#me after watching this show multiple times and finally realizing the farmer story is red talking about himself: 😦

[jimmyspades]

"A farmer comes home one day to find that everything that gives meaning to his life is gone... Everything that he loved, taken from him. One can only imagine the pit of despair, the hours of Job-like lamentations, the burden of existence. He makes a promise to himself in those dark hours. A life’s work erupts from his knotted mind. Years go by. His suffering becomes complicated. One day he stops. The farmer, who is no longer a farmer, sees the wreckage he’s left in his wake. It is now he who burns. It is he who slaughters. And he knows, in his heart, he must pay. "Maybe you’re right. Maybe he could change. Maybe he’s not damaged beyond repair. Maybe he could make amends to all those that he’s hurt so terribly. Or maybe not." THE BLACKLIST 1.04 "The Stewmaker (No. 161)"

[cecilspeaks]

151 - The Waterfall

One morning, as Josh Crayton was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed, he had been changed into a towering, gushing waterfall.

Welcome to Night Vale.

The alarm had been going off for a while, but Josh hadn’t heard it. Now he was going to be late. More upsetting than that, his bed was soaking wet. Josh was mortified until he realized that he had changed into the shape of a waterfall at some point during the night. Josh was used to changing shapes, he had been born a shapeshifter, after all. But he rarely changed into something he hadn’t intended to, never in his sleep, and he could always change back easily. Now, no matter how hard he tried, he just kept pouring and cascading and splashing over rocks, and being super annoyingly loud. Something had gone very wrong.

Lately, Josh had been staying in the form of a human teenage boy. He had grown to like his human shape, at times he even thought he was handsome in an understated kind of way. Last night at a party was the first time he had used his abilities in forever. He normally didn’t like to use shapeshifting as a party trick, but last night had been different. He wanted to impress the boy. Josh changed into all the shapes the boy requested, including a bunch he had never thought to try, like mochi ice cream, primordial jungle flora, a bad idea, a hasty plan, and the gearshift knob from a Nash Rembler.

He’d seen the boy in class before, but had barely noticed him, to be honest. Once they started talking, the boy had become very noticeable. He was laid back, yet keenly alert, like a hawk. Soft spoken yet hilarious, also like a hawk. Teasing, yet kind. Like a very - attractive - hawk.

At the end of the night, Josh wrote his number on the boy’s red plastic cup in sharpie and walked home smiling, even though it was late and he had to get up early the next morning to retake his driving test for the fifth time. He was 18 and still without a license. Every time he had taken the test before, he got nervous and turned into a shape that was utterly unfit to drive. A rhinoceros. A warm hug from an old friend. A bookshelf filled with first edition Zadie Smiths. “Oh, I haven’t read Swing Time yet,” Shoshanna from the DMV had said, plucking the book off of him before failing him for not having eyes with which to check his mirrors.

The alarm sounded again. Josh tried to calm his rising panic, but it was difficult to do with the constant roaring of falling water in his ears and his distractingly chill body temperature. He closed his eyes and repeated a mantra he once heard on a Home Depot radio ad: “A triple thick roof of natural cedar shingles. A triple thick roof of natural. Cedar. Shingles.” It always helped him feel more grounded. But no matter how he felt or what he tried, he was still a water fall tumbling and plunging and rambling along, in picturesque tributaries against his will.

Josh knew he couldn’t drive a car in his condition. He probably couldn’t even open the door handle. And if, somehow, he managed to pass the exam, the thought of getting his picture taken like this was embarrassing at best. There was nothing he could do but sit in his room and froth and foam, and swirl, and wait.

By Monday, the situation still hadn’t cleared up. Josh wanted to stay home from class, but his mother Diane, whom he still lived it, made him go. She said that he was obsessing over his looks, and that no one would even notice, and that he was already nearly failing his history and English courses, and did he want to be put on academic probation his very first year in college? Josh couldn’t argue with this, mainly because there were too many different ideas all smashed together, and it was easier to just do as she said.

His friends on campus thought it was a joke at first. Josh tried to be casual about it. He told them that he was stuck like this at the moment. They were very understanding and treated him just the same as always. He actually started to feel better about the whole thing, and that maybe he was silly for having been stressed about it at all.

In his first class, however, he was sent to the Dean’s office for creating a distraction. He went without argument, and explained that this was a physical condition beyond his control and not some immature hazing prank. He received an apology and was sent back to class with an administrative note in case this became a recurring issue. The note had to be laminated and waterproofed, which took some time, and Josh missed an important quiz.

In the quad, an engineering student that Josh barely knew ran right through him on a dare from her friends. She didn’t even make eye contact with him, just ran away screaming, while her squad roared with laughter at the picnic tables. Josh left campus soon afterwards, not caring about flunking or vanity, or whatever else he was supposed to care about. He felt violated and angry, and also ashamed of himself. These were not sensations he was used to feeling, and on top of that, he had started to grow moss along his ledge, which felt slimy and gross and could not be ignored. His self-consciousness had become overwhelming.

