Uneven, but when it is good it is good

Uneven, but when it is good it is good

Raymond “Red” Reddington (played by James Spader) is at the top of the FBI’s most wanted list. An embarrassment for the bureau as he was a former agent who turned then eluded capture for decades. One day he suddenly turns himself in though he has an offer for the FBI.  Red offers to work with them helping them capture elusive criminals and terrorists. His only condition is that he works with a rookie profiler barely out of Quantico. After he shows his value to them by helping the FBI capture a criminal he then drops a bomb on them by revealing a list of very dangerous but unknown to them criminals. Rookie profiler Elizabeth Keen (played by Megan Boone) and Red get the go ahead to work their way through the list.

 

Episode 1: Pilot: Wanted FBI fugitive Raymond “Red” Reddington suddenly turns himself in. He offers a deal to the FBI involving him working with them to bring in criminals.

 

Episode 2: The Freelancer: Red warns the FBI about an assassin called “The Freelancer”. Liz and Red go undercover in order to stop him from killing his next target, Floriana Campo (played by Isabella Rossellini).

 

Episode 3: Wujing: Liz begins investigating Tom (played by Ryan Eggold). Red and the FBI work on locating a Chinese spy he used to work with.

 

Episode 4: The Stewmaker: A cartel boss looks like her might get away with murder when the prime witness against him disappears. Liz and Ressler (played by Diego Klattenhoff) search for a brutal hit man named The Stewmaker (played by Tom Noonan).

 

Episode 5: The Courier: Liz finds herself in the middle of a kidnapping. The Courier (played by Robert Knepper) is on the run but Red and the FBI are at a handicap as they have no idea what he looks like.

 

Episode 6: Gina Zanetakos: Tom confronts Liz about the box proclaiming his innocence and insisting they turn it in to the FBI. The next name on the Blacklist is corporate terrorist, Gina (played by Margarita Levieva).

 

Episode 7: Frederick Barnes: The FBI are hunting down the man responsible for a chemical attack on a subway. After a dispute with Tom the tension mounts between Red and Liz.

 

Episode 8: General Ludd: Liz’s dad’s ill health reveals things about her past. Red demands a deal from Cooper (played by Harry Lennix) before he will help with the next criminal on the list.

 

Episode 9: Anslo Garrick: The mouse becomes the cat when a name on the Blacklist comes after Red. In an assassination attempt on his life the attack takes place at the team’s headquarters, Post Office Black Site.

 

Episode 10: Anslo Garrick: Conclusion: Anslo Garrick (played by Ritchie Coster) kidnaps Red. It comes to the surface that there is a mole in the FBI.

 

Episode 11: The Good Samaritan: Red continues to look for the mole within the FBI. Liz has to deal with a serial killer that she has had past experience with.

 

Episode 12: The Alchemist: Red begins to work with whistleblowers in order to find the mole. Liz pursues a crazed scientist that has helped criminals escape by creating their genetic doubles.

 

Episode 13: The Cyprus Agency: The FBI goes after an illegal adoption agency on a tip from Red. The case becomes a very personal one for Liz.

 

Episode 14: Madeline Pratt: Liz and Tom adjust to the idea of adopting. Red reveals that the next name on the list is a woman from his past.

 

Episode 15: The Judge: Tom is getting really upset when Liz continuously ditches him for work. He meets a woman and we learn a lot about Tom.

 

Episode 16: Mako Tanida: Tom fights to keep his secret hidden. Ressler goes after Mako Tanika, a man who has eliminated Ressler’s team one by one.

 

Episode 17: Ivan: The disappearance of Jolene (played by Rachel Brosnahan) sheds some light on Tom’s life. A high-tech defense asset is stolen and everything points to the guilty party being a Russian terrorist.

 

Episode 18: Milton Bobbit: Liz is now aware that Tom is not who he claims to be. She uses a case as cover for her investigation of her husband.

 

Episode 19: The Pavlovich Brothers: The Chinese hire the Pavlovich Brothers who have never failed at a job. Red and Liz begin tailing her husband, Tom.

 

Episode 20: The Kingmaker: Red believes it is the handwork of The Kingmaker (played by Linus Roche) when a politician in Prague is framed for a murder. While working on the case Liz discovers something that Red has been keeping from her.

 

Episode 21: Berlin: After finding out the truth about her father’s death Liz refuses to work with Red. Liz lets the FBI in on what she knows about Tom.

 

Episode 22: Berlin: Conclusion: Red is in custody and Liz tries to get him out as she knows he is their only hope to solve their latest case. Red and Liz attempt to locate Berlin (played by Peter Stormare), a prisoner who was on the plane that went down.

 

Special Features:  The Insider: Making Season, Beyond the Blacklist, Inception: Making the Pilot, Rogue’s Gallery: Villains – Character Dossiers (Blu-ray exclusive):

    • Raymond Reddington – Who is Raymond Reddington really? James Spader, Megan Boone and the producers of The Blacklist discuss Spader’s role.
    • Elizabeth Keen – Megan Boone talks all things Liz Keen from her relationship with Raymond Reddington to her emotional journey throughout the first season.
    • Tom Keen – Ryan Eggold discusses the challenges and joys of playing a character whose motivations aren’t revealed until late in the season.
    • Donald Ressler – Megan Boone and producers John Eisendrath and Jon Bokenkamp weigh in on working with Diego, how Ressler almost lost a leg, and why we shouldn’t believe everything we see.
    • Harold Cooper – Harry Lennix and producer Jon Bokenkamp discuss the character of Harold Cooper, a character whose history, especially with Raymond Reddington, might just come further into focus as the show progresses.
    • Meera Malik – Parminder Nagra and the producers discuss the multiple dimensions to Meera Malik.
    • Aram Mojtabai – Amir Arison takes us through his season from starting as a day player to his scene with James Spader as Aram races against the clock to save his own life.