The Blacklist - Lord Baltimore (No. 104) - Review: "Do The Right Thing"

"What good is the moonlight
The silvery moonlight that shines above?
I walk with my shadow
I talk with my echo
But where is the one I love?"
- 'We Three' - The Ink Spots

Just over four months ago we watched the first season finale of The Blacklist leave us with many unanswered questions. To our surprise, "Is Red Liz's father?", ended up moving down the list of important questions we wanted answered. We still want to know, sure, but now we have so many other interesting queries that have filled our heads and message boards throughout the summer. Why is Berlin chasing Red? What was Red doing in the fire of Liz's youth we hear so much about? Where did Liz get the scar on her hand and why does it resemble the markings on Tom's and Gina's spy box? Let's not forget my favorite, that pretty much summarizes The Blacklist series, "Why is Elizabeth Keen so important?". This season we hope to get more answers and I am sure, as time passes, we will get many more questions, which is one of the multitude of reasons we love The Blacklist as much as we do.

It has been a long wait and thankfully season two opened up to a scene with Red doing what he does best, getting what he wants with the greatest of ease. We have definitely missed his quick wit and cavalier style, especially in the face of absolute danger. We meet up with Red tied up and on his way to meet a Nigerian warlord, Yaabari. Red is there to gather intel on the bounty hunters Berlin had used to find Red in the last season. In true Red fashion, he is calm and cool even with a gun held to his head. James Spader, as always, plays Raymond 'Red' Reddington perfectly; a character you can't help but root for regardless of what he has done. Red gets the name Lord Baltimore and now we have number 104 from the blacklist.

It doesn't appear that too much time has passed since the events of last season's finale. We first meet Liz as she lay on a bed in a motel room, scared that Tom is still on the loose and looking for her. On the ceiling, she has pinned various article clippings and data on Tom, Berlin and Red, searching for clues that will help her gain some truth about herself and the man she was married to. Red has definitely taught her a few things as she takes after him in many ways - she now, according to Ressler, uses aliases and goes from motel room to motel room, much like Red does, albeit in a much more luxurious fashion. Season 2 promises a more bold and meaner Liz as indicated by this scene's song selection (check out the lyrics) and Liz holding a cup of coffee right after. As always, The Blacklist has one of the best soundtracks of any series on TV.

One of the elements we love about The Blacklist is its use of deceptive story-telling, which I am sure we will get in large doses this season. This episode had me guessing who Lord Baltimore was for most of the episode. To be honest, I was wondering a few things this episode, such as what Berlin has been up to. Berlin hired Lord Baltimore to locate someone, but whom? I knew it wasn't Red because Navabi, the Mossad agent, had no idea what he was talking about when he called her Lord Baltimore. We find out later that Berlin was actually looking for Red's ex-wife. In a surprise twist, he does exactly to Red what he claims Red did to him and his daughter many years ago. Berlin even takes a photo of Naomi, Red's ex-wife, in the same fashion his daughter had taken hers and placed it in a similar looking locket. If you recall from the Season One Finale, we were told the story of how Berlin was incarcerated and was sent pieces of his daughter over time, which, of course, drove him crazy. This also drove him to seek vengeance on the person responsible - Red. I find it hard to believe that Red was behind it, however, with Red having a daughter himself and some compassion. But that is what The Blacklist does so well - deceptive story-telling.

Meanwhile, Liz and Ressler continue their search for Lord Baltimore. Lord Baltimore, number 104 on the blacklist, is a criminal bounty hunter, who uses data extracted from the social media and the internet to better locate their target. Liz and Resslers's chief suspect is Rowan Mills, a woman who claims her twin sister, Nora, died years ago. We end up learning it is the more evil (it always is) twin, Nora, that is using Rowan's identity, but not in the traditional sense. She has Dissociative Identity Disorder and her multiple personalities are triggered by a song Marcus, and later Liz, play to reveal that. So, in essence, Berlin hired Lord Baltimore, Nora, who was pretending to be Rowan, to locate and capture Naomi Hyland, Red's ex-wife, to exact vengeance on Red. What a great episode.