Josh sat behind the Desert Flower Bowling Alley drinking a blue slurpie and watching himself dabble all over the hard-packed sand. He felt some relief in being alone, and in being somewhere that his shape wouldn’t have any consequences. Unless, he supposed, he stayed there too long and formed a river or something like that.

He thought of going way out in the desert and becoming an oasis. That might be exciting. He could donate himself as a public service to the thirsty animals and exiled citizens and fearl toddlers that roamed the land. He could create a grove of green trees and lush plants, a refuse for new life. Maybe even new species of life, all springing forth from his gushing, messy body. He pictured a furry lizard with several blinking golden eyes. He pictured a one-legged bird with psychic abilities. He pictured the years melting away, the oasis growing. A green valley emerging. Then multiple valleys, a new civilization might form, rising around the ebb and flow of his waters, growing from mud huts to Ziggurats, to steel towers, and eventually again decaying, again to mud huts, before disappearing for good. And all the while Josh would be there, steadily supplying the lifeblood of their Earth-bound existence.

Suddenly his phone vibrated in the crevice of his rocky outcropping. There was a text from an unknown number. It read: “Hey Mochi”, followed by an emoji of a winking face. “Wanna do something later?” And that was followed by an emoji showing the entirety of possible human free time activities. This was obviously sent by the boy from the party. The surge of excitement ignited by these fix words was instantly extinguished by heavy, wet dread. Josh cringed at the thought of the boy seeing him like this, and of trying to explain it to him. They didn’t know each other that well and it was just too awkward. Josh tried to change shape again,  now with renewed effort. He wanted to see the boy later and in order to do that, he needed to not be a waterfall.

After an hour of intense concentration and no results, his phone vibrated again. “This is Monty, by the way, we met at the party”. Josh burbled in frustration. He thought of several texts he could send back, but none of them were the text he really wanted to send, which was “Yeah I know who you are LOL, let’s meet up”. After a moment of staring helplessly at his screen, he turned his phone on silent and put it back under his outcropping.

Josh stayed behind the bowling alley for a long time, churning and flowing and watching the sunset over the dumpsters. He noticed a thick vapor hanging in the sky above him, and wondered if he was affecting the weather.

[“Always Right” by Anne Reburn]

Josh skipped class the rest of that week. He sometimes went to the movie theater during the day. Usually nothing was playing, but it was at least dark and empty and quiet. And the staff there seemed to appreciate how Josh inadvertently cleaned away the sticky soda and popcorn spills on the floor. They gave him free lifetime passes and encouraged him to return often. He missed the deadline for an essay, which meant that he would probably fail English for real. He ignored calls and texts. He couldn’t stand the thought of being around people. Instead of getting used to his new shape, he just became colder, wetter, slimier, and more uncomfortable by the day.

Finally on Friday around 5 PM, Josh was spotted by some friends who were cruising around town, bumping NPR’s “All Things Considered” on the subwoofer and looking for mischief. They called out to him and pulled over. They were excited to see him and asked all kinds of questions: was he sick? Where had he been? There were rumors going about on campus about him, what was the real story? Josh didn’t know how to answer, so he just shrugged and bubbled and eddied around their tires. They were in an old pickup truck that they had just purchased real cheap from John Peters - you know, the farmer -and planned to take it out driving super fast through the sand wastes. Did Josh want to come? Josh did want to. But he hesitated, eyeing the small cab that would definitely not fit his body. But, on an impulse, Josh jumped onto the track bed, ricocheting off the sides in big embarrassing splashes. Everyone cheered, and Josh almost smiled, and off they went.

The wind ripped past him warm and fast. He joked with his friends through the window. It suddenly felt like any other carefree Friday afternoon. After parading around town for a while, they pulled into the gas station for snacks. Josh waited outside in the truck bed. He was thinking that he would probably go back to class on Monday, when a voice called to him. “Josh, is that you?” Josh knew the voice and it filled him with nervous electricity. “I texted you a few times. Are you ghosting me or did you write down your number wrong?” The boy’s playful forwardness hit Josh with some kind of feeling. “I uh, I I don’t know I’m, I’m I’m bad at checking my texts,” Josh mumbled in a non-playful, unstraightforward way that no one could ever find attractive. The boy named Monty nodded, still smiling. “Gotcha. So ghosting then?” Josh swallowed, and his throat would have been dry except that it was made of pure water. “Nice waterfall,” Monty said, jumping up on the tailgate and letting Josh’s mist cool him off. “Uh thanks,” said Josh, wishing the sun would evaporate him immediately. “I’ve been wondering what you would look like as a bread crumb,” said Monty. The word “breadcrumb” sounded sexy the way Monty said it. “Like maybe from a blueberry scone or something like that,” he elaborated. Josh surged down violently at the ground and said, “I don’t really feel like it right now.” Monty nodded a little sadly and jumped off the tailgate, getting the message. “Sure. Maybe next time, I’ll see you around,” he said and then he was gone. Josh’s friends came out of the gas station and they had bought him an ice cream bar, the kind of with a hard chocolate shell covering vanilla ice cream, with a candy tarantula in the middle, Josh’s favorite. Josh ate it, but tasted nothing.

