#cheers mr spader

[annisaidno]

@greeneyedsoul88

[tblpress]

The day before James Spader won an Emmy for his portrayal of Alan Shore, the morally dubious lawyer on “The Practice,” the actor was at the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden at UCLA, admiring the statues -- especially the female forms. “Look at the beautiful curve of her back, right at the base of her spine,” he said, noticing a dancer at the top of Robert Graham’s “Dance Columns.” “It’s the most perfect curve in nature.” Then Spader felt a breeze and started ambling in the other direction. “I just want to walk into it,” he explained. “Oh, my God, that is nice.”

The sculpture garden, a favorite hideaway of Spader’s, brought out in him a charming mix of formality and earthiness. When Gaston Lachaise’s bronze powerhouse “Standing Woman” caught his eye, the memories rushed out. “My sons, when they were growing up, always enjoyed her rather ample” -- here he used a word not proper for this newspaper but that means “derriere” -- “and her rather ample breasts,” he said. The boys, Sebastian, now 15, and Ellijah, 12, would come here with their scooters. “So you come around,” Spader explained, “and lo and behold, you have that beautiful” -- that word again -- “over there. You can hardly resist scootering by and giving her a poke. She has nice calves too. She’s ample everywhere. She’s spectacular.”

James Spader, network TV star: To anyone familiar with the 44-year-old actor and his work, it sounds almost absurd. With the outre air of highbrow naughtiness and deep but slightly distracted intelligence he’s been known for since his 1989 big-screen breakthrough in “sex, lies, and videotape,” Spader could hardly have cooked up a more improbable career move. And yet starting tonight on “Boston Legal,” the new David E. Kelley show spun off from “The Practice,” TV viewers will get a weekly taste of the actor who has specialized in finding an endearing human side to wealthy school bullies, creepy cocaine dealers and sensuous sadomasochists.

Spader headed toward a section of the UCLA campus blanketed by California sycamores that he and his sons, he said, often climb and swing from. “See that?” he asked, pushing a branch down. “This is a perfect perching spot. I’d do it more aggressively, but there’s people around and it makes them nervous.”

Making people nervous is, of course, a Spader trademark.

“When we first went to the network about James, they shrieked in horror,” Kelley said. “James Spader is not a network face. They didn’t think he was the kind of persona American audiences would want to welcome into the living room on a weekly basis. But once we began to focus on him, he was the only choice. What James does so well is there’s a nucleus to this character that is humane and decent. He manages to let that nucleus shine through even when he’s committing egregious, contemptible acts. You don’t know if you like him or not, but you can’t wait to see him next.”

Kelley hired Spader to play the brilliant agitator whose dirty ways forced the firm of Young, Frutt and Berluti on “The Practice” to close its doors last year, after ABC slashed the show’s budget, forcing Kelley to fire half his cast. Spader, whose most recent television appearance had been a guest spot on “Seinfeld” in 1997, was supposed to play Alan Shore only long enough to shake things up.

“The goal in the beginning was to bring new life to the show, and the luxury we had as storytellers was that we didn’t have to protect the character for the sake of a long series run,” Kelley said. “You can only do so many things with a character that are overtly unlikable and still keep him redeeming and a character that people want to tune into and cheer for. Since we didn’t have that burden, we could swing away with him.”

The high-end firm of Crane, Poole and Schmidt might prove a better fit for Shore, who will be surrounded by other conniving legal eagles, including William Shatner as his boss, Denny Crane, and colleagues played by a cast including Rhona Mitra, Lake Bell, Monica Potter and Mark Valley. Alan Shore, Kelley promised, will “defy this law firm as he defies the conventions of regular characters on television.”

“When we watch James, there’s a lot of unknown complicated stuff in his mind, but we don’t know what that stuff is,” said Steve Shainberg, who directed Spader in “Secretary” (2002). “There’s something very unusual about him we can’t put our finger on, but that makes it more intriguing and exciting -- God help us.”

Yet for all the unpredictability that comes across on screen, Spader’s “Boston Legal” co-stars described him as meticulous, exact and particular on set.

“He’s always looking for the truth of the moment, and he gets fidgety when it’s not there,” said Shatner, who won a guest actor Emmy for his portrayal of Crane on “The Practice.” “He becomes as recalcitrant as a donkey until he can find the right way to deliver a line. He never says a word that doesn’t seem to come from the organic character. That’s because James himself is a little weird. But we love him for it.”

The Un-Brat Pack career

Two days after Spader nabbed the top acting award for a drama series, beating out television heavy hitters James Gandolfini, Martin Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Anthony LaPaglia, he was on the “Boston Legal” set at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach. Three episodes of the show were being shot simultaneously, and he had found no time yet to contemplate his win. The Emmy, he said, was tucked away in a corner full of boxes as Spader, who recently separated from his wife, Victoria, waited to move into a new house.

“I was surprised at how quickly I lost the feeling of stunned confusion and ignorant bliss and how quickly it turned into work and pragmatism,” Spader said. “The award doesn’t mean anything to me -- and I don’t mean that in a derogatory sense. I just haven’t had time to go there yet. Even when my older son called to congratulate me, we moved rather swiftly on to the subject of an upcoming concert” -- the Pixies at the Greek Theatre -- “and the best way to score tickets, which is a much more constructive conversation for us.”

Like other actors who started taking shape in the ‘80s, Spader could easily have cultivated a Brat Pack aura. Instead, he went for a more original brand of alienation, playing seemingly WASPY characters with a devious air and an anti-WASPY erotic charge to them. The roles he took in movies such as “White Palace” (1990), “The Music of Chance” (1993), “Stargate” (1994) and “Crash” (1996) didn’t always hit big but always set him apart -- none more so than “Secretary,” in which Spader played E. Edward Grey, a lawyer who draws his self-mutilating young secretary into a joyful S&M; relationship.

“James is very formal and specific and respectful,” said Maggie Gyllenhaal, his costar. “I remember when we shot a five-page scene in which Mr. Grey asks me not to cut myself anymore, James noticed and responded to everything I did: every breath I took, every shift of my gaze, every movement of my hand. His work is very specific.”

