"?

- I laughed the most when Red was asking about Tracy Woods, with the leather vest, and the mustache. Lol. Well, that and anything Aram says.

- Where will Tom go? Is he right about Red? Maybe this is just another twist by the writers and Tom is really a good guy and Red is the bad guy?

- When did Liz and Tom get a dog?

- What was in the envelope that Liz opened at the end? Is there any significance to the envelope having an orange color? Does the logo belong to Berlin? Does anyone else think that the logo looks like a fox with a crown on its head walking upright?...no?...just me?





Thank you for checking out my Review! Please comment below so we can discuss the episode further! And don't forget I am still compiling a list of unanswered questions to post the week before the finale so we can have everything in one place, so please post any questions you think is relevant and I will add it.

About the Author - Geo N

My name is George and I am from Detroit, MI. My favorite shows are The Blacklist, Hell On Wheels, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, LOST, Sons Of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow and countless other shows. When I'm not watching tons of TV, I enjoy reading, playing hockey, comic books, weightlifting, and writing. Thanks for checking out my post.