In more pragmatic terms, “The Blacklist” has clearly lost some ratings steam since being relocated to Thursday night, not only sacrificing its lead-in from “The Voice” but airing opposite ABC’s popular Shonda Rhimes dramas and Thursday-night football.
It’s also hard not to notice that the focus on Liz’s mother, who turns out to have been a Russian spy, bears at least a passing resemblance to the later seasons of “Alias,” where the espionage gene passed from mom to daughter. Still, the program largely remains somewhat schizophrenic, alternating between the familiar trappings of a procedural and something more lively, funny and unpredictable whenever Spader occupies center stage. To its credit, the series, under showrunner Jon Bokenkamp, has deftly kept incorporating such twists, enabling it to keep Reddington’s motives shrouded. (Red’s dumbstruck reaction upon seeing Liz with blonde hair, apparently reminded of her mother, was another one of those nicely played if rather creepy moments.)
Beyond that, there’s the little matter of the ruthless conspiracy whose operatives are bold enough to tell the powerful head of a shadowy government agency (played by David Strathairn, terrific as always) that “every breath you draw is at our discretion.”Īs played in the premiere, though (and SPOILER ALERT if you haven’t watched), the hairpin escapes and dealings with shady characters felt like killing time until that final, clever moment when Liz took refuge at the Russian embassy, capitalizing upon a birth mother she didn’t even know about until Red came into her life. Putting Liz on the run – and having partner Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) charged with tracking her down – theoretically sets up a nifty game of cat and mouse.
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