Spoilers The Blacklist - Season 4 Discussion Thread

[Procutus]

Blacklisters (and you all know who you are), it's time to assemble! The season premier is just a little over a week away, so it's time to get the party started. From the few things I've read in recent weeks, this season promises a lot of surprises, twists and turns. And I'm sure, more of Red's predilection for fine pastries.



The Missus and I have been binge-watching our way through the DVDs, trying to finish last season before next Thursday. The thing that really struck me as we watched it this way is just how well thought-out the show really is, right from the beginning. It really does connect to itself in so many ways and a lot of things make much more sense when the show (or any show, I reckon) is viewed in this manner.

All right, let the discussion begin!

 

[auntiehill]

*sigh*

After the staggering level of suckage in the last season, I'm not sure I even care.

I'd rather they just scrap the whole Lizzie character, get rid of all the Fucking Bunch of Idiots (except for Aram; he's actually GOOD at his job) and just have Red & Company--endless scenarios in which Red can tell his little "stories" to people right before he kills them.

 

[Procutus]

Hey Auntie!

Yeah, that's part of Red's charm, all right, the way he spins an anecdote before dispatching a foe. I mean hell, Spader already carries the show, so who needs the FBI? Though like you, I like Aram a lot, and Samar is hot and badass at the same time. She should be part of Red's group.

 

[Gov Kodos]

*sigh*

After the staggering level of suckage in the last season, I'm not sure I even care.

I'd rather they just scrap the whole Lizzie character, get rid of all the Fucking Bunch of Idiots (except for Aram; he's actually GOOD at his job) and just have Red & Company--endless scenarios in which Red can tell his little "stories" to people right before he kills them.

Lizzie is too frustrating a character with the endless mood shifts they give her. I like Megan Boone in the role but the truly crazy mood shifts Lizzie is constantly going through make her seem like she's schizoid.

 

[auntiehill]

^It's bad writing, pure and simple. Lizzie and Ressler aren't fleshed-out, three-dimensional characters. They react and respond solely as the script requires. The characters bounce back and forth from one extreme to the other; there's no telling what they will do or why because they simply aren't believable as people. Red, while perhaps a ridiculous character, logically, is believable because he has a personality, a pattern of behavior, his own rather odd set of principles within which he operates. You could also say the same about Aram, or Mr. Kaplan or Dembe. We know WHO they are. But Lizzie and Ressler, and probably Tom, are intangible. They are who they are at that moment because the plot requires it. We don't know who they really are and therefore we don't really care.

 

[Procutus]

I agree that the writing for most of the other characters is all over the place, especially for Liz. I don't really blame Megan Boone for her portrayal, as she can only work with what the writers give her. This really evident in the third season where she seems ever-so-grateful for Red's manipulations that resulted in saving her life, then several eps later, she once again wants nothing to do with him and decides to fake her own death to get away from him. And how's that working out for ya, Lizzie? Like being kidnapped by your 'other' daddy?



But I still say that the design and execution of the overall story-arc was well thought-out from the very beginning. I didn't realize how much so until we started binge-watching the DVDs.

 

[bigdaddy]

I think it's amazing the show has made it this long, and will get a spinoff. I watched about 5-6 episode in season one. red is amazing, everyone and everything else is so badly written they make the FBI in The Following look good.

 

[Avon]

But I still say that the design and execution of the overall story-arc was well thought-out from the very beginning.

i think it feels incredibly 'made up as we go along'.

like introduce the big bad guy, kill off the big bad guy, introduce another bad guy who's actually the bad guy, kill him off, indroduce another bad guy who's totally the big bad guy this time, kill him off, oh look another bad guy that was the last bad guys boss's uncle, kill him off, introduce another bad guy who might not be bad but actually is also he's the uncle bad guys dog obedience trainer-cum-assassin, kill him off, introduce the next bad guy, bad guy, bad guy, bad guy.

spaders ok.

 

[Procutus]

When we first started watching the show, I felt the same way; that everything seemed rather random. But watching six to seven eps at a time, you begin to see the continuity that lies underneath and that it's not as random as it seems. There was a great deal of subtle foreshadowing, indications of the Cabal long before the word was ever mentioned, hints of Red's involvement with Liz's mother, even clues that her faked death was being planned very early on in the season. While I'm sure some off it was dreamed up as the show progressed, I still feel there was an intent and plan for the arc from the get-go.