The sophomore season of any series is difficult, especially with a show as popular as The Blacklist. After watching the episode and most of the promos it looks like The Blacklist is going to have another hit season. I am looking forward to more of the great stories we saw from last season and, hopefully, more answers to our burning questions. Tom is still out there and Red has a much more ruthless criminal out to get him. Berlin seems as formidable as he is crazy and he has Red's ex-wife, minus one finger. I'm sure Red, despite all the terrible things he has done, will do the right thing. It's going to be a great second season.

Red's Quotes

I have decided to add an extra feature to my weekly Reviews of The Blacklist called 'Red's Quotes'. It is basically a collection of the great aphorisms, sayings, proverbs and/or adages we hear each episode from the Concierge of Crime, Raymond 'Red' Reddington.

- "Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about" - To Liz

- "I hate sand" - To Cooper

- "I'm confident everyday" - To Navabi

Music from Episode 1

'La Grange' - ZZ Top
The beginning of the episode when Red meets with Yaabari

'No Sugar In My Coffee' - Caught A Ghost
Liz laying in bed staring at her board of Tom, Red and Berlin

'We Three' - The Ink Spots
The song used by Marcus and, later, Liz to bring Rowan's other personality forth

'Divisonary (Do The Right Thing)' - Ages And Ages
The final musical montage where Liz receives annulment papers, Ressler takes medication, Liz is told Cooper is back as Director and Red has a phone call and a 'gift' from Berlin


Thoughts and Discussion

- Did you notice...Ressler holds up a record for a brief second in Rowan's apartment. The record is for the music of Ginger Labella. Ginger Labella is the Graphic Artist for The Blacklist and has worked on at least 15 episodes from Season 1. She has also done work on Boardwalk Empire.

- Did you notice...The letters spelling Nora are in Rowan. Effectively, 'Nora' was hiding 'inside' Rowan just like Nora's personality was hiding inside Rowan's from our perspective. Very cool writers. Also, the photo book revealed Nora's love of little daisies; Rowan had daisy earrings on when talking to Liz.

- Maybe it does not matter, but how or why did Yaabari know about Berlin's bounty hunters?

- I'm glad Liz is taking care of Hudson, her dog from Season 1. And got an annulment! And a haircut. Oh, and, I am just going to throw this out there, I don't think it is a coincidence that Naomi Hyland looks like she could be Liz's mom. Let the theories begin...

- Did you notice...This is just for 'The Leftovers' fans ---- Lois, Rowan's mother in the episode, is the same actress, Marceline Hugot, that played 'Gladys' from The Guilty Remnant on 'The Leftovers'. I'm glad she was resurrected.

- Did you notice...Agent Cooper is a strong and smart leader characterized by the books he reads. The two books on his shelf are 'Ford: The Times The Man The Company' by Allan Nevins and 'The White House Years' by Henry Kissinger.

- I love how the Mossad located Red based on his affinity for Zegna ties, Lol. Do you think Red will switch tie designers now?

- There is a reason Yaabari had burned and scarred ear. I wonder if it is to remind us of what we saw before the closing of Season 1? Remember we saw Red with a burned back that revealed he was part of the fire from Liz's youth.

- Why was Berlin sitting in an ice water bath?

- What was on the drive Red gave Cooper regarding Kuwait?

- I love how many of the blacklisters are regarded as myths or legends.

- There is a person sitting in a car with a hoodie over their head, wearing sunglasses and holding a sniper rifle while eyeing Liz throughout the episode. What are everyone's thoughts on who the hooded stalker is? I know everyone thinks it is Tom, but remember the edeceptive story-telling I told you about. However, those are Tom's yellow/brown glasses on the dashboard...so...yeah...it's probably Tom.

Thanks for checking out my Review! I am so glad The Blacklist is on again and Season Two is looking really great so far! Please comment below so we can discuss the episode and series further!

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, The Leftovers, The Strain, 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.

Recent Reviews By Geo N (All Reviews)