Last week, Geo N, our regular reviewer on hiatus, wrote that "The Blacklist has always been great at harmonizing the relationship between a procedural drama and a serialized one." 'Miles McGrath' is another example of this in what has been a consistently and thoroughly entertaining fourth season, thus far.
'Mato' left us with the shock of watching Reddington gun down Mr. Kaplan. The great thing about the climax was that they did not cheaply leave the fate of her character hanging in the air, dragging it out to a point of disinterest, they revealed immediately that she is indeed still alive. If anything, what last weeks climax achieved was accentuating the man Red truly is - an unforgiving and uncompromising pragmatist. The main nagging question, thus, does not pertain the fate of Mr. Kaplan, but what the consequences are for Red's actions. There is the sense that the unassuming and well connected Mr. Kaplan is not someone you want to cross.
This week only saw small teases of Mr. Kaplan as she crawled towards a river bank and got picked up by a mysterious man. The episode was more focused on Red's continued hunt for Alexander Kirk by infiltrating another one of his connections, Miles McGrath (Tate Ellington). As aforementioned, the show continues to do a commendable job in tying in the case of the week with the main storyline.
Ellington was fabulous in his portrayal of the very animated and psychotic McGrath, making him a compelling enough antagonist to care about the storyline of the week. It will be interesting to see if he returns in some capacity since he was only arrested by episodes end.
'Miles McGrath' showed off more of Tom's abilities as a spy. From his ruthless improvisation during the audition to the cowboy-esque heist of the CDC train, the episode gave us further evidence of why Tom will be getting his own show. The jazzy, Ocean's 11 inspired theft of the journal at the FBI offices with Liz was also a very entertaining sequence involving our favourite couple.
Speaking of Liz, it was great to see some progression as Liz slowly pieces together her past, including that reveal her mom and Red were having an affair. Having Liz watch her mother as if she was there added a nice personal touch to each sequence.
The episode had its fair share of other reveals too. Kirk being a desperate, dying man in need of Liz for a genetic donation was an interesting twist. The reveal was dropped like it was nothing, and I get the sense there is more to the story than what Red is telling Liz. His choice of wording, about how Kirk "believes" that Liz is his daughter, was also very curious.
Overall, The Blacklist continues to move at a steady, yet exciting pace. This was your standard case of the week episode, but it felt fulfilling nonetheless, due to its connection to the hunt for Alexander Kirk. If The Blacklist can continue to tie in their smaller stories with the larger narrative, season 4 could turn out to be one of their stronger seasons.
9/10
Red Quote/Story of the Week
Halbeck: I’ve got a partner in this one. Biggest mistake I ever made.
Red: Sounds like Martin and Lewis
Halbeck: Who?
Red: Three Ring Circus, The Stooge, Sailor Beware – Martin and Lewis.
Halbeck: What the hell are you talking about?
Red: Partnerships. They’re very rough.
[Takes a drink]
Red: Mmm. Ah! [Chuckles] You know BJ Simpson and I started a lawn mowing business in the summer of ’72. Bagging, hedging, the whole ball of wax. One day, I’m out rototilling Pat Hunt’s garden. I go in for a bottle of pop – must have been 110 – and there’s BJ in the sunken living room, shoes off, feet up on the couch, eating a fried bologna sandwich, watching Mike Douglas [laughs] Mike Douglas! Can you imagine?! I quit that day.
Halbeck: Who are Martin and Lewis?
Red: Truth is, I haven’t had a partner since.
Thank you for reading my review! Please comment below to discuss the episode. Your regular reviewer, Geo N, will be back for 'Gaia.'
