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Can we talk yet about how endings are actually extremely important. About how sometimes “giving the fans what they want” is actually “resolving the story in a logical and plot relevant way”. That “subverting expectations” doesn’t always mean you did a good thing - sometimes it means you fucked it up, royally.

There are plenty of extremely good stories that don’t end happily, and yet remain retold and loved and cherished. There are plenty that have ambiguous endings or sudden turns - but manage to stick the landing through careful setup.

There is an odd tension between writers and fans that has become popular - that the writers somehow know something deeper or have a better sense of plot or are somehow more cunning. That fans are stupid and foolish and don’t matter. This dichotomy would be buckwild in any other field. There’s this sort of weird feeling that… The writing staff is allowed to hate and mock and deride people who have the nerve to… Like the product? Can you imagine any other brand that would survive off of “gotcha” marketing? Sure, it’s funny for them… And kinda only for them. I know all the ironic assholes in the world love this shit - “haha! You liked something honestly! I know better because I’m smart so I never like things!” - but the world is really fucking boring & annoying & unfun when it is run by people who think like that.

But even taking fans OUT of the equation, as a writer, it’s frustrating for me to watch other writers not value their OWN MATERIAL. Like, they don’t rely on the narrative as interesting enough, as challenging enough - they think they need to end it in a “surprising” or “sudden” way in order for it to be groundbreaking. They think they need to “push boundaries” without recognizing that they are fundamentally altering and destroying the map that they have spent all this time painting.

I’m not saying I have to LIKE how something ends, or that all of my favorite characters have to live or whatever. But I AM saying that an ending is drawing a thesis line through your entire work. And recently the thesis for many, many shows/movies/etc has been - “you were a fool for caring about these characters”.

Anyway art survives its creators when it tells a story that feels honest and human in the audience it is talking to - not when it is only a monument to the artist’s ego. And the ending tells us - how heavy is the story we are carrying? And how much was this story a farce? And where will we let go?

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Pull off, keep on…either way I want to jump that man’s bones!

Speaking of Red’s outfit...can we talk about how Spader’s shoulders fill out that jacket? 🥵

Yes, yes we can

Not just a suit jacket

The man can pull off anything he wears 🔥

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Five plus years later…

Someone really should have warned the fandom. These pics from S3 have caused widespread feels, imaginations to run wild, fanfics to be written, and in some cases, the shattering of our little shipper hearts into a million pieces as we wait 58 days, 10 hours, and 16 minutes for the show to begin.

Oh, and TPTB? Do you see what you’ve done? You better not let us down…because there will be an angry mob of Lizzington shippers at your doorstep demanding justice if you ruin this for us!

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Annnnnd my Kaplan RP account is suddenly alive and well as…well! https://kaplanthecleaner.tumblr.com/

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Holy crap on a cracker, my blog (aka this blog), which I thought had been lost in the great Tumblr debacle of how many years ago, is apparently live and well! Huh…whaddya know!

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While I vehemently disagree with the statement that follows, I’ll take the rest...

Per the author, “James Spader has definitely advanced in years and is not the same dreamboat that he once was...”

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Photos by lilac_sunrise

James Spader walking to the set of The Blacklist on the Upper East Side April 20, 2017 for Episode 4.22. More details on the location to follow in a separate post!

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Oh boy, would they...

If you could read my mind, love What a tale my thoughts could tell

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Please tell me that your revenge plans to not include harming Dembe. You should know that he has been in agony over the fact that he didn't stop Raymond from shooting you.

Oh Anon, I feel no ill will toward Dembe. He was in a difficult position, just like myself…though my ties to Masha made it that much more so. He is a good man, a loyal man, unlike our once mutual employer.

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My my my, I guess much of my past has been brought to life, for better or for worse. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have following tonight’s, how shall we say, explosive episode?

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Mr. Kaplan, how long were you together with your beautiful Annie? What do you miss most about her?

Oh dearie, not nearly long enough. Annie allowed me to explore a side of me I hadn’t previously entertained…and for that I will forever be grateful. She also bestowed upon me a love unlike I’ve ever known. For so long I had taken care of others, dedicating my life to the living when I wasn’t studying those who weren’t. But Annie looked out for me, cared for me, supported me in all of my endeavors. To lose her the way I did made it that much more painful, especially after Katarina…

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I'll take one of each please...

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becoming attached to characters that you know are gonna die more like i didn’t sign up for this. i mean. i did sign up for it. i just didn’t read the fine print. i mean. i did read the fine print. but i still signed it. why did i sign it

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has anyone ever helped you? 

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Happy New Year

Happiest of new year wishes to you, my dear followers. 2017 has MUCH to offer us all…I can feel it in my bones. Now, someone hand me that bone saw - I’ve got work to do.

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I put a lot of stock in these exchanges, though I am increasingly wary of anything I read on Twitter, in interviews, etc. from TPTB. Don’t get me wrong - I am a Blacklist junkie, and will do just about anything to get my fix. But my fear is that, in an attempt to keep the mystery alive, they may be hurting their credibility (e.g., promising big reveals when there are none, saying we are going to get definitive answers but not). I will ALWAYS be team Lizzington, if in no other reality than the dreamscape of my imagination.

Red is not Liz’s Father

I just wanted to put a collection of posts from TPTB that confirm Red is not Liz’s father and / or that Liz’s father is dead.

Per Daniel Knauf:

Per Kat Goodson:

Per Zee Hatley:

Per Jon Bokenkamp (from WSJ article 05-20-2016):

Per Daniel Cerone Tweet 1:

Per Daniel Cerone Tweet 2:

Per Daniel Cerone Tweet 3 - This is not a Retcon:

The point of all this is that too many writers and executives from The Blacklist have told us over and over that Red is not Liz’s father. I mean maybe one or two tweets could try to deceive us, but this many? And from different people? I don’t think so. And these are just a few of the tweets. There are more. I just didn’t have time to find them all.

And Daniel Cerone is quite aware of this. That is why he took the time to tweet to us that this is NOT a Retcon. In other words, just because Red told Kirk under duress of torture that Elizabeth is his daughter does not mean he is Lizzie’s father.

There is something a bit tricky they are doing though. Assuming Red did not lie, the Elizabeth whom Red is referring too could be his real daughter and not Lizzie / Masha. Or Red could really be Katarina (which I am not buying as there are way too many holes in this theory). Or there is some other weird situation with this “Elizabeth” that we haven’t figured out yet. But honestly, unless Red is Katarina, he is not Lizzie’s parent because we know from TPTB Red is not her father either. There is a puzzle that needs to solved like Cerone tweeted below:

Keep the faith #Lizzington. This is not over yet!