🔴 Review of Reviews
Nothing bothers me more than snarky reviews. Or reviews that seem intended to show how knowledgable the reviewer is rather than tell me something insightful about the show. So I thought I’d turn the tables and review the reviewers. I found all The Blacklist season finale [2:22 Tom Connolly] reviews that showed up on the my first two Google pages and graded them for how helpful and insightful I thought they were.
Maybe even more useful, I took at look at their internet sites and graded those, too. Here, I was looking for functionality as well as for organization and interest.
Remember, as you read these: The grades next to the reviews are NOT grades given by the reviewer to the show, but rather how good the review itself was. Hopefully, the excerpts I included indicate how the reviewer felt about the show.
BuddyTv
By Lisa Cosas (contributing): ‘The Blacklist’ Season 2 Finale Recap: Liz Goes on the Run to Prove Her Innocence http://bit.ly/1IgiC1K
// 5/14/2015, “Overall, this was a satisfying season finale with just enough revealed to give us the illusion of making headway. It made sense for Red to be lying to protect Liz, to keep her innocent from the ugliness that occurred. Unfortunately, ugliness has a way of surfacing and it did when she shot Tom Connelly in cold blood. How will she recover from this? And what about a possible Liz/Ressler showdown? I was hoping for a take-down of another kind, but it looks like those Blacklist writers are going to have Donald in hot pursuit (emphasis on the word hot) of his former partner. Season three, we cannot wait!” [Review Grade: B]
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Site Grade: A: Synopses, articles, links, games, slideshows, etc http://www.buddytv.com/the-blacklist.aspx
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CarterMatt:
By Matt Carter: ‘The Blacklist’ season 3: Where should Megan Boone–James Spader series go from here? http://bit.ly/1BihH3J
// 6/13/015, “The problem with season 2 is one of focus. While it improved in the later weeks of the season, this story started off as a mess and was frankly all over the place, bouncing from one place and one character to the next.”
● “In a sense, we’d like to see the show go back to basics a little, and that involves Megan Boone and James Spader’s character working together, reluctant or otherwise, to take down some of the bad guys. Maybe you separate them further from the rest of the FBI, but the actors’ chemistry is one of the reasons why this show was so popular in the first place.”
CarterMatt: ‘The Blacklist’ season 2, episode 22 (finale) review: Liz remembers her past, Tom and Liz get romantic http://bit.ly/1IYWZbM [Review Grade: B+]
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Site Grade: B: Synopses, articles, few comments http://cartermatt.com/tag/the-blacklist/
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EntertainmentWeekly
By: Jodi Walker: Masha Rostova’ – A game-changer of a finale finds Liz going on the run http://bit.ly/1R1gujc
// 5/15/2015, “When The Blacklist’s season 2 finale started, I had no idea that I needed it to end with Elton John. But I did. Of course I did. Because this entire season, as punctuated with an exclamation point in this finale, has circled again and again around all of the ways in which Red has had to hurt Lizzie in order to protect her—and that despite his best, most invasive efforts, he very much has not been able to. By attempting to purge Lizzie of her earliest sins, and secluding her from his own, the vacuum Red created has now sucked Lizzie—family, friend, whatever she is to him—into the life that he never intended for her. He’s a Rocket Man.”
● “Lizzie and Red being forced to leave the Task Force is such a disruption to the core of this story that its effects almost haven’t hit me yet. And the reveal that Liz shot her father is affecting—and I can’t believe they actually gave us a bit of the “everything” Lizzie remembered—but it’s not exactly revealing No, we didn’t get a lot of straightforward answers in tonight’s finale. Instead, we ended with everyone in utter turmoil, sure, but also knowing their missions. Lizzie has to get away, Red has to get her there, and the Post Office crew has to hunt them down.”
● “As a character, Lizzie has always clicked less than Red because she tends to lack focus. Her life has been so out of whack since the moment we met her that she can barely see one step ahead. She admittedly does not know what she wants. Ever. But going into the next season, it doesn’t matter what she wants, because everyone has a map laid out in front of them. Everyone has a job to do—they’re rocket men.”
● “… And no matter how Red tried to protect her or keep her pure, Lizzie is still running. But at least now she has company.”
● “I’m hoping this nosedive into Take Your Daughter to Work anti-hero territory will be better suited for Lizzie than being a hero was.” [Review Grade: A-]
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Site Grade: A: Synopses, occasional nterviews, active comments http://www.ew.com/topic/blacklist
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IMDb
Links to professional reviews; used reviews [Review Grade: mixed]
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Site Grade: A: Very active message board, ratings, technical details http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2741602/
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ScreenRant
By: Kevin Yeoman: ‘The Blacklist’: Can Viewers Trust Liz’s Origin Story? http://bit.ly/1QyLgoF
// 5/17/2015, “… The episode’s co-writers, John Eisendrath and series creator Jon Bokenkamp … managed to weave quite the tapestry regarding Liz and Red’s relationship, seemingly blowing up the idea that Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington, a.k.a. “The Concierge of Crime” is actually Liz’s father. … But how much of this is to be taken at face value, and how much of it is simply another fiction within the narrative that is simply supposed to ‘look like the truth’?
● “This is a common problem with shows that routinely like to trick the audience and its characters at the same time. There is a certain advantage to this particular storytelling ploy, as it allows every situation to feel suspenseful and potentially the moment where a massive reveal could happen. The downside is that it dilutes the moments when said reveals actually do occur, simply by virtue of the audience being acclimatized to not trusting certain information when it is handed to them.”