And that, according to Camryn Manheim, who starred on “The Practice” for eight years, can be intimidating. “After you saw ‘Secretary,’ wouldn’t you be scared to go on a date with him?” Manheim said, laughing.

“I was scared of him,” she added. “He’s weird and strange and eccentric, and I mean a lot of that in the very best way. He plays all of these sexually charged characters. He looks at you too hard, like he’s got your number. But behind all of that, he’s a very simple man who is very thoughtful and insightful about the world and humanity.”

Confronted with the praise of his colleagues, Spader took a deep breath and looked skeptical. “Maybe this thing they are describing is just obsessive-compulsive. It just seems to be what the job is, to just try and get the right intention of whatever ... you’re saying. Who is to say if whether what you end up tumbling toward is the right place when you’re standing on your feet in the middle of it? I’ve had a lot of fun acting, and that’s been the only reason to continue doing it.”

Spader, who dropped out of the 11th grade to pursue acting in New York, attributes his interest in acting to the love of storytelling he inherited from his family. The son of teachers Todd and Jean Spader, the actor grew up with two sisters on the campus of Phillips Academy, a fancy Massachusetts prep school. “My father was an English teacher and he taught literature and poetry, and my parents would read aloud and my grandparents read aloud,” Spader said. “My grandfather would write stories and we would make up little plays to read and perform during the holidays. There was always a tremendous amount of humor in all the households I spent time in.”

But there were other reasons for wanting to become an actor. “I started doing theater when I started thinking of nothing but girls,” he said. “I can’t imagine that the two don’t relate. I don’t mean to be glib. In sports and in many other areas, girls and boys are separated. But in theater, you’re all mixed in together. How can it get any better than that?”

Being an actor, for Spader, has never been about celebrity. The press tent for interviews with winners at the Emmys came as a surprise and an “indignity,” he said jokingly. When someone at the Governors Ball on Emmy night remarked how rare it is that Spader has succeeded at being famous and simultaneously living a private life, the actor was incredulous.

“I don’t try to be mysterious,” Spader explained later. “I just protect my private life very carefully. I don’t go out a great deal. To see and be seen I could care less about. I don’t go to see movies at big premieres. If I go out, I go to a quiet place for a meal or I might go to listen to live music with a whole lot of people who are more interested in listening to the music than who is sitting next to them at the show.”

His new TV world

Spader may be on his way to television stardom, but he has never followed a television show from beginning to end -- the way he hopes viewers of “Boston Legal” will.

“That’s something I had no concept of,” Spader said. “Working on the show, I was experiencing the same anticipation for what was going to happen from week to week as the people who were watching it. When you do a film, you know what is going to happen to your character from start to finish. I knew very little about Alan Shore at the end of last season, and I still don’t. I like that constant shift because what I like the most about all of this is the telling of the story.”

What he likes the least is the fuss. He refused to hire a stylist for Emmy night, picking out his tuxedo and shoes himself. He did not prepare a speech. When his name was announced, Spader charmed the crowd by complimenting the women in the room: “You’ve all made wonderful choices in shoes and dresses tonight, and you all look absolutely beautiful.”

“I realized I was going to have to put together some sentences quickly and I wasn’t going to be yet another person to make a music joke,” Spader said. “It worked so well when the gentleman from ‘Arrested Development’ made the singing reference, but I knew that that couldn’t be used again, and certainly not by me. I really don’t have any idea what ... I was saying. Certainly, during the course of the four hours that I was there I had spent enough time admiring women’s shoes and dresses and how well they filled them.”

But as offhand as he may be about that trophy, it’s fitting somehow that Spader will be in the rare position of starting his new gig already having won an Emmy for the role. To his surprise as much as anyone’s, the TV gods have smiled on him. “Does anybody have any illusions about the fact that the Emmys come at the beginning of the television season? The timing seems precise to me,” he said. “And I think it’s grand.”

[imyourplusone]

I keep seeing vague posts and tweets by you and I think it has something to do with the Daniel Cerone interview? What did he say to piss you off so much? I also want to be angry!

Anon my level of dislike for Cerone and a few of the other guys that have written for TBL goes back aways and tends to flare up at times. They are in cahoots with the johns that have caused so much to go so terribly wrong with the show. It’s an old story yada yada. 

But when Cerone is asked about Ke*nler and responds with sure keep asking it’s relevant I’m sorry but that’s a big eye roll to oblivion for me. Granted what’s relevant is entirely relative depending on who you ask. I completely get that. My problem is acting like an ancillary work relationship is pivotal to the show especially with the minefield of plot holes we have to wade through and the thousand loose strings that have yet to be tied together to the point that most casual viewers either leave or just watch for Spader and his never-ending entertainment value and genius acting and have given up trying to figure out what the hell is going on. 

But sure Ressler and Liz are relevant. About as relevant as season 4 that almost tanked the show and which Cerone was highly involved. They’re about as pleasant to watch as the downfall of Mr Kaplan or the fake DNA or watching Liz’s character degraded and humiliated through the Tom saga. I’m sorry but anything that guy says is most likely the antithesis of quality story telling.

Sure Daniel keep talking about what’s relevant.

Anyway it’s an old old rant and tptb are gonna do what they’re gonna do. Doesn’t make it special or in any way original though. Just saying. Cheers

[alyblacklist]

Full disclosure, I'm drunk asking you this but who the hell is Carla Reddington aka Naomi Hyland was she married to the real Raymond Reddington or our Red? I don't understand her character. Help me understand her.

Cheers, anon, on this first Friday night of our long winter hiatus.

According to what we’ve been shown to date, Carla/Naomi was the wife of the real Raymond Reddington - Naval Officer Raymond Reddington - and Jennifer was their daughter. Carla took on the identity of Naomi Hyland after she was placed into WITSEC following the disappearance of real Raymond Reddington after the fire and eventually married Frank.

