"There are good ships
And there are wood ships
The ships that sail the sea
The best ships are friendships
And may they always be."
Agent Cooper and Connolly toasting to Cooper getting in the medical trial
Last Thursday's episode of The Blacklist had been the lowest rated of the entire series with just under eight million viewers. Some might consider it one of the worst episodes, but I actually enjoyed it, especially with some of the mysterious things we saw Red doing at the end of the episode. The ratings for The Blacklist have been on a downward spiral since the end of Season One and I hope it picks up with only ten episodes remaining this season.
The blacklister this past Thursday was the Kenyon Family, a polygamist cult whose compound doubles as a storage facility for the criminal underground. When a cartel, criminal or villainous group needs to hide anything of value, they seek out the Kenyon Family, who place their goods in shipping containers spread throughout the compound. Our team has encountered more threatening blacklisters, but they were put in danger at many points throughout the episode. I enjoyed watching Navabi step up as an important part of the team as she helped defuse bombs and come in at just the right time to save Liz and Ressler from The Watchers.
To the tune of Bobby Darin's "Beyond The Sea", Red walked to the back of the car to retrieve a small, silver suitcase from the inside of the trunk. Just as the words to the song go, "It's far beyond the stars, it's near beyond the moon, I know beyond a doubt, my heart will lead me there soon", so too does Red's heart search for The Fulcrum; a search he will no doubt go to any lengths to retrieve. He will delve into Liz's subconscious to grab at a memory and feed the FBI what is basically a 'to-do list' of criminals for his ultimate goals. Red is the Devil we know. 'How far will he go' and 'where to' are the questions Season Two will hopefully try to answer.
Music from the Episode
- "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin
Cooper is informed that he's been accepted into the medical trial; Dembe gives Red a phone number that he traced from the safe.
-"Down to the River to Pray" - (arr. Philip Lawson) Pacific Boychoir Academy & Kevin Fox
Navabi talks a boy down from detonating the bomb in the van; Ressler and Keen discover the murder scene in the Kenyons' church.
- The country the number belonged to is Russia, indicated by the "+7" country code. This adds more to the 'Russian' elements of Liz's past I wrote about before such as - Liz's name (which her younger self mentions in the fire flashbacks) is Masha, which is Russian in origin, and also the Russian lullaby playing during those same flashbacks.
- Did Ressler take the bottle of pain pills? I didn't think his addiction to controlled substances was still an issue, but he stared a long time at that bottle.
- We still don't know what medical condition Agent Cooper has been diagnosed with by his doctors. From the evidence we have, it appears to be terminal and the best bet would be cancer. Lets's hope this medical trial he has been accepted into works and he gets to stay on as director because I enjoy watching his character.
- Did you notice...There is a "Mustache Mug" on Glen's desk that reads "Mr. Right". Lol, I thought that was hilarious. I wonder who owns the "Mrs. Always Right" mustache mug?
- Did you notice...Red mentions Glen helped take down that "mobster in needles". I think Red is referring to Al Capone and his fear of needles. Al Capone was afraid of needles so much it caused his death. Rather than get an injection to cure him of his Syphilis he refused and died as a result.
- Who is on the other end of the phone call Red made to the number he found in Fitch's safe? Why does that phone number still work? Is he a friend or foe?
- Did you notice...When Liz is walking through the forest, right before she gets captured, she sees dolls and animals hanging from tree branches. One of those dolls looks like Steve Rogers (I could be wrong, but it looks just like one I had when I was a kid) with a missing leg. Steve Rogers is the name of Captain America - fitting, since 'The Watchers' want to take down the country.
- What was in the metal briefcase Red took from that Presidential vehicle's trunk? We don't know who the container belonged to or who's vehicle that is for that matter. Many of you speculated it was President Kennedy's vehicle the day he was assassinated, but I don't think we have enough information to go on.
- Did you notice...The painting, that Fitch's safe was behind, was a portrait of Juliette Récamier (if you've ever heard of a Recamier Sofa it was named after her) by François Pascal Simon, Baron Gérard, in 1802. The interesting part is that she was engaged to be married to Jacques-Rose Récamier. A rumor arose that he was her natural father who married her to make her his heir. It is still unknown whether or not he is her natural father or not, but the marriage was never consummated. Also, they were married when she was only 15, which mirrors what the Kenyon family was doing to underage girls.
Thank you for checking out my review! Please comment below so we can discuss the episode and the series some more. Have a great week everyone!