Josh did not go back to class on Monday. He said goodbye to his mother and walked to campus, and then walked past it, and then just kept on walking. He didn’t have a plan, but after he’d gone into the desert ways he circled back to his oasis idea. Though it started as a back alley blue Slurpie dream, it now presented itself as an actual life plan. Why not? He wasn’t going to graduate college, or get a driver’s license, or be socially functional ever again, he might as well create an abundance of life in an otherwise barren wasteland. Josh felt self-sacrificing and heroic upon arriving at this decision, and marched around all day looking for the perfect place to set up shop, i.e. his new life henceforth forever. 

He found an especially desolate location and settled in. But standing there for hours while nothing happened was tedious work. Josh decided to do something productive while he waited, like maybe compose a song or write a novel. He hummed for a while, but discovered he wasn’t talented at songwriting or humming, so he tried to write a novel, an espionage thriller about the college basketball team, but he found he didn’t know enough about basketballs or spies or how to properly craft suspense fiction. 

He thought maybe he should try writing something more personal, like a story about what had happened to him this past week. Maybe he could even write it in third person, he could pretend to be some other narrator altogether, some random omniscient God voice totally removed from his problematic body, and try to look at things through its eyes. Maybe doing this would help him get a new perspective on the situation. Maybe that would be useful somehow. Or maybe not. But it was worth a try anyway.

Josh went to work on this project while the rest of him spilled and whooshed, flooded against the sun baked earth. He wrote until he couldn’t feel his body anymore. For a long time, he was only aware of his words and thoughts, his self-consciousness was finally not unconscious. At the end of his story, Josh did feel better, though nothing had changed physically. He still didn’t know if he would ever regain control over his shapeshifting ability. He still had all the same problems he did before, but they didn’t seem quite as insurmountable as they had. That was pretty cool. Plus he made himself laugh by using words like “henceforth” and “insurmountable”. And it felt good to laugh.

He thought if he could get his story read over the air on the local radio station, maybe other people would hear it and understand his situation better too. Like maybe his family would hear it, and know that he was doing OK. And that he would probably come home soon, because there were no animals drinking from his oasis, and he was really just creating a whole lot of mud out here. And maybe his English professor would hear it and let him use it as credit for his missing essay.

And maybe even the boy would hear it. Maybe if the boy was still interested, they could go to a movie sometime. If not, Josh would totally understand, because Josh acted like kind of a jerk the last time they saw each other, but Josh does get free lifetime passes at the theater now, and it would be a shame to waste them on just sitting alone in the dark.

Signed, Josh Crayton.

OK, Josh. Happy to help. Please tell Diane I said hi.

Stay tuned, listeners. No one knows what the future holds. Sometimes all you can do is stay tuned.

Good night, Night Vale, good night.

Today’s proverb: All is not lost. Some of it is intentionally hidden.

[miss-musings]

My List of Top 10 Blacklisters

Let me say right off the bat that it was really difficult to compile this list. Because while I feel a lot of one-off Blacklisters are pretty much throwaways, especially all the different cults and kooky people that the show likes to keep introducing, many of the better ones (IMO) were bad guys who had been around for multiple episodes, maybe even entire arcs or seasons.

So, picking out my Top 10 -- based on how unique they were, how memorable they were, how intimidating, how threatening they were to the main cast, etc. -- was relatively easy, but ranking them was difficult. Because, again, a lot of them get way more screentime than others.

So, I'll try to rank them based on a combination of how much I personally liked them, how much of an overall impact to the story/characters the Blacklister had relative to their screentime and build-up, how well the actor did with the role, how unique and memorable they were, etc.

You'll notice that people like Laurel Hitchen, who was an antagonist but not technically a Blacklister, isn't on the list; and you'll notice that "good guys" like Dembe or Marvin Gerard who were technically Blacklisters, but weren't antagonists for Red or the Task Force aren't on here either. Tom, who flip-flopped between good guy and bad guy as the show progressed, isn't on here either; but that's because there's so much material to judge from as he was a main cast member for at least three seasons, which is unfair.

Anyway, without further ado: my list. Again, feel free to disagree and make your own lists if you like.

(EDIT: I’ve done a follow-up list of ‘Top 10 Best One-Off Blacklisters’, because so many of the below entries had multiple episodes in which to be menacing.)

Note for future reference: this list only includes Blacklisters up through the end of S5.

###

HONORABLE MENTION: MR. KAPLAN

I really wanted to put Mr. Kaplan on this list, and I had at one point, but then I realized I forgot one of the more imposing Blacklisters and had to slide him into the spot where I had Mr. Kaplan. The only reason I took her off completely rather knocking every lower-numbered entry down a spot, was because while I really liked Mr. Kaplan up until S3c, I hated how the showrunners forced the storyline where she had once been Liz's nanny and hated Red for doing her and the Keen family wrong. I love Susan Bloomaert and think she's a very talented actress who's incredibly underrated; but I loved her character more when she was on Red's team -- his cleaner, his friend, his confidant. Granted, there were some really good episodes with her as an antagonist, but I hated the way she died -- throwing herself off a bridge.