Red did say “she was my wife” in describing her on the phone to Liz in episode 2.01, and Mr. Kaplan also refers to her as “your wife” to Red in 2.02. I think that both of these references were in connection with him maintaining his identity as “Raymond Reddington.” (Of course, those who still haven’t accepted the imposter reveal and who still believe our Red is the real RR think both he and Mr. Kaplan spoke the truth there.) Meanwhile, Carla clearly referred to Jennifer as “my daughter” not “our daughter,” when speaking to Red in 2.04, which was an early clue that the story of them being married was not true.

Jon Bokenkamp confirmed much of this in an interview with The Blacklist Exposed in S5:

“Jennifer Reddington, just to break it down, just to recap:  Jennifer and Liz [are] both the daughters of Raymond Reddington.  Naomi Hyland was the mother of Jennifer.  Katarina Rostova was the mother of Liz.  So, different mothers, same father, but that father was Raymond Reddington who is not James Spader.” 

Based on the way our Red and Carla interact in S2, there’s definitely a familiarity between them that suggests to me that he forged some sort of a connection/relationship with her after he took on her husband’s identity. And she seems to know who Liz is, but yet she doesn’t betray Red - doesn’t tell Liz anything of substance - and instead settles for treating her with a somewhat detached coolness while at the same time teases while will ultimately be the imposter reveal.

The last we see of her alive is when Red helps Carla and Frank go back into hiding at the end of 2.04. 

Then, in season 5, Liz reconnects with her half-sister, Jennifer, thanks to Ian Garvey who is one of the U.S. Marshals who helped Carla and Jennifer when they went into WITSEC years ago and who stayed present in their lives through Jennifer’s childhood. In Episode 5.20, Jennifer takes Red to what appears to be Naomi’s grave and tells Red that Naomi sat her down when she was in college and explained that she was terrified of Reddington and that one day he’d want back in her life, would find her, and so she walked out of her life. Jennifer claims she didn’t even know her mother was dead until she’d been gone nearly a year when finally Frank found her and told her. Jennifer claims that Naomi was shot coming out of her apartment and that no one knows why. Red is clearly surprised.  

And so far, that’s all we know. Naomi’s death seems to have coincided with the bones arc, but the show has not yet explained that connection directly or otherwise confirmed that she is in fact dead and not hiding.

Enjoy the rest of your evening, anon!

[miss-musings]

My List of Top 10 Recurring Blacklisters

For my ongoing "Top 10" lists about different aspects of The Blacklist, today I'm tackling recurring Blacklisters who weren't already included in "My List of Top 10 Blacklisters."

Just for an FYI, I'm also disqualifying Tom Keen and Dembe Zuma, as they both have been regular cast members at different points in the series. I am, however, including non-antagonist entries -- that means that some of these Blacklisters didn't actually end up being 'bad guys,' but instead, either were or later became allies of Red and/or The Task Force.

There actually weren't too many Blacklisters to work with as I'd say about 70 percent of them are one-offs (and I already did a list about them), and many of the better ones who are recurring were already on my other list. But, of the small pool that did qualify, I'm judging them based on:

How much I personally liked them / how compelling I thought the character was

How well the guest star did

How much of a threat they were to Red, the Task Force, the public in general, etc. OR if they were an ally, how much the character adds to Red's or the Task Force's goals

I don't have quite as much time to tackle these entries as I have my previous two lists, so I'm only going to put like a paragraph of explanation for each. Also, no honorable mentions this time.

So, without further ado, let's begin:

10. ISABELLA STONE

I don't really care for Isabella Stone, but it was either her or the Pavlovich Brothers, and I care about them even less. I don't remember much about Stone, other than she was played by that actress who played Jan on "The Office," and at the end of her namesake episode, Red has her chained up in a walk-in freezer or something. I don't remember what she did, or why she was a threat to the Task Force/Red. I know she was hired by Kaplan to do some bullshit, but I don't remember what it was or how she did it.

9. NICHOLAS T. MOORE

I'm not really one for all the cults that this show does. It seems like they try to have 1-2 per season; but I actually didn't mind this one and thought it might be the best cult we've seen so far. It had kind of a "The Village" vibe to it, although I'm still trying to figure out how Moore convinced all those people to join him out in the woods. Anyway, the only reason I included him is because I like the actor -- he played The Warden on "Shawshank Redemption" -- and I thought the way he tricked Aram into getting him his Bible so he could kill himself was kind of clever.

8. THE MAJOR

I also don't really care for the Major, but I thought the actor did well in his scenes with Spader. Plus, he seemed to create a lot of problems (read: drama) for Tom and Liz, with trying to tempt Tom back into a life of crime when he was trying to go straight in S3b. (Am I remembering that right?) Again, I honestly don't really care for or about him, but I thought he was around enough and played a big enough role in Tom's, Liz's and Red's lives that he deserved a spot.

7. SUSAN HARGRAVE

Another Blacklister I don't really care about. (Almost makes you wonder why I bothered compiling this list.) Don't get me wrong. I think Famke Janssen is an underrated actress, and I enjoyed her weird dynamic with Spader in their scenes. I didn't like how she ended up being Tom's mother; I didn't like her ham-handed way of telling those one random dudes about her backstory. She's so open it's like she might as well be an audio-book version of her character. But, again, I think that's more how she was written than how Janssen played her. Even though I don't care about the whole Hargrave/Tom spin-off with "The Blacklist: Redemption," I still think she was an intimidating enough villain in her own right, as she was responsible for breaking Mathias Solomon out of prison and sic-ing him onto Liz while she and Tom were trying to get married. It's interesting that Hargrave was ultimately responsible for attacking her son's wedding and almost getting him killed, and endangering her future daughter-in-law and granddaughter. It's the kind of irony you'd see in a George R.R. Martin work. So, even while I don't like her, I think she deserves a spot because of the impact she had and the threat she posed at the time. Plus, I did think it was badass when Red shot her in the arm and she barely cared.