 

[JD]

I've been a huge fan of The Blacklist since it started, and I've always thought the arcs and things flowed together pretty well. Like Procutus said, there is a lot of stuff that's been set up slowly over time before the big reveals.
I've never really been that bothered by Liz, although I do have to admit I was a little shock how much I didn't miss her while she was "dead".

 

[Procutus]

I do have to admit I was a little shock how much I didn't miss her while she was "dead".

That's two of us.



Just a reminder to everyone that the premier is tonight. Since the Missus and I are down to just four eps remaining in Season 3, I think we'll complete our binge-watching first, so I'm just going to DVR this and hopefully see it sometime over the weekend.

 

[JD]

I just finished catching up on the last few S3 episodes I missed on Netflix so I'm reading for tonight.
When is the Scottie Hargrave spinoff starting? Do we know yet if any of the characters we saw her working with, like Rowan, Solomon, or the tech guy will be in it?

 

[auntiehill]

The Blacklist: Redemption (gag; what a title!) doesn't have an airdate yet. It's supposed to air sometime in the upcoming season but there is ZERO news on exactly when. IMDB says only "2017." My best guess would be as a mid-season replacement in late spring/early summer.

 

[Procutus]

That IS a piss-poor title, all right.

 

[auntiehill]

Hm. Fairly lackluster episode---did like the tension with Mr. Kaplan and Red (please, please, please DON'T kill her!).

A nice scene at the end with Aram and Navabi; for God's sake, just put them together already.

The rest of it? Meh. Pretty the same old thing---they're safe! No, they're not. No, they're safe--nope, caught again. OY. However, Red's bringing the severed head to the poker game was a scene to remember.

 

[Aragorn]

That was a lot of nothing to get to the exact same point the season finale had left us.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Hm. Fairly lackluster episode---did like the tension with Mr. Kaplan and Red (please, please, please DON'T kill her!).

Yup, this show has lost too many good characters and kept too many ciphers.

A nice scene at the end with Aram and Navabi; for God's sake, just put them together already.

Good scenes with them, put them on team Red and ditch the FBI clowns.

It's like the whole task force has never heard of witness protection, informants with immunity, and a host of awful clowns the FBI, CIA, and other clandestine assholes get in bed with to do their jobs. How would Ressler and the other slow wits on the team like to explain why the FBI let Whitey Bulger run loose for so long because they seem unaware of how their own organization can and does operate? God this show is frustrating to watch.

 

[Phoenix219]

I agree that the writing for most of the other characters is all over the place, especially for Liz. I don't really blame Megan Boone for her portrayal, as she can only work with what the writers give her. This really evident in the third season where she seems ever-so-grateful for Red's manipulations that resulted in saving her life, then several eps later, she once again wants nothing to do with him and decides to fake her own death to get away from him. And how's that working out for ya, Lizzie? Like being kidnapped by your 'other' daddy?



But I still say that the design and execution of the overall story-arc was well thought-out from the very beginning. I didn't realize how much so until we started binge-watching the DVDs.

Some of the character-swings are because of the actress' real life pregnancy....

I like the show, but just about everything with Tom's redemption rather lost me. There is no way she should everl be trusting him again. Haven't seen season 1 in awhile, but wasn't he working for both Red AND Berlin?

 

[Aragorn]

I like the show, but just about everything with Tom's redemption rather lost me. There is no way she should everl be trusting him again. Haven't seen season 1 in awhile, but wasn't he working for both Red AND Berlin?

If I remember correctly, he was hired by Red without knowing who had hired him, then switched sides because Berlin offered a better deal. Totally trustworthy.

 

[JD]

I enjoyed the premiere overall, but other than the reveal of how they faked Liz's death they didn't really seem to accomplish a whole lot.
I really hope they either rescue Liz or they at least don't have a bunch more almost rescues. Once if fine, but after that it just gets ridiculous.
I didn't realize this shows was so disliked, it's been one of my favorites since it started, and still is.