The Blacklist - Review

The  Blacklist

Plot summary:

After being untouchable for over twenty years, ex-US Naval Intelligence Officer Raymond “Red” Reddington willingly turns himself in to the FBI. And as he’s captured and interrogated, he informs the FBI of an imminent threat, and that he will only speak to agent Elizabeth Keen regarding the matter. Subsequently, Keen is summoned and put to speak with Reddington. And afterwards, the FBI, with the aid of Reddington, set out to neutralize the threat. But this seems to be only one name on a list Reddington has made throughout the time period of over twenty years that he has been a criminal. A list of names Reddington intends to cross off one by one.

Review:

Raymond Reddington, portrayed by James Spader, proves to be a very interesting and entertaining character in this series. He’s shown to be highly intelligent, methodical, and at times, very manipulative. Not forgetting the fact that he tends to make the people around him frustrated at times as well. Megan Boone stars as Elizabeth Keen, who’s shown to be kind, strong-willed, and very determined. Reddington’s past relating to his family remains a mystery, and so are his reasons for selecting agent Keen as his intermediate – all which comes to make sense as the series progresses. Diego Klattenhoff plays Donald Ressler, who’s presented as a stoic, diligent, and a very serious character. Aside from them, there’s Tom Keen(Ryan Eggold); Elizabeth's husband, the director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism unit; Harold Cooper(Harry Lennix), Reddington’s bodyguard; Dembe(Hisham Tawfiq), and agents Aram Mojtabai(Amir Arison) and Samar Navabi(Mozhan Marno), all who are both, important and interesting characters.

James Spader effortlessly balances the different traits of Raymond Reddington’s character, from the criminal mastermind to the generally annoying and somewhat arrogant individual. And aside from being The Concierge of Crime, Reddington is shown to grow into a father-figure towards Elizabeth. Megan Boone does a fantastic job in her portrayal as Elizabeth Keen as her character goes through and overcomes many events of trauma and deceit. Boone does a brilliant job in highlighting the strengths and vulnerabilities of her character. The other main characters that this series revolves around are also shown to go through or have gone through baleful and unfortunate incidents, and they all do a fantastic job in portraying how they get through those situations.

The plot is amazing, as are the subplots involved in each episode. They are all very intricate and creative, and are packed with some fantastic suspenseful events. And what makes it all the more interesting is how this series introduces different types of criminals with different sets of unique skills – assassins, spies, hackers, rogue syndicates, etc – varying and broadening the levels of danger. The show has some pretty good music, and it’s pretty effective, be it in a suspenseful scene or emotional scene. And aside from being a good thriller, The Blacklist brings in some good comedic scenes too, occasionally. Plus it packs in some good dramatic scenes in there as well. It’s a really entertaining series to watch.