6. TOM CONNOLLY

Okay, NOW we're starting to get into "I actually kind of like these people" territory. I mean, I don't actually like Tom Connolly. If he were a real person, I would want to punch him in the face. But, as a character, I think he's more compelling than any of the previous entries on this list. Granted, he became a little cartoonish and over-the-top there at the end, but he posed a serious threat. And even though he was introduced to us as "a little too good to not want something" from Cooper / the Task Force, I appreciate that the writers at least TRIED to make his loyalties a little ambiguous or 'on the side of the angels' when he was first introduced. Granted, I don't think it really worked, but they tried. The actor also did a pretty decent job, and I thought his final confrontation with Liz and Cooper (where Liz ends up shooting and killing Connolly) was well-done. It was certainly the most shocking death of a Blacklister I can think of. As mustache-twirling as he was, he still posed a serious threat for Liz, Red and the Task Force. In threatening to kill them or end their careers, he pushed Liz into a no-win situation where if she shot him in an attempt to stop his machinations, the Cabal won by being able to turn her into a criminal. And if she did nothing, they would still win. Okay, anyway, moving on:

5. SMOKEY PUTNAM

I really like the character of Smokey. He's a little wacky, but cheerful and light -- which is something the show desperately needed after the morbid, dark and depressing S4b. Granted, I think how the show introduced him (as someone for Red to track down as a bounty hunter-type person) was a bit forced. But, oh well. I like what Smokey brings to the show and to Red's crew. I also think the actor does a good job keeping up with Spader while also bringing his own bit of weird flair to the show.

4. MR. RALEIGH SINCLAIR III

So, I really just love John Noble, and appreciated that the show was able to nab him to play one of the Blacklisters. And a pretty unique Blacklister at that. I thought his gimmick was really cool and unique, and while I could've done without him killing off all the people he recruited to be doubles, I guess it makes sense. I actually enjoyed when the show brought him back to turn that one guy into a double of Ian Garvey -- that was a nice little twist. I thought his interaction with Spader at the end of his namesake episode was a little too long, but still a hoot to see those two sharing a screen.

3. GINA ZANETAKOS

Our first-ever female Blacklister on the show, Gina Zanetakos was a serious badass. She was clever, fast, brutal and sexy. She absolutely demolishes both Ressler and Liz in fist-fights and she nearly kills Tom. She was quite a force to be reckoned with, both in her initial appearance and in subsequent episodes, and I really appreciated when the show brought her back in S3b. (Which, side note, did she get killed off on the show? I don't remember.) If she wasn't killed off, I certainly wouldn't mind her making a return appearance.

2. KARAKURT

So, fun fact: Karakurt is actually played by two different actors -- one in S2 and a different guy for S3. Not anything I hold against the character. It’s just interesting. Anyway, Karakurt is probably the most threatening Blacklister on this list for our Post Office crew. He easily manipulated Liz into killing a U.S. Senator and even more easily set up the OREA bombing to make it look like her fault. In comparison with his S2 showings, I think his S3 appearances are less-than. He just kind of hung out as a plot device for Tom to track down, beat up and threaten. Much less intimidating, although I appreciate that he didn’t give up trying to get one over on Tom, et al, and escape whenever he had the chance. Just what I’d expect of a Russian assassin and Blacklister extraordinaire.

1. MARVIN GERARD

A weird choice to put at #1, maybe, but I really like the character of Marvin Gerard. He’s just so different from most of the other Blacklisters that we see, in no part because of the fact that HE WAS ALREADY IN CUSTODY when he was introduced. Instead of Red giving the Task Force a name so they can track them down and put them IN JAIL, Red asked for Gerard to be brought to him so that he could break him OUT OF JAIL. Unlike most Blacklisters, or hell just characters on this show in general, Marvin Gerard is very calm, collected, calculated and can talk sense into Red when few other people can. But, he also feels very grounded in reality. He just kind of seemingly wandered into a hostage situation in 3x02 like “IDK what I’m doing here. WTF is going on?!?!” and then just kind of got back into a groove with helping Red and Liz with their plans -- both in 3x02 and throughout the rest of S3a. And, speaking of: whatever happened to Marvin Gerard? I feel like Red called him in Cape May about shutting down his business or something, but I don’t think we’ve seen him since 3x10. Hopefully he makes another appearance on the show, because I really appreciated how unique he was as a Blacklister and what he brought to the show as a character and to Red’s team as an asset.

[notesandcoffee]

Opinions 4.16-7

I keep getting the sinking feeling that I've missed something horribly important, no matter how I interpret this episode. I've watched them both several times at this point, and things aren't just adding up for me. I'm hoping writing this will make things clearer for me, so bear with me if it's not super-polished. UPDATE: kinda helped, but not really. Feel free to shoot me an ask if you’re confused, because chances are really high I am too.

