Plotlines

As Liz stands at Tom’s grave and he appears again, I must confess that it was somehow quite nice to see him once more. I don’t know, he seemed changed and more mature, I can’t think of a more fitting word. ‘Settled’ might also fit, but maybe it was because the actor had gained some distance from the series due to his absence and could thus invest a bit more in the role again.

I had completely forgotten that Christopher Lambert had an appearance, I find it very nice to see him again. I like him very much and his charisma, but I find it a shame that he’s not seen too often anymore. He also looked a bit as if he had tried, similar to Mickey Rourke, but not quite as extreme, to adapt to the Hollywood of eternal youth and thus made himself unattractive for many striking roles. It’s just a guess though, if you look at his facial features a bit more closely.

I had already mentioned several times that I watched until the sixth season back then and then gave up. However, I don’t remember how far, so actually the beginning was completely new territory for me.

The first part of the sixth season was, compared to some of what had happened before, very interesting. The trial itself, due to the many circumstances and the agreement. But I also found the exchange between Reddington and the judge exciting to watch. It brought momentum to the whole thing, especially because it didn’t turn out as one would have expected, as Reddington was then a bit too sure of himself.

Let’s be honest, it was somehow clear that Reddington wouldn’t really be executed. Although, they could have made it look like he was executed, and later he would have appeared again. It wouldn’t have been the first time, but also not the last time… from what you hear and read.

Unfortunately, the connections between the individual persons are becoming more and more inscrutable, confusing, and strange. Reddington is no longer Reddington, but someone else who had to do with Katarina Rostova. Then he’s Liz’s father, then again he’s not, but Liz has grown so close to his heart that he’s like a father figure for her.

All of this mixes into a strange muddle that wants to be unraveled again and again. But that’s exactly what’s exhausting, because I can understand that they want to bring variety into the whole thing to keep it exciting and to have something to tell. As mentioned before, this has now become so exaggerated and on such a level that you get the feeling that the authors themselves no longer see through it.

It has seemed all along that Liz and Reddington had exchanged about the fact that he’s not Reddington. And now they haven’t exchanged after all? This is implied by a brief conversation with Ressler after Reddington got his reprieve.

My research has also revealed that even until the end, it’s not clear who Reddington actually is or could be. Which, when I remember some things, is simply strange and alienating. Because there were always hints about who he is, or who he could be. Exemplary is this one scene where you see his back with large-scale burn scars and the viewer previously learns about a fire in the house of Liz’s parents.

There was then the theory, because as I said, it’s not exactly resolved until the end, that with all the possibilities, actually only Liz’s mother remains. So that Reddington is really Liz’s mother. It’s a wild theory, but if you try to get through all of this and keep eliminating who Reddington is not, then this seems to be the only possibility left, quite according to Sherlock Holmes.

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

I’ll just leave it at that and won’t go into it further. All I’ll say is that if you try to sort out all the loose ends, it can make sense. (Yes, my information goes further than what I’ve watched here. I just can’t help it, when something annoys me and makes me curious, I have to get to the bottom of it!)

However, with all of this, a certain numbness also arises, because hardly any information can be considered true or false anymore, as it’s often completely turned around again directly in the episode or one or two episodes later. At least that’s how I feel about the numbness.

And yes, I’m writing all this even though I’m now in unfamiliar territory, because for me all these episodes are completely new. In the last post, I said that maybe you should look back and be a bit more open, and I’m really trying, honestly. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult for me. Of course, I don’t want to rule out that this could also be due to how I watch the series. Because watching everything in one go, that’s quite something and I notice that too.

But I also think that these long seasons don’t do some series any good. While watching, I’ve often had the thought of what the series would be like if it were an 8-10 episode season. They wouldn’t have had to fill so many episodes and maybe some things would have developed differently and better, you never know.

No sooner had I given a little room to my enthusiasm for Christopher Lambert than we get to see him again in a double episode. Oh, how nice! He has something about him that I miss a bit in today’s Hollywood and also in the series landscape. However, I couldn’t say exactly what it is. He gives his roles a little bit extra. This is very nice to see here, in The Blacklist but also in Mortal Kombat (1995). As Raiden, he didn’t have much screen time, but when you saw him, he was present like hardly anyone else.

The new conspiracy that’s now slowly emerging seems to come directly from the President and the Attorney General. Since it always has to go more, higher and further, it was actually only a matter of time until it’s no longer cartels or dubious associations, but the President himself. Somehow ironic, considering the time we’re living in right now.