Anyway, again, I want to emphasize that this list is purely subjective. So, if you think I've done Mr. Kaplan a disservice, feel free to make your own list to give her to honor you believe she deserves. As I said: I loved Mr. Kaplan, but I felt the whole S4b storyline completely assassinated her character as we knew it up to that point.

P.S. I also feel like GREGORY DEVRY should get a shout-out, but I’ll probably include him in my list of Best One-Off Blacklisters.

10. LEONARD CAUL

This is one of those entries where I guess I kind of cheated. Caul didn’t really end up being an antagonist for Red, Liz or the Task Force. But he was introduced to us a little ambiguously with him developing photos of Liz and Red, listening to the police scanner -- and then holding Liz at gunpoint (briefly) in Red's Bethesda apartment... I really liked all of that and how it was kind of vague from the beginning whether he was on their side or not. Granted, he doesn't get much screentime even in his own episode, and honestly, after S2, I'm not really sure what happened to him. I know he was hanging around with Red up until the S2 finale or thereabouts, but yeah, whatever happened to that guy?

Anyway, it was a really tense episode, and I felt like Caul brought a level of adrenaline and urgency to the situation with Red and the Cabal, as well as the show in general.

9. IAN GARVEY

You'd think Garvey would be higher on this list, but I was never really a big fan of him. Granted, he did pose a pretty serious threat for our main crew, after he stole the Real Reddington’s bones, killed Tom and his goons knocked Liz into a coma. And the actor did a fine job. But, I just felt that -- up until his connection to the Reddington family was revealed -- he was just kind of cartoonish. A dirty cop who runs a drug cartel? Yeah, I don't care.

But, again, while I don't really like Garvey, I felt like he had such an impact on the show and the characters that he deserved a spot -- even if it was a low one.

8. MADELINE PRATT

The only female Blacklister to formally make it onto the list. (Sorry, Mr. Kaplan.) I thought her character and this episode was incredibly well-done. It was a little bit of a heist storyline, and Pratt was a good foil for Liz and Red, forcing both of them to open up in ways we hadn't seen before (up to that point). Liz became more comfortable doing criminal-type things, using her slight-of-hand, infiltrating locations and lying/manipulating people; while Red, conversely, became more human and opened up about why he has been so distant with people and the hurt he has experienced in the past.

Also, Madeline is one of the few past/current love interests of Red that we see on the show, and I really like Jennifer Ehle (mostly because of the 1995 version of Pride & Prejudice). I felt like she matched well with Spader and wasn't overpowered by his always-charismatic performance. And, while we only ever saw her in this episode and briefly in 2x14, I felt like she deserved a spot because she was such a unique character and that episode introduced a lot of character details and traits that became important later.

7. THE STEWMAKER

I really, really liked the Stewmaker -- both the bad guy and the episode. The only reason I didn't put him higher on this list is because I feel everyone else is too good (or bad, depending on how you want to look at it) to be displaced.

So, I remember reading on one of those TV-watching websites that if you weren't entirely sure about a show but you wanted to give it a chance, you should watch at least four episodes to see whether it was any good. By the fourth episode, the show should have established its characters, its dynamic, its continuing plot points, its feel, etc. Pilots, of course, always feel a little different than the shows themselves because they're filmed months before any other episode; so you have to give shows a chance to establish themselves and walk on their own two feet.

So... when THIS was the show's fourth episode... oh, buddy.

The Stewmaker posed a serious threat as he was the first person to ever hold Liz captive and feel the wrath of Red for such an offense. The episode gave us the infamous Parable of the Farmer; and continued the then-mystery of Liz finding out about Tom's shady past.

But, as for the character himself, he was just really weird. Walking around naked while he was working, but having that mask on; disintegrating bodies; having his dog with him; actually being a family man but having this criminal work on the side. And, also, we had a little bit of interaction where Liz was actually trying to do her job (for once) and profile him and use that info to her advantage.

He was a character that I feel the show has tried to redo several times -- the kooky weirdo who's very calm, apologetic and doesn't like violence but who is also fascinated by death, bodies, etc. But, of course, this was the FIRST time the show had used such a character, so it was much more memorable then and not so watered-down.

In any case, I really liked the Stewmaker and thought he was a fantastic Blacklister for the show to have in its fourth episode of the entire series.

6. MATIAS SOLOMON

So, this is actually the spot where I had Mr. Kaplan. But, while I was doing some background research on my #1 choice, I ran across Edi Gathegi's name and remembered that I left Solomon completely off the list. He had been an antagonist throughout the whole of S3a and then came back for his namesake episodes where he and his crew attack Liz and Tom's wedding, Liz gives birth to Agnes, and later she "dies" with Red by her side.

Solomon is either directly or indirectly responsible for a lot of major shit that happened on this show -- hell, just in those two episodes. And, I really like Gathegi's performance, especially considering how Solomon was a little Extra™. So he had to play him as dramatic with a penchant for flair and style ... but without him becoming cartoonish. He was just a little bit eccentric but could still hold himself and lead a team of goons in shooting up a church.

