Plotlines

The separation of Samar and Aram was, as is often the case with such series, extremely odd! Why does it always have to end so strangely? They could have let it continue and Samar is just mentioned occasionally, but not shown anymore. However, I find it good that they didn’t kill her off, as is usually the case in such situations and crime series. But it’s not really great either, because the drama is absolutely unnecessary and Aram’s character doesn’t need to be subjected to something like this. It also reminds me of Raj and that you never really know how to deal with the nerd and a relationship.

The first half of the sixth season was actually interesting. I had something else in mind, but according to Netflix, I never watched further. I also couldn’t identify the point at the beginning of the sixth season where it became too much for me. I can’t go by the current rewatch, it was a completely different feeling.

Stacy Keach is always a joy to see, I’ve been a fan since his series Mike Hammer and whenever I see him, I have to think back to that series. He’s such a veteran and I don’t want to say from old Hollywood, but definitely from the 80s series era, which I grew up with, and an appearance by him reminds me of that time. (And please don’t think this is an “everything was better in the past” argument, certainly not! However, it can be easily attested that at that time, many things were simply different!)

S6E18 – Super Dave! Are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Blacklist connected, or do they share a universe? It would be really nice, but unfortunately no. In The Blacklist, he’s called Dr. Ogden Maguire and in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, he’s called David Phillips. We’re talking about actor David Berman. He’s a typical actor or character from the second row, but here he not only fully fills his role, but it’s also always nice to see him. He’s simply a very likeable appearance.

It started with Mr. Kaplan, but more and more it gives the impression that the inner circle around Reddington is falling apart. Characters are simply shot or no longer appear, are replaced by new ones, and it’s just such a strange feeling.

Ressler and others are captured and freed by a specially assembled squad, and I found the mood of the squad somehow very cool. That was fun and was something different from the usual stiff SWAT teams.

The CGI at Hutton’s grave is terrible! Although I’m not even sure if it’s really CGI, or terrible blue/green screen. Such strange effects do occur, even when the lighting of the scene isn’t properly adjusted, but here it’s so off that it really hurts. Unfortunately, this is also something that, along with the continuity, contributes to the feeling that the quality of the series is really declining.

It’s strange that Reddington no longer monitors Liz, just so Katarina can do her thing and not be exposed by him. (I don’t like it when abilities or circumstances that are actually a fixed component are changed. This is common in comic book adaptations, just to benefit the story or drama, but in crime series that are closer to the real world, it stands out even more. What I mean by this, referring to comic book adaptations, is that a hero has a certain power, but no longer thinks about it, or no longer uses it, so that various things can happen.)

S7E10 – It’s her daughter, why does she treat Liz so harshly, and why does it have to be so brutal and strange? Thought she only had a grudge against Reddington. It feels like somehow everything doesn’t fit together anymore, especially since the backstory to Reddington suddenly doesn’t match anymore.

S7E15 – The fact that Liz confronts Cooper about the trick with the weapons shows how twisted her compass has become, it really knocks my socks off. She’s pulled so much shit and played into Reddington’s hands so often, now Cooper pulls something off once and she thinks she has the right to freak out. What bullshit! Sorry, stuff like this drives me crazy, because you have to be able to write such crap first. I should actually stop immediately after this episode! And to also act like laws are no longer valid. Reddington, okay, but now she comes with dark side (was mentioned before) and I don’t know either.

Reddington’s torturer is, besides Glen, my favorite character, whenever one of them appears, things get wild and it just becomes super quirky. I would immediately buy a three-season series with the two of them!

And again these secrets, it’s like a child who doesn’t understand that the stove plate is hot, still puts their hand on it and burns it… again and again and again! It’s already a strange hubris that’s spreading here, and my grandmother always said that pride comes before a fall.

What would really be exciting would be the full turn of Liz, away from the FBI and completely at Reddington’s side. THAT would be a headline, but this strange in-between thing, BOAR EY!

Reddington collapses at the end of S7E16 and is ignored for an entire episode! I’m sorry, this isn’t drama or tension building, but simple torture! For me, it also shows again this strange lack of planning by the authors.

Katarina’s return would be so much better if we hadn’t been shown it beforehand. That in a flashback and she would just be back, BOOM! But like this, fart in the bathtub!

At the end of the seventh season, Corona directly intervened and so the last episode had to be worked with what had already been shot, everything else was then inserted by low quality CGI (although I don’t mean “low quality” in a derogatory way!!). It reminded a bit of the Fringe episode Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, which was shot with a similar technique.

What I found interesting about this episode, however, was also the greetings from the cast and the people behind the scenes.

But for me, that’s it for now! You notice, my nerves are getting more and more transparent, the thread of patience breaks easily, and I’m simply not satisfied with the writing anymore. Yes, at the end of the seventh season there’s again the big thing that Liz sides more with Reddington than with the FBI, but Katarina also still plays a role, and it’s just opaque and less exciting, even though that’s the main goal.

Instead of creating clarity, just taking stock, determining who stands where, a smooth cliffhanger, dusting off the shoulders and continuing in a new season. But they choose a different path and at the moment I’m not willing to go along with it, even if it’s difficult for me.