I used to really enjoy watching The Blacklist because the concept of a top villain ratting out all his colleagues was quite interesting. Unfortunately, it then took a strange direction, as suddenly Reddington wasn’t Reddington, then he was again, and then suddenly he was Elizabeth’s father. I liked that she then became suspicious and there was essentially an internal espionage story after much trust had been built up, but I simply didn’t like the initial spark for this because there was too much back and forth.
I’m also not quite sure anymore in which season this exactly was or between which seasons, because one event was of course deliciously exploited to create a cliffhanger that keeps the audience hooked. While I can understand such decisions, I’m not a fan of them, and for me, it’s one of the few advantages when a series has been completely finished, hopefully with a proper conclusion, that this simply doesn’t happen anymore.
Now The Blacklist has ended with its tenth season, and I’m getting this itch in my brain that I can’t scratch, telling me insistently that I could now watch the whole thing again, 10 seasons are manageable (considering the fact that I also survived the 15 seasons of CSI: Las Vegas).
What I’ve already started doing is looking up some information from the Wikipedia article to determine if, when, and how I’ll start a rewatch. It’s a very dangerous affair because the article is really well written and thus also has summaries of the individual seasons. I’ve spoiled myself too often with such things, so I immediately closed the article again. But I’m glad to read this because the show is on Netflix (produced by NBC), and they’re not exactly known in recent years for always doing a final season including season finales and not leaving viewers hanging, very pleasing!
Now, of course, memories of the episodes I’ve already seen are shooting through my head. That there’s a computer nerd in the FBI headquarters who’s not just there for laughs (sorry, I’m just damaged by TBBT) but is also useful and moves the team forward. A tough investigator, I believe Navabi was her last name. Ressler as the very correct agent and Keen, who is also very good but sometimes lets things slide. Cooper, played by Harry J. Lennix, whom I already liked in House M.D., the two The Matrix (2003) sequels, and Ray (2004).
Oh yes, even though I started with the annoying parts, there’s quite a lot I liked about the series, as I’m realizing now and as my brain’s series memory is also reassuring me.
In addition to all this, I have to admit to myself that I don’t know, even if the first seasons will be running in the background, whether I’ll actually have time for this. The year promises to be turbulent, even though we’re still at the beginning. Many important and big decisions for me need to be made, and some time that I still have now will be used for other things. This unfortunately has to be the case, otherwise, this whole career business in this life won’t work out anymore. Maybe I’ll only watch one or two season, not the whole ten! Last year was heavy in that way, and I don’t know if The Blacklist is one of those shows, that you can watch in one “sitting”.
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