Again, I hated to leave Mr. Kaplan off the list but I felt it was a greater disservice to not put Solomon on it, considering how much of a threat he posed to our main cast throughout various points of S3.

5. THE DECEMBRIST (A.K.A. ALAN FITCH)

This is basically just an outlet for me to talk about how amazing Alan Alda is and how much I love him and wish the show hadn't killed his character off. Seriously, he's just so adorable, and it was hilarious to see him partly playing against type here. Fitch was intimidating, but I also kept wanting to give him a hug.

And, I felt like that was how Red felt toward him. He hated Fitch for the whole bullshit in that raid on the Post Office, but yet, he also respected him. That look on his face when he's having that last conversation before the bomb on Fitch's neck goes off... just heartbreaking.

And while so many actors seem to bow under the weight of Spader's performances, Alda is also one of the few actors who I felt like was on-par with him in terms of charisma and acting chops. It seems he just strolls onto the set and does whatever is required of him without a care in the world. "Need me to be gruff and menacing? I can do that. Need me to be sad and fearful? I can do that. Need me to look bored and indifferent? I can do that." God, I just love Alan Alda, and I want to give him a hug. 

But, seriously, Fitch was a Blacklister who's impact on the story goes all the way back to setting Berlin on Red decades before S2 takes place, and he was one of the few people (at that time) who seemed to know Reddington from the pre-Night of the Fire era. (It's unclear now whether that was actually true; he probably knew the REAL Reddington, but never knew our guy was an imposter.)

Anyway, Fitch had a major impact on the story because he was the one person/thing who had a connection to the raid on the Post Office, the Cabal and Berlin. So, he definitely deserves a spot on this list. And also, ALAN ALDA!

4. BERLIN

This is a weird entry, because Berlin is hardly in either of his two namesake episodes; and even when he is, his identity is obscured until the very end of "Berlin: Conclusion."

Berlin had been built up for a long time, and while I still am so frustrated that it was never addressed how he organized a giant criminal syndicate from inside a Russian prison. Honestly, for as much as for as long as he was built up, I feel like the pay-off was a little bit disappointing. Which is why he’s at number four for me.

Still, when he came back in the first half of S2, he was such a good baddie. I absolutely love when he and Red meet on Coney Island, and that weird, dynamic and layered conversation that they have. And overall, Peter Stormare's performance is fantastic. He's mustache-twirling, sure, but he was so intimidating at the same time... threatening Liz, capturing Naomi, being responsible for the attacks on Cooper and Meera, etc.

He had a tremendous impact on both S1 and S2a, so he definitely has to have a spot.

3. ALEXANDER KIRK (A.K.A. CONSTANTIN ROSTOV)

Like Berlin, Kirk is hardly in either of his namesake episodes, but we get to see him more fleshed out as a character/villain in S4a.

Unlike most villains, we actually got to see quiet moments of Kirk, where he was caring, respectful, loving and just ... generally not villainous. Most of these other Blacklisters never got those opportunities, and Kirk -- in hindsight -- was built up as a kind of hero out of a Greek tragedy. Odette tells Liz that he was a kind, caring and gentle man up until he found out about Liz’s identity as Masha and her connection to Red. Then, he flipped his shit and did whatever it took to get his (step)daughter away from him. And, honestly, I really liked his little farewell speech to Liz about how she would only ever remember him as a villain who kidnapped and threatened her and her child; and she would never remember him as the young, happy father who held her in her arms, excited at what the future would hold for their family.

God, just thinking back to that speech makes me feel such sympathy for the man... not the one he became but the one he used to be. Kirk was hurt and betrayed multiple times by Katarina, the Real Reddington, the Fake Reddington, and all these other people who played him like a puppet for their own ends. Really thinking back on it, it’s no wonder he became the broken man he is, so desperately trying to cling to this frayed prospect of happiness with the family he once had. Yes, he was hoping that Liz or Agnes would help cure him of his disease, but I truly believe that was only a bonus in his mind and he was really hoping to piece his family back together -- to have a second chance in his (step)daughter’s life and help her with her newborn.

He’s also one of the few villains with his own arc who WASN’T killed off at the end of said arc, so I REALLY hope he comes back. I doubt it, but I would really like to see it. Maybe he could help Liz understand what all happened with Katarina, Real Reddington, Fake Reddington, and everything on the Night of the Fire.

And, again, like with Fitch, he was a really important Blacklister as he was connected to both Red’s past and Liz’s. And, that scene where he’s about to kill Red, and the two stop to reminisce about Katarina, who she was, and how important she was to them ... that’s the kind of depth we don’t get out of most Blacklisters.

Honestly, even though his introduction to the audience was a little too Darth Vader/Alias-esque, I still really enjoyed the range of emotions Ulrich Thomsen got to run through in his portrayal, especially in that final episode. And while he doesn’t really have a lasting effect on the story once his arc is resolved, he was a major threat to everyone, including Liz, and the main characters to make major decisions in the latter half of S3 and the first part of S4 that showed us who they really are.