Our blacklister for the first part is a bee-shirted lady hunting down bad guys in a revenge quest. I just really enjoy the thought of all of those moving parts together, but I kind of wish that we got more of a glimpse into her daily life as an apiarist rather than just her wearing her bee-shirt as therapy. I wanted to bee more invested in her, and I wanted to see evidence of the fire, rather than having it bee in an infodump there at the end. But adding all of that in would have taken screentime from other plots I prefer, so I suppose it worked out in the end. In the first part of our two-part premiere, Dembe kidnaps Aram out of Janet's arms and into the trunk of a car, which he stops to force Aram in to... the trunk of another car. Dembe has a master plan in mind to clear his name with Reddington, and that is to figure out who opened the safe first, which is why he needs our master hacker, despite not knowing the slightest else about him. Aram pulls the data from the safe, and in a bit that hits too close to home for me, the data that he pulls is fucking useless unless he can break the encryption. Around this time, Dembe realizes that Aram  doesn't want to harm him, no matter how much he waves a gun at Aram, and the two tag-team to break into the security company to get the encryption to figure out who made it into the safe. Aram's protective, hyper-analytical personality is matched by Dembe's stoic loyalty to Reddington, causing Aram to pick up on things Dembe wasn't really planning on telling his hostage. With all the courage that comes from shit-talking "Agent Zuma" in front of the guard at the crypto-security company, Aram manages to steal the encryption key without much of an issue, until his colleagues show up to collect Dembe for Reddington. At the same time, Aram's kidnapping sets off a sequence of events in the P.O. Cooper and Ressler take turns taking shots at Red, both worried for their colleague. No one's really wrong in this scenario, but considering the amount of sympathy that's been garnered for Red, the rest of the P.O. comes across as callous to the audience. Red and Liz are searching for Dembe via his daughter (and granddaughter), the only two other people Dembe cares about. The relationship between our leads appears amicable, although there are a noticed lack of sentimental moments between the two in favor of Red's long stories and Liz's focus on the search. Red also calls in Glen, who happens to be in the middle of helping a Spanish-speaking driver, and is easily the funniest part of the premiere. Glen and Red bicker and get under each other's skin while both men are giving Spanish instructions to a confused señora, with Liz tagging along in the backseat. It gives everyone (literal) whiplash how quickly the scene ends and we're left with just Red and Liz again, but I'm always happy to see Glen in an episode. The interactions between Elise Janet and Navabi are cutthroat and tense, with each making suppositions about the other. After hearing of Aram's kidnapping, Navabi grabs Janet and immediately begins interrogating her for answers, without hearing the rest of the briefing. Not to be outdone with the emotional outbursts, Janet spends a solid amount of time trying to provoke Navabi into a reaction at their relationship. Navabi is mostly focused on getting Aram back into a not-kidnapped state, but she's barely holding it together around Janet's constant prodding, mostly by talking about Aram and his past. By the time Aram confronts her, she's done with talking about him and his relationship, having heard everything she needs to know through Janet. He gives a heartfelt statement about how he actually feels about her, and she responds in turn by trying to terrify him. Love triangles are such a bland "romantic" plotline in general that it's hard for me to believe I'm looking at one, but here we are. Everyone's trying their hardest to be mature about the whole thing, but no one actually is. While there's plenty of character development to be had here, I'm confused as to why I should be invested in this storyline. No one comes out on top in any scenario. If Aram had told Navabi earlier just how much her intensity scared him, or if Navabi had been a bit more clear with her intentions when she started, or Janet could just... stop fucking trying to get Navabi to punch her for a half-second, I would have reason to root for someone. That being said, other fans are more endeared to Navabi in a way that I don't relate to through this story, and want Aram to stay with Janet, so more power to them. I'm just having a hard time figuring out who it is I should be cheering for, even though my fave is in it. For the record, I don't like Janet with Aram, because she seems more intent on controlling him and showing him off than she does actually healing the damage she did while undercover. The episode even acknowledges this at one point, as Janet throws herself at Aram as he stares over her shoulder at Navabi. From the way Aram talks to Navabi at the end, being openly honest with her about what he loves admires about her, it's not hard to guess why Janet would be as insecure as she is. But Navabi, of course, turns it back on him in an apathetic rage. She has every right to, of course, but I can't help thinking that Aram is likely more of an anxious mess after that interaction than anything else. Friend. At any rate, that's not really what people are talking about, is it? This is the point where things start to fall apart, at least for me. Full disclosure: this is my understanding of events. This may or may not be correct, but it is mine. I had to write out most of the episode to merely understand what happened, but since it's been capped and recapped by now, I'll spare you that draft and just cut to the analysis. It's revealed that Katheryn Nemec -- better known to Liz as Mr. Kaplan -- poisoned the wine and is responsible for Red's episode. There was nothing surprising or dramatic about the reveal, as the audience knew the whole time about her struggle to stay alive, but I think I would have preferred at least the attempt at humor to help balance out how dark the whole idea was. Instead we got Creeper McCreeperson blowing himself up after a fight in the woods to help protect a woman he had chained to the bed at one point. Okay, then. The difference between Kaplan and every other villain that we've had on the show is that the past isn't a thing that separates the audience from Red and the villain. Luthor Braxton knew Red before Liz, brought it up with him as he taunted him while the audience was left completely in the dark, but that's not at all the case here. Here, the attempt is made to walk us through how exactly Kate became a villain, outlining her relationships with Katerina, Annie, and Nikos all in a span of minutes, memories triggered while on a gruesome road trip literally digging up Reddington's past murders. The explanation in flashback doesn't really work how it might be intended to, for me, but it is an attempt nonetheless. We know that Kaplan's spent more time backing up Red and being there for him independently of Elizabeth; it doesn't make sense that Kate would betray Red so quickly in such a span of time, especially when her main loyalty is to Liz, and not Red. Liz has nothing to be obviously gained by betraying Red at this point, though Kaplan makes the argument before Red leaves to turn himself in. I think I would like to see Kate really struggle with the idea of betraying Red in her own mind in upcoming episodes, to really underline that betraying Red and Liz, by extension, is something she isn't at all used to. I did actually like the idea of exploring who Kaplan is and why she's such a close asset to Red, but I really wish that it was clearer where exactly the pieces fall in this case. I felt like the exploration of Kate's backstory really needed to be two episodes, and a lot of the things that would have held the story together must have ended up on the cutting room floor, likely due to time. Little details that would have made Katerina more human and not just a personal illusion, Masha's personality as a toddler, and Kaplan's life when she wasn't with the Rostovas. There were quite a few unanswered questions by the end of the episode, and I found myself trying to make sense of a myriad of continuity errors -- just in the episode itself, outside of the story arc it's located in. To cite an example I wrote too much about in a previous draft, why is "the American" described as blond when he's clearly not? And why is Dembe worthy of forgiveness for "betraying" Red when Kaplan is not? How did Kaplan get ahold of the fulcrum in a shitty motel room after a week of being inside? Why is there so much weird emphasis on Katerina's sex life? That last question was actually enough to throw me out of the story about the third or fourth time it was mentioned, and I was left wondering why we needed to care about it. The American -- later referred to as "Raymond" and very clearly not Spader -- was with Katerina in the car, but Spader insists to Kate that he had an affair with Katerina as well. It made me wonder which I should be believing, and it felt disrespectful to Katerina to watch. And Katerina's bisexual, by the way. I will not get into discussions or arguments about it because it's 100% true. Moving back to my previous point, there are a lot of continuity errors, most of them un-accidental. Kaplan's memory is shattered, and we're seeing odd-placed clips that describe her time only after meeting Katerina. In the ending story in 4.11 ("The Harem"), we hear about Kaplan's sister being involved in witness protection. Red spends the better part of that episode tracking down information related to Kate's sister, risking Liz's life in the process, making Kaplan's story -- the whole story -- of deep importance to Red. This incident had to have made an impact on Kaplan, but of all the memories we see, that isn't one of them. Either it happened before Kaplan met Katerina, it didn't happen at all, or Kaplan's memory is shattered beyond repair. The first is plausible, the second is not, and the third opens up a possibility that we don't see confirmation of on-screen -- the idea that Kaplan's memories aren't 100% accurate. One of the recurring themes of "Blacklist" is it's use of memory and how the mind can play tricks, and in some cases, torture. We spent the better part of 2 seasons trying to get into Liz's childhood memories, and spent a whole episode in Red's memories of Katerina and their relationship. But the main difference here is that if we are in Kaplan's memory, if it is shattered, it's not explained to the viewer the same way as it is with Liz and Red. Kaplan's memories are presented as unfiltered flashback, the kind that you see in a kind of extended montage. There's no hazy lighting to show that it might be a memory of a memory as we've seen in Liz, no explanation scene as we saw with Red. Just the idea that being shot in the head twice probably isn't the best way to remember the past. What does all of this mean? Is Kaplan on a weird revenge quest against Red, or a rescue mission for Liz? What's her best-case scenario in this situation? Is Dembe going to pay the same consequences as Kaplan, or is he forgiven? Has Agnes moved out with TK? Why would we not get an explanation for the gross incontinuity that is Kaplan's memory, or even a hint that it may not be accurate? What actually happened to Kaplan's sister, and why did Katerina pick Sam to take care of Liz? And who am I supposed to cheer for? The audience surrogate is Liz as a premise, and she's torn over the idea of Kaplan and Red feuding, and Red offers very little comfort in that regard. I would like to see Red actually acknowledge Liz's pain and try to comfort her. It would provide a sentimental moment between the two of them, and we would see more of how Red feels about the ordeal. Twitter kept pace with our breakneck episodes, and it was hard for me to keep up with everything and my cocktail at the same time. In truth, I think that's how I prefer it, so I won't complain. Hatley's back to interacting with all kinds of feedback again, too, but it seems most of our friends in the writers' room have been quiet, for the most part. I wonder what that's about.

