The announcement of this NBC spin-off automatically reminded me of when Angel got his own show after appearing in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Both shows seemed unnecessary upon their announcement, and they both involved the lover of a female protagonist seeking redemption in a new city.
The comparisons stop there unfortunately. While the Angel pilot was a well-paced episode that hooked me from the start, I am still left wanting more after watching Blacklist: Redemption.
'Leland Bray' felt like it was trying too hard to be cool and different. The humour felt forced, the story was rushed, and there was minimal subtlety.The episode was so rushed that it actually became exhausting and it was hard not to tune out every so often.
Both Ryan Eggold as Tom and Famke Jansen as his mom are strong enough leads to carry a show - the backdoor pilot was thoroughly enjoyable. Unfortunately, the writing of this first episode did not live up to expectations.
5/10