So, yeah. IMO, he deserves to be this high on the list.

2. ANSLO GARRICK

It might seem a little weird to have a one-off villain this high on the list, but Anslo Garrick -- both the character and his namesake episodes -- was an actual game-changer. Here we were, skipping along through S1, pretty complacent and chill. And then all of a sudden, Anslo Garrick shows up and turns everything on its head. The Post Office is under attack; Ressler gets seriously injured and he and Red have to make due hanging out together inside the box; Cooper et al is captured; Liz and Aram, who have little field experience between them, have to team up to try to get to safety. Luli is killed; Dembe is almost killed; Liz is threatened; Red is captured and later escapes.

God, so much happened in those episodes, and I still think “Anslo Garrick: Part One” might be the best episode of the show to date. Seriously. Even though Red and Liz have zero screentime together, that episode is just SO GOOD. Intense, dark, with high-stakes and important character moments -- and there have been very few episodes like it since.

But, anyway, as for Anslo Garrick himself... he isn’t really all that much. He was a rabid dog sent by Fitch to bring Red in. He was intimidating, coarse, violent and gave zero shits about his actions.

This entry doesn’t really celebrate who the character of Anslo Garrick was, but more of what he represented and the major impact he had on the show at that point in time. He introduced us to Fitch, who first brought up the whole “Cabal” storyline, which was responsible for a lot of shit in S2 and S3a.

Again, Garrick woke us viewers out of our little complacency that Red & co. were just going to glide through their Blacklisters with only a few cuts and bruises and no real stakes (outside of the Tom/mystery storyline that was going on at the time). This was a good kick in the pants to make us realize that we were wrong.

So, yeah. I feel like he deserves to be Number 2.

1. THE DIRECTOR

So, you’re sitting there, wondering who the hell could be sitting at Number 1... above Garvey, above Kirk and Garrick and Fitch and everyone else?

It’s the man who if I could push a button and bring any of the show’s dead character back to life, he would be the one I’d pick:

Peter Kotsiopulos, The Director ... played by the amazing David Strathairn.

Even though he appeared in 12 episodes over what amounted to an entire season of the show (from 2x09 to 3x10), I really wish The Director hadn’t been killed off. Seriously, I have no idea how much money TPTB had to throw at Strathairn to get him to appear for as long and as many times as he did, but it wasn’t enough. I've always said that this show deserves a Big Bad (assuming that Red isn’t it), and he would’ve been great as the Big Bad for The Blacklist.

While Strathairn's basically just reprising his role as "Unethical and Shady AF Government Official and Resident Mustache-Twirler" from The Bourne Series, it's a role he's REALLY good at. And even though he didn’t get a lot of quiet moments to be humanized or come across as sympathetic, like Kirk did, I still feel like it was such a bitch move for Red and his crew to play on The Director’s feelings for/obligation to his wife as their opportunity to abduct him. I know that Liz was facing trial for murder and desperate times called for desperate measures, but I can just imagine that poor lady sitting in her therapist’s office, wondering where her husband was only to find out that he was a villain who had ditched her and fled the country, when that wasn’t the case AT ALL.

Yeah, I know The Director’s an absolute piece of shit who’s responsible for threatening the entire Task Force, publicly demonizing Liz and almost killing Red... but he was so good at being bad that I wanted him to stick around long-term. I wanted to see him and Liz have more interactions; and again, Stathairn was one of the few actors who held his own in scenes with Spader without any effort.

He was also the first one, as I recall, to set Liz on this path toward Katarina Rostova’s backstory and finding out how alike the two of them were. Remember in 2x19, he remarks how much Liz looks like her mom, and I feel like that sends Liz down a road to get answers from Red about who she was and what his connection was to her mom and her family.

But, anyway, yeah. I just love David Strathairn; I loved him in this role, on this show; and I loved how diabolical, manipulative, and just conniving his character was. I also just absolutely love the look on his face in 3x10 when he and Red are watching Laurel Hitchen on the TV and Hitchen just outs The Director as a member of the Cabal. He just goes from angry and staring daggers at Red to flustered and “oh shit” in an instant.

So, just like my Fitch entry was my opportunity to celebrate how amazing Alan Alda was, this is my chance to celebrate how underrated David Strathairn is as an actor and how much I wish he was still on the show.

But, putting all of that aside, why should The Director as a character be ranked above all those other people as a better Blacklister?

Because, The Director represented the Cabal, which was an entity that had been built up from 1x09 as a major force that had power to easily destroy everything Red, Liz and their crew was trying to work toward. They sent Braxton after info about the Fulcrum, they sent Karakurt to frame Liz, they sent that team of commandos to attack Red. They were a force that seemingly could not be stopped, and the Director was at the head of it all.

And, while I can’t find it anywhere (so help me out if you know what I’m talking about), I know there’s a saying about how the worst man is the one who does evil in the name of good. And that’s The Director. He is the embodiment of all the worst parts of The Blacklist’s villains, actual real life government officials and humanity at large. He has dozens of people killed without batting an eye because it’s all in the interest of “national security.” Or so he tells others. But, deep down, we all know that he’s only really concerned about his own self-interest.

