The Blacklist - Luther Braxton (No. 21) Part 1- Review "The House, The Fire, The Girl"

"There's a reckonin' a-comin'
And it burns beyond the grave
Lead inside my belly
'cause my soul has lost its way"
- Blood On My Name - The Brothers Bright

The Blacklist, with its special Super Bowl airing Sunday night, returned from a two and a half month long winter break with an exceptional episode reminiscent of it season one origins. I'm sure the Super Bowl lead in helped with the highest ratings (approximately 25 million viewers) the show has ever had, but the sensational episode is deserving of some of the credit.

When we last left The Blacklist, Alan Fitch gave Red some specific information that would be important moving forward this season. The most interesting of which is the mystery surrounding The Fulcrum. Last Sunday night we received a taste of what The Fulcrum is and how it relates to Red and Liz. The Fulcrum is of course, what this week's blacklister happens to be after.

Luther Braxton is described by Liz as a highly competent thief. We know he will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, which in this case is gathering intel to obtain The Fulcrum. We have observed the murderous lengths he will go to in attaining what he is after and also his link to Red's criminal past. In this regard, Braxton reminded me a lot of the season one blacklister, 'Anslo Garrick', from the mid-season finale. Both were highly skilled in their craft and both had ties to Red from working alongside him at some point in his career. Braxton, however, seems to be more of a threat than Garrick, since he knows what Red is after and now knows Liz is integral to The Fulcrum by pure deduction. After Red comes to heroically save Liz, Braxton realizes how Liz is tied to Red. He contemplates Red's past; The house, the fire, the girl. He clearly puts two and two together and realizes Liz is the infamous girl from the fire now grown up.

We learned quite a bit about The Fulcrum from Red this episode. Here is what we know: It is a blackmail file. It is proof of the existence of an extremely powerful clandestine organization. If their activities are made public, some of the most powerful and influential men would go to prison or be executed. We also know Liz is 'not' The Fulcrum since she asked Red if The Fulcrum 'was here' and he responded 'no'. Red only came to the prison to stop Braxton from getting closer to finding out what The Fulcrum is and what knowledge of it could accomplish.

One thing I definitely miss when the show goes on break is Red's anecdotes. The story he tells Liz about the evolving fish and the ray of light was exceptional. It's these scenes that make James Spader one of the best actors on TV right now. Red is the evolving fish and Liz is his ray of light. The final statements from Red reflect what the next few episodes should be about - "I didn't want you to come here. Because the truth is if I don't stop Luther Braxton, what he will discover is that he can't get The Fulcrum without you." (his words to Liz)

The final montage of the episode included explosive scenes while we hear the song, "Blood On My Name" playing. Some of the lyrics contain references to a Lazarus, a brother of Mary and Martha whom Jesus raised from the dead. Red is, in a way, the Lazarus on this show; he was gone for almost 25 years, then comes back into the spotlight to work with the FBI and Liz. In the episode, after the explosion Liz attempts CPR on an unconscious Red only to discover she could not revive him in the brief time she had before Braxton's men capture her. She is quickly taken to Braxton where she admits sadly, Red is dead. Although later, it is revealed he is very much alive and relative to Liz, he is her Lazarus.

The episode is easily one of my favorite episodes of the series to date. It had everything you could ask for and more from The Blacklist. Now that the show is done with the Berlin story line it can regroup and start fresh for the second half of season two. Red grabbing a weapon and heroically going after Liz to save her "Rambo style" was the highlight of episode. The writers are definitely showcasing how much Red and Liz care for and need each other. This is definitely important after the first eight episodes this season were about them lying and keeping secrets from each other. I really enjoy the new dynamic between the two and love their scenes together. I'm glad The Blacklist is back from its break and look forward to seeing more of Red and Liz and how The Fulcrum plays into everything as well as what it means to their relationship.

Red's Quotes

- "That's a load off"
Red responding to the Agent's statement, "From this point forward you don't exist"

- "Sadly there isn't a prison on Earth where I don't know a few guys"
Red to Liz

- "I'm confident you have a plan for every imaginable scenario. it's the scenarios you can't imagine that bite you in the ass..."
Red to Braxton

- "A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer" Braxton - "What is that Nietzsche?"
Red - "Bruce Lee"

Music from the Episode

- "Magic Bus" - The Who
News broadcast of Red's capture

- "Blood On My Name" - The Brothers Bright
Final music montage

Thoughts and Discussion

- Did you notice...During the news story in the beginning of the episode there are photos of Red's life when he left his wife and daughter. I thought it was funny the car he drove was 'red'. ...no?...not funny?

- I thought it was interesting when Agent Cooper said only 41 people know Reddington is an asset to Liz and the FBI.

- How 'ok' is Liz with Red killing people, deserving or not, right in front of her? She is really starting to blur the ethical lines as the show progresses.

- I loved how upset Aram got when Agent Cooper was struggling with giving the Master Code to Braxton. He really cares for Navabi and I wonder if anything romantic will occur between the two.

- I look forward to learning more about the "cabal" that includes the CIA Director and other government leaders. I loved how the scene was shot with their faces concealed mostly in shadows. This technique is used again in the scene right before the strike on the prison when Agent Cooper is speaking to Kat Goodson and Kat's face is hidden in shadows as well.

- Did you notice...This may or may not mean anything, but I wanted to mention it. We know Liz was four years old when she was caught in the infamous fire from her youth. I saw the number four displayed throughout the episode - The news story at the beginning of the episode was on channel '4'. It is mentioned that Red resurfaced, after abandoning his wife and daughter, '4' years later. The number above the boiler that Red and Liz explode is '4'.

- If you think about it, it was mentioned Red was at large for 24 years - Red resurfaced 4 years after he vanished which means he was still at large for another 20 years - Braxton mentions the house fire 20 years ago --- this adds to the idea Red was in the house fire that Liz was in also.

Welcome back everyone! Thank you for checking out my Review! Please comment below so we can discuss the episode further! Have a great week everyone and don't forget the next episode and conclusion is tomorrow night!

About the Author - Geo N

Geo N is from Detroit, MI. His favorite shows include The Blacklist, Hell On Wheels, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, LOST, The Leftovers, The Strain, Sons Of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow and countless others. When he's not watching tons of TV, he enjoys reading, playing hockey, comic books, weightlifting, and writing. Thanks for checking out my post.

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