[roominthecastle]

You seem like someone who isn't new to fandom and I have to ask: have you ever had the experience of seeing a large chunk of a show's fanbase actively campaign against a spinoff? i.e. is what's going down with The Blacklist a unique case?

*rickety grandma voice* I’ve seen some crazy-ass shit, son.

Jokes aside, yes, to me it is rather unique, anon, because TBL/R is a unique creative catastrophe. More rambling and complaining behind the cut, as usual:

I’ve encountered several spin-offs, but their “birth” and transition were never like this. e.g.

Cheers →FrasierCSI → CSI: MiamiThe Practice →Boston LegalJAG →NCISBreaking Bad →Better Call Saul(Daredevil →The Punisher)

These represent different types. Frasier, Boston Legal, and Better Call Saul are the type created specifically to “live on” after the mother show’s passing and are “character anchored”. CSI: Miami, NCIS, and The Punisher (has yet to launch hence the brackets) are the type created to co-exist with the mother show and are chiefly “concept anchored” (The Punisher is a hybrid, imo).

Not one of these did to its beloved “parent” what TBL/R has so carelessly inflicted on TBL, though. No decent spin-off would, imo. I believe this is the main root of the ugly backlash we see in our fandom, most of which is justified (bitterness and quitting) and the rest is most definitely not (e.g. online harassment and bashing of those involved with the show - seriously, get a grip people).

TBL/R was, to push our metaphor, not a result of natural labor but one that was induced repeatedly over a torturously extended period of time. We were standing around, watching on helplessly as the mother show was being turned inside out to give life to something underdeveloped and unworthy. At least Liz had a cute baby at the end of her induced labor. All we got out of this “meta pregnancy” was a lousy spin-off and our favorite show put on life support. In other words, a lot was sacrificed here for very little.

Spin-offs attempt to milk either a successful blueprint/concept or a successful character. TBL/R claims to have both yet has neither. In what universe does Tom count as a charismatic, heroic, layered eyeball magnet creation? I haven’t the faintest, but I’ve always suspected Eisendrath commutes to work from a fucked up parallel reality and now I think I have the ultimate proof).They took an already failing and abused “magic box” format (a conflated, vague “mysterious past” and a tedious, mostly meaningless “search for answers”), planted the shallowest and most repelling character into it, crammed it with clichés and retcons, then sprinkled it with some incest. Who thought this was a foolproof recipe for success and why? TBL has been dragging its feet to reveal its simplest of answers for almost 4 years now, and you’re offering me the watered down version of the same thing sans Spader? Please. Please have some respect for your audience. Spin-offs are potentially lucrative investments precisely bc they aim to draw on the parent show’s established loyal fanbase. TBL/R actively alienates and insults this base, which is so uniquely ass-backwards, they should create a special category for it at the Emmys called “the don'ts”.

Audience sympathy is a crucial element overlooked here as well. TBL has badly undermined sympathy for its own protagonist to make spin-off boy more palatable. She was made to forgive and “endorse” him in the most repelling way (I dabble in some questionable fictional stuffbut heavily pregnant Liz kneeling down in front this Petri dish of human failures will forever live on in my memory as the grossest image I’ve ever seen) while Tom remained just as unworthy and irrelevant as ever (they wrote in the pregnancy just to keep him as “the father” which is the ultimate act of creative desperation as far as I’m concerned).

Other characters were similarly co-opted to similarly alienating results (see Cooper, for example). The poorly executed “strategic demonizing” Red has been subjected to has backfired as well. Despite his various transgressions, Red is the #1 “sympathy earner” of the show bc James’ portrayal oozes pathos. Red is a beautiful sufferer and meticulous self-torturer, so anybody repeatedly kicking him will come across as unsympathetic at best. Stomping on him to prop up a character who has failed to express even a fraction of contrition tanked even before it began in earnest. Now I think it is way over the line, borderline abusive and so nonsensical, fans are understandably angry and scream enough!

