The Blacklist Season 2 Finale Review

The Blacklist Season 2 Finale Review

The Blacklist has managed to dig its own grave. We now know what the Fulcrum is. We know agent Keen’s real name is Masha Rostova and that she is the daughter of a KGB spy. We know Reddington (James Spader) hired Tom to keep spy on her and that Tom fell in love with her. We also know that Assistant Director’s Cooper’s illness was faked and that Reddington has released the contents of the Fulcrum to the whole world. Is there a storyline left for season 3? Well, as Keen shot Tom Connolly because of all of his misdeeds she will have to be held accountable. Now that Reddington has released the Fulcrum he will be hunted without fear of retribution by the Cabal. It will probably only take 2 or 3 episodes before these storylines are resolved.

I think those aren’t enough to sustain The Blacklist for another season. The show has failed to evolve beyond its original premise. Most fans will readily admit that they have put up watching the show for James Spader’s depiction of Raymond Reddington. Secondary characters such as Tom Keen, Aram Mojtabai and Samar Navabi (Mozhan Marno) have also been a delight to watch. Sadly the same cannot be said for agent Keen (Megan Boone). She is too often hyper emotional, jumps to the wrong conclusion and doesn’t seem to understand half of what is happening around her. To most fans the show would have been better of if Keen, and even Ressler were characters in a show in a galaxy far far away….

It is sad to see a show which developed such a cult following so quickly has dropped in the ratings so quickly. Strangely enough season 2 was not even all that bad. Compared to the previous season the quality was far more consistent. There was plenty of gore (Alan Alda’s head exploding off-screen), there was tension (would the kid blow up the minivan with Navabi) and there was plenty of Russian vibes with ex-KGB spies and Reddington’s fondness for Baklava. Yet the obvious attempt to emulate the success of the first season episode ‘The Stewmaker’ failed when the plot resolution became guessable before the half-way mark. Sadly than has occurred too often.

One ray of light during season 2 was Harold Cooper. His development from loyal government agent into a cynic made it feel as if only he was affected by Reddington’s presence. The cajoling and hidden threats Connolly made to Cooper meant Connolly was sure to die sooner or later. Yet, I would have thought it would be Cooper after he discover the Cabal has faked his cancer to make him more pliable. In the end it was Keen who shot Connolly, not Cooper. A surprise end that at least makes it redemption for Cooper possible. Season 2 ends with Lizzie and Reddington moving away together to safety. Tom Keen does the same when he takes his yacht out of the harbor. A preferred reboot for The Blacklist would be Tom and Lizzie setting off into the sunset. That way Reddington, Navabi, Mojtabai and Cooper can get on fighting the Cabal and capturing the remainder of the Blacklisters. Ressler can then be bumped of in an attempt to create a spike in the viewer ratings.

I am not sure if anyone is even remotely helped by this 500 word rant on where The Blacklist should go from here, but if the show is to survive a third season things have to change.

Score; 7.8 / 10. An OK ending to the second season of The Blacklist means the show will have to change to survive.

Source; http://www.nbc.com/the-blacklist