Now that the show has killed him off, obviously, there’s no way for Strathairn to return as The Director; but perhaps, if/once the show delves more into Katarina and Red’s backstory, maybe we will see a Young Director in a flashback so that we can see exactly how he was connected to Katarina, the Cabal, and that whole mess with the Fulcrum.

Plus, I can’t get over how awesome his interactions with Liz were, and Strathairn’s delivery of the now infamous line, “I know who you really are, Raymond -- who you are TO HER.”

###

Again, if you disagree, feel free to reblog with your comments or your own list. This is all purely subjective, but -- because we’re on this crazy-long hiatus until January -- I felt like it was good to fill the time with SOMETHING. My goal with this isn’t to give a definitive list and that’s it; but rather, to prompt discussion about the topic.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end and cheers! ~mm

[pixelonline]

GW2 Story Week - Tor: The First Meeting

Tor never liked sailing much, or flying, or dolyak carts, or really anything that jostled him about while he was trying to read or write. Was it really so hard to just stay still so he could finish this new design? Really? Though this particular complaint had him barred from many an owner’s mode of transportation it never stopped him from voicing it.

“Asura gates exist for a damn reason,” he muttered for what felt like the millionth time. His journal open on his lap, with a sketch of what looked like a hawk coming to realization. Why his father had forced him into this barbaric traveling was still beyond his realm of understanding. He was supposed to replace his father at a trial in Divinity’s Reach, not go on some scenic tour. What good did it do commoners to see a noble traveling? To have one temporarily insert himself into their lives for the sake of appearing like he cared? They worked and lived and loved just fine without his presence, and he worked and dreamed and lived just as well without being directly involved with them. A pompous attitude, sure, but was it really different from what reality had decided was true? He cared no more for the person in the third house of the second village than they did for some Human noble’s bookah son gallivanting around. His father was an ambassador, in any case, so it’s not like anything he did even mattered to people. So long as the waypoint taxes were low and some useful Asura tech made their way to the farms there was no reason to even bother remembering the Human ambassador and his family living in Rata Sum.

The harsh ring of Fort Salma’s watchtower bell forced him out of his pity party. Next stop, this place. Check on some Human/Asura relations at the first human fort between the two capitals, chat with a trader or two, pet a cat, maybe even have dinner with some Seraph commanders or whatever. Then, his trip continues on, stopping at small settlements and trading posts, meeting those who wouldn’t know or bother to remember his face. End up at Dvinity’s Reach and spend the next few months flittering about like some self important toadstool. What a lovely trip, really. With a sigh, his journal carefully closed and fit into the small pouch at his hip, he glanced out the cart’s window to the farmland around him. Inspiration struck whenever it might, and he preferred to be able to jot them down immediately. Propriety be damned.  

His cart rolled to a harsh stop, the dolyak doing their obnoxious dolyak yell as stable hands begin the process of cooling them down. He stepped out of the covered cart, dust rising as his boots hit the ground harshly. With Tor’s face an immediate mask of noble dignity and grace, he greeted the people nearby as if he’d known them all his life. He shook hands with a Sergeant Yarbrough who didn’t seem all that pleased to meet him, and was led from the front gates through the small marketplace and into the fort’s more fortified walls. He stopped abruptly in what appeared to be the dining hall.

“My time is precious, my lord, so forgive me if I don’t spend quality time showing you about. We have centaurs invading all around here and I’m needed to protect the villagers. Your quarters are to the left, down the hall. Last room, can’t miss it.” the Sergeant was curt in his statement, already turned from the room and walking out. “The Captain will meet with you tonight, though. She’s dealing with some issues around the fort. We have a higher rank visiting as well, but she’ll be leaving soon. On some mission for the Queen.” Tor nodded, uninterested in responding. He was already planning his report of the place. The farms were a distance from the market and dolyaks were slow. They’d definitely benefit from the efficiency and speed of a hovering...well...anything.

Tor began to wander about the building. Clearly the center of the Seraph’s settlement, the rooms were all packed with either beds, weapons, or supplies. Still considering what tech would make the Fort and its residents safer, maybe a laser turret system for the centaur issue wouldn’t be the best after all, he wandered through a large door to an open plaza in the center of the keep. Obviously redesigned to be a training area, worn out straw dummies hung off wooden poles sadly and blunt weapons littered the ground. A small well in the center drew his attention. More accurately, the sound coming from the well. A woman, clad in red and gold armor sat with her back against it, humming softly as she sharpened arrows. Her long red hair kept away from her neck and face by a single hair pin, her expression serious and focused on her task.

Girenadayle.

He hadn’t seen her since he was a child. A noble as well, he recalled the times he’d seen her play in the central plaza of Divinity’s Reach. Unafraid of adventure even as a kid, she would throw herself fearlessly into whatever game they were playing. He’d watched from the royal library’s window as she bothered her Seraph sister each day to teach her how to hold a sword, what stances would bring the most to her attacks. Tor had been young when his father was chosen to move to the Asura capital, but he never forgot how this one girl stood out to him. He’d heard about her from time to time. Her sister, murdered on patrol. She joining the ranks after her father was claimed by them as well. She rose to lieutenant quickly, rumors claimed it to be because of her nobility, though he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it couldn’t be true.