On top of that, Tom’s spin-off buddies are also characters Red’s original “code of conduct” would never have allowed to live. Scottie almost killed Liz and Agnes, then shrugged it off and tried to blame Red. Solomon tortured Dembe, poisoned her infant granddaughter, and was about to cut up pregnant Liz in front of Red when Dembe arrived to save the day. He didn’t express much remorse for it, either, yet it was beloved Mr. Kaplan who ended up with bullet in her face while these so-called characters waltzed off into a new show titled Redemption. Fucking amazing. I don’t care about their “redemption” one bit. I was never actually invited to care (see the lack of remorse issue), I was only expected to because… again why? idk. I was, however, invited to expect their swift demise but everything established in S1 is either forgotten or rewritten now, it seems, and TBL/R’s existence is a symbol of this very fact. It didn’t grow naturally out of TBL. It is a parasite that chewed its way through it and now is struggling to stand on its own. Its struggle makes me happy but also sad, to be honest.

Fans - not all but a lot - are upset (do not mistake this for passion anymore, this is just plain anger now) because this is not how spin-offs are supposed to work at all. They are supposed to add to a beloved piece of work, not encroach on it and on characters and relationships we actually love and care about.

[annisaidno]

@heyoh-k ooouuuh kuuuuck Maus deine kleine Schielemi hat heut Geburtstag 🎂🤣🤣🤣tja alt wern wa alle wa?ich würde jetzt gerne dieses eine Bild posten..😆😆😆dein Blick sagte ALLES !ich glaube so würdest du ihn noch heute ankucken tahahahaha.

[imyourplusone]

Idk if you watched Matt Carter’s latest Blacklist vid, but after rewatching 2.17 he seems to think the writers have laid groundwork for Liz/Ressler (never mind that their “moments” are a drop in the ocean to everything we’ve seen w/ Red and Liz but I digress). If those two are supposed to end up together, the writers are TERRIBLE AT THEIR JOBS. 1/2

[I mean aside from them being fundamentally incompatible, there wouldn’t even be a build up to the ILY’s because Liz already said it in s3, and not in a romantic way; It was more like “you’re acting like an overprotective brother and I love you for it.” 2/2]

Yeah Anon I watched part of the vid at work then turned it off and went back to work if that tells you anything. But hey if coworkers sharing takeout makes someone’s shipper heart take flight then go ship in peace….although Liz and Aram shared takeout in 5.18 so I’ll take Laram if that’s my only choice here.

And not to fill up anyone’s dash with my ramblings the rest is under the cut

To your first point, it won’t take Liz and Ressler as end deadgame to prove the writers are terrible. The jury is already back on that Anon. They benefit greatly from the brilliance of Spader and the fact that Raymond Reddington is unlike most characters on tv and just thoroughly entertaining to watch. All thanks to James imo.

The writers have given us Bratty Liz, Tom, baby drama, Mr Kaplan betrayal, Season 4, stupid DNA, Darth Kirk, Liz the betrayer for the 847565 time I mean yeah they are terrible at their jobs and the in between greatness and moments that are really really good don’t make up for the fact that there are large swaths of this show that are completely unwatchable. Something I’ve never really experienced as an average viewer.

To your second point, your thoughts are my thoughts in that whenever I think of even the smallest possibility of Ressler and Liz as a thing my internal monologue screams “But they’re completely incompatible what the actual fuck?!” 

Liz drives me crazy with the way she is written but my god she deserves a better ending than Ressler no matter what she’s done. Donald doesn’t know her or understand her. He doesn’t know what makes her tick or drives her I mean get real. Liz is a hot mess of passion, impulsiveness, anger, fear and dreams that she still has hopes of obtaining. She’s dark and rash and flawed and honestly Red probably loves her because she’s a beautiful disaster and not in spite of it. Because unlike Ressler, Red understands her and recognizes the darkness she has within her at times. He also likes to give her the benefit of the doubt which trips him up but thats a story for another day.

Point is, Ressler’s view as he sits atop his high horse passing judgement on everyone and everything keeps him too far removed to truly know Liz. Any discussion about the growth of Ressler and Liz’s “relationship” is laughable to me. There is just nothing there. No chemistry, no zing. It’s a dry wasteland of dry. They will forever win worst pair award imo since my general reaction is Harry Potter when the dementors come and everything freezes up leading to a slow soulless death.

Not to be dramatic.

If we can’t have Lizzington which we probably can’t then I hope Liz ends in a good place with her daughter. I hope she isn’t yet again thrown away by the writers for the sake of convenience and pure unimaginative laziness. 

grrrrrrrr but cheers anyway Anon have a good one.

[imyourplusone]

Ok, TBL renewed. i'm happy at the same time worried. and WTF! why Redemption was not cancelled. waht kind of hopes tptb has to this shit show (i never watched). please, i'm praying to Tom- Tim - Christopher get out of the show and my Lizzington!

Lol Anon. Look the important thing to me is TBL was renewed. More Red! More Dembe, Aram, Samar, Coop, Glen, maybe more of my Mr K fingers crossed. More Baz and more Baz wearing a fedora. More Liz and I hope they give her an actual story and a better attitude tbh. More Marvin come on break that guy out of jail! More Red & Lizzy togetherness because that’s what we all fell for. More Red and Agnes because who knew how fantastic that was going to be. Ok even more Ressler because it’s all good today and as nuts as this show drives me I still want more. So Anon let’s be happy and think of better days. Redemption doesn’t matter. Tom doesn’t either. If he did the show would have succeeded but as we knew all along the majority doesn’t care. 22 more episodes of Spader and That’s what counts imo. Cheers!

[imyourplusone]

Do you think lizzington was JBs original endgame? Do you think he still kept his original endgame or do you think lizzington is shot to hell at this point? (Love ur blog btw)

Thanks Anon! I really do find it hard to believe JB ever had an endgame. The show was messy from the beginning but there was way more right with it in s1 than wrong so I think it was easier to look past it. Now with the unbelievable place we’ve arrived at I look back and think yeah there never was a plan at all. Not even a little. I don’t think Lizzington is shot to hell but I think my expectations have lowered. I’d definitely like a return of the connection that was there in the beginning. Get a little of that magic back. I’d like to like Lizzy again. I want the show to make sense. Things beyond Shipping. How about material that’s worthy of Spader’s damn time not just thrown together because tptb know they still have an audience due to him. So I think JB will come up with his organic endgame about five minutes before the series finale starts filming. Sorry….I’d really like to be upbeat here but I’m not feeling this Red and Mr K war. That relationship meant a lot too and definitely seems shot to hell. I’m hoping for a miracle here tbh. Anyways cheers and hopefully 18 will be better than 17.

[miss-musings]

TBL Finale: Critical Reviews

Wanted to see what the critics and professional reviewers thought of the finale. So, here are a few excerpts:

From TVFanatic.com:

I want to say that The Blacklist finally confirmed Red is Liz’s father, yet Dembe’s comments about Red not “denying it” make me hesitant about the whole reveal.

It’s like we were given the answer we’ve been dying to just have so we could move on, something that seemed obvious, but a truth which was nice to finally lay to rest. And yet the show has played with perception and altered the truth from time to time, so having those seeds of doubt wouldn’t be too off base.

Either way, it will be interesting seeing Liz and Red’s relationship change and probably grow on The Blacklist Season 5 now that their familial connection is out in the open.

That is until it all comes crashing down with the reveal of whatever secrets that suitcase and the skeleton hold. ...It’s easy to assume that the skeleton is Katarina. And maybe Red is the one who killed her? But what if it’s someone else? What if the Red we know is an impostor and the real Red is the skeleton? Or the skeleton is some other family member? A brother?

It’s exciting knowing there’s that deeper truth lying in wait that will surely dismantle the relationship that will be built up next season with Liz believing Red is her father.

Plus, with Tom in possession of it, it will create a curious predicament, especially if he finds out some truths behind it before Liz does.

Honestly, it was great to see Tom back, even if for a quick moment. It certainly means he’ll have a decent role to play in the future.

...James Spader continues to be the shining force on this show, and that heartfelt conversation between him and Liz at the end really stood out.

That little smile he did when she hugged him was such a nice moment. You could tell that scene captured the emotions the two were feeling.

And I do feel that Red cares for Liz. It’s clear there’s more to it than that. 

###

(Decided I would bold the pro-Lizzington and pro-Impostor!Red theory bits.)

In summation: This reviewer was overall pleased with the finale, thought the show has a good ensemble thing going right now, was sad to see Kaplan exit, is interested in future developments. He is also excited to see Tom back (I disagree on that point, but w/e), and even throws out the idea that the skeleton is the real Raymond Reddington.

From TVOverMind.com:

That said, this week’s 2-part finale of The Blacklist was a huge turning point for the show. Not only did the Mr. Kaplan saga reach an exciting conclusion, but it set up interesting arcs for ALL of its characters, and gave satisfaction to long-time fans desperate to find out the true nature of Liz and Red’s relationship.

Though of course I have always known that Red is Liz’s father, this turned out to be a pretty good reveal. For one, this may be the first season in The Blacklist history in which Liz doesn’t shun Reddington from her life, but rather embraces him (literally) as a part of her family. They’ve shifted the status quo on this show before, but there is a whole new set of problems and dynamics shifting on the show heading in to a (now official) Season 5, and Red and Liz’s relationship is the cornerstone of those changes.

...A few other thoughts:

I was not very excited to learn that Tom Keen was coming back (again, love Ryan Eggold, just not the character lately) but he being Kaplan’s contingency plan was absolutely brilliant. Further from the aforementioned Keen item: Are those Katarina Rostova’s bones? My gut says no. Again, because until they say so I’m going to stay convinced that she’s still alive.

###

In summation: (again, my bolding)... Reviewer believes that Red is Liz’s dad (and has believed it since S1), but is excited for S5. Excited for developments between Aram and Samar, and Ressler and this dead Laurel Hitchins storyline. I agree with this guy on not being excited to have Tom back. Glad he’s skeptical of the bones, but I disagree on the whole “Katarina is really alive” thing. (If she is, where the hell has she been all this time??)

Now, one more:

From CarterMatt.com:

...As it turns out, Liz seemingly learned thanks to Harold that she is Reddington’s daughter. She got an answer, and in the closing confrontation, he didn’t seem ready to deny it. As a matter of fact, learning this truth seemed to actually bring the two closer than they were previously.

Of course, there was ANOTHER twist beyond this one. It seemed like Reddington was ready for her to hear this result, and it may not be entirely as true as it seems. (Yep, this again.) Instead, he insisted that the real thing that he needed was the suitcase, the secret that Mr. Kaplan had on him.

...The final question is this: Should you believe that Liz and Reddington are actually related? Probably for now, but also leave that possibility for doubt in the back of the mind.

...This was a crazy end to the season. Great action, drama, and of course another big twist at the end. It does feel like a bait-and-switch time and time again with the whole mystery of Liz and Red’s relationship, but with acting this good, it’s hard to be upset. Grade: A-.

###

In summation: (again, my bolding)... Reviewer seems frustrated with the rigamarole of Liz’s paternity, saying that it’s totally fair to mistrust this latest revelation. Also excited about Aram and Samar, and the Ressler developments. 

Overall

While I know there are other reviews out there, and I would be interested to read them all, I think this is probably a good sample size of where the entire fan community of the Blacklist is right now: some of them had believed Red was Liz’s dad since Day 1 and will believe this reveal; some are accepting it, but leaving open the possibility that it’s false; and some are skeptical and refuse to take it at face value.

This also shows mixed reactions over Tom’s return, with some excited for it, and others opposed. Overall, these three reviewers all praised the developments between Aram and Samar, Ressler and Laurel Hitchins, and Red, Liz and Kaplan.

Thought you all would like to know. Cheers!