“Are you going to stare much longer? It’s getting annoying.” She glared in his direction and a thousand daggers pierced his body. No, there was no way she used her noble rank to gain her military one. Her eyes had been sharpened by many, many battles, that much was obvious.

“Er...I-I, yes. I mean, no! I mean...it’s nice to see you. Again. Once more.” Shut up, shut up, shut up! Mashed onions for brains, Tordacien. He stepped towards her and offered a polite bow. Perfectly noble. Not at all weird. It was completely normal to bow to a soldier. Yep. Everyone did it. All the time. She...she was still staring at him. Slowly from boot tip to skull. He felt like a show moa. Had he been assessing her like this? Surely not. ...Right?

“Book kid. You went to Rata Sum. Not much of a dancer, if my feet remember. What are you doing here?” She set down her arrows and stood. “There isn’t much in the way of Asura here, and if you’re heading to Divinity’s Reach I’m fairly certain the gates are much faster.”

He let out a sigh so deep his entire body slacked, the ping of embarrassment at her remembering his two left feet immediately gone. “Thank you. That’s what I said, but no, I’m supposed to see how the settlements between here and Metrica are, get an idea of how the people we govern live, but we get reports every week so how is seeing it myself supposed to change anything? I’m replacing my father at the royal court this year, not taking a nice tour of the territory and have inane talks about things those living it understand much better than I.” She chuckled as he ran out of air for his sarcastic rant. Leaning against the well she seemed entirely at ease now that he’d dropped his own formal posture.

“Well, you can’t do good with laws and whatnot if you don’t see what the needs are, can you? You sound an awful lot like Faren, though you’d think all the books would have made you far more intelligent. You have a responsibility as a noble and representative of Kryta, you should probably act like it. These people, all people, work hard and deserve your full respect.”

He gaped. She just compared him to the most pompous imbecile in all of Tyria. That pinhead couldn’t be a decent Lord if someone covered the goal in women and coin. A constant fountain of ego, even as a child. He’d never liked Faren. None of that having to do with him easily becoming friends with every child, while Tor found himself lacking the skill, of course. Unable to retort, Tor stood there, completely engulfed in old jealousies and new shame. She definitely had a point. Multiple, even. He’d been treating these people as if they didn’t matter, and she saw right through him. Damn fool, even as an adult.

“I’ll be a court in a few days, myself. Captain Thackeray and I have been building a case against someone very dangerous. We may see each other then, Lord Tordacien.” She walked past him, bumping her armored shoulder against his. The shock of her so close, so warm, drove him out of his thoughts.

“Lady...Lieutenant...er...G-Girenadayle. You, uh, you know...I prefer Tor. My name is kind of a mouthful. And overly grandiose.” He hated stuttering. He thought he’d conquered this while attending the College of Statics, but it would seem that the case not so.

She smiled. “I completely agree. Giren, for me. See you in Divinity’s Reach, Tor.”

He didn’t move, didn’t breathe, until she was completely out of sight. She knew his name. She knew his name. They’d only spoken a handful of times at social gatherings. Years, and years ago. He sat down with a thud. She knew his name, wanted to see him again! ....And most likely thought he was a complete ass. Of course, he sounded like one. The commoners, farmers, tradesmen mattered, dammit. How could he have even thought otherwise?! Without them, nothing would function. Every person in Kryta mattered, made their society function and flow. He was no better than them, he’d never had to do hard labor in his life. There’s no way he’d be able to survive the way these people did with what looked like ease. He rubbed a hand over his face, exhausted suddenly. Yep, he’d been a right bear’s rear end. He left the plaza consumed with examining his past behaviors. He’d have to treat his traveling companions when they reached their final destination. He had no doubt that he’d been a pain to be around. As the Sergeant said, his quarters were easy to find, much nicer than any of the other sleeping areas he’d seen. He was grateful that they’d tried to make him feel welcome, though the streak of guilt at the residents going out of their way to make a room nicer just for him still struck. Sitting at the small writing desk in the far corner of the room underneath a window with just enough of the setting sun’s light creeping through, he pulled out his journal. Opening to a new page, he began to write.

Entry 1: Fort Salma

I’ve been quite terrible, recently. Lady Gi Giren reminded me of that. She’s very much the same as I remember her, and so much better. I know now why I’d never seen her around when visiting the capital from time to time, she was out changing, learning, being someone people needed. And what have I done? Wallow in my own thoughts and never once thought of anyone else. That changes, as of now. I’ll take on this duty to meet the people of Kryta seriously and listen to their concerns. What I can’t change myself I’ll take to the ministers. Surely someone has the capability to fix what’s wrong. It’s well past time to get serious. After father’s task is completed, I’ll find something to do that puts some meaning in my life. Continue working on those elixirs I had such an affinity for in my schooling, maybe. We only met for a moment, but still she is an inspiration, isn’t she?