● “This is an important juncture for the series. Messing with Harold Cooper for the better part of a season is one thing, but feeding your audience potentially false information regarding the series’ main storyline is something else entirely. At a certain point, every show has to give the audience something concrete, something the audience can believe (not just believe in), something it knows to be true.” [Review Grade: B+]
ScreenRant
By: Kevin Yeoman: The Blacklist’ Season 2 Finale Review – A War Fought On Many Fronts http://bit.ly/1MWkD7i
// 5/15/2015, “… While ‘Masha Rostova’ didn’t exactly deliver the kind of bombshell the series had been teasing (with regard to Liz and Red’s relationship), it didn’t exactly shy away from it either. ”
● “At what point is it better for a series to play into the audience’s expectations, than to swerve at the last moment in an attempt to skirt them? Those swerves may very well pay off by making The Blacklist a better show, one that is willing to switch up its formula in order to serve the larger story that has been unearthed this season. If that’s true, then these hard-to-believe choices will be easier to overlook …”
● “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, however, and that is the question of what the future will bring. As mentioned above, season 3 will likely start out as a very different animal, and for a show whose basic premise already feels a little tired, that could be very rewarding.” [Review Grade: B-]
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Site Grade: B-: Intermittent reviews http://screenrant.com/tag/the-blacklist/
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SpoilerTV
By Geo N: The Blacklist: Tom Connolly (No. 11) Season Finale Review: “The Sin Eater” http://bit.ly/1GIEasT
// 5/18/2015, “Last Thursday, The Blacklist aired its season two finale, “Tom Connolly”. I thought it an exceptional episode, which is what you want given how some other show’s finales have been this TV season. It closed out most of the questions we were concerned with and paved the way for a season three that, based on that ending, will re-ignite my love for this series.”
● “Throughout much of season two of The Blacklist (mostly after the “Berlin-centric” episodes) we were shown how much Liz has been a beacon of light to Red; a ray of light to guide him out of the darkness. If you noticed in that scene, where Liz was escaping the “Post Office”, Liz was in the dark and there was, literally, a ‘red’ light guiding her way to safety. He is as much her ‘ray of light’ as she is his.”
● “After a season of Liz fluctuating and wavering back-and-forth between loving and hating Red it appears she has finally accepted his role in her life, whatever that may be. It doesn’t matter if Red is Liz’s father or not – like the ‘Rocket Man’, Red is ‘not the man that we think he is at all’. What matters to Liz now, is the harmonious relationship they share; Red is her ‘Sin Eater’ and occasional guide through life and Liz is his ray of light and beacon of hope in a tumultuous world.”
● “I love the parallels that were drawn between Red and Liz’s life this season. This is made even more apparent as Liz’s photo is added right next to Red’s on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. Their relationship is truly a harmonious one and they are closer to each other than they (and we) think.” [Review grade: B+]
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Site Grade: B-: Reviews/Synopses mixed w other shows; active comments http://www.spoilertv.com/search/label/The%20Blacklist
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Tell-Tale TV
By Jennifer Stasak: The Blacklist Season Finale Review: Masha Rostova (Season 2 Episode 22) http://bit.ly/1KTK9Lu
// 5/15/2015, “Well hallelujah, amen! We finally have answers as to who Elizabeth Keen really is, why her memories were blocked by Red, and what – exactly – happened the night of the fire that she has been struggling to remember ever since.
● “This season’s finale of The Blacklist is pretty subdued. This is a series that has been known to blow up buildings, set things on fire, and wreak bloody havoc on its characters in its episodes. But “Masha Rostova” is relatively tame in comparison to episodes like “Anslo Garrick,” for example. It is a culmination of the questions that have been building all season. They’ve been questions of identity and of secrecy, of lies and truth. And it’s wonderful.
● “It is poignant, to me, that the weapon of choice for Raymond Reddington is not a gun. It is not an explosive. It is not a material weapon at all. The weapon against the Cabal? The truth. Words.” //➔ Remember Berlin mocking Red: “Words. Words. Words”? – LizzieB90
● “So Ressler makes his choice and when the cameras turn back on, he lies and says that he just missed catching Liz. … I think that the Ressler/Liz dynamic is so interesting and so great. Here’s a man who gives pretty much everything in his life to his job and yet still chose to protect his partner, even though he knew that if anyone found out, it could cost him everything. He believes in Liz. He believes that she is stronger than she knows.”
● “… I loved Liz’s darker path this season because I recognized she was becoming more and more like Raymond Reddington. Now, she’s embodied all of those similarities, down to her name being next to his on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.” [Review grade: B]
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Site Grade: B-: User-created content http://telltaletv.com/category/the-blacklist/
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TV[.]com
By: Cory Barker: TheBlacklist Season 2 Finale Review: America’s Most Wanted http://bit.ly/1QDS7Yx
// 5/15/2015, perceptive review; “… The last stretch of episodes of Season 2 have felt purposeful, promising, and specifically structured to offer some real answers. And wouldn’t you know it, ‘Masha Rostova’ actually delivered on that promise. While this season finale wasn’t an exceptional episode by any regard, it was definitely one that The Blacklist needed.”
● “If you’ve followed my irregular coverage of the show you know that I’ve been critical of how willing The Blacklist has been to let Lizzie (Megan Boone) be manipulated and jerked around by the cunning men in her life—and sometimes by the men she doesn’t even really know are ‘in’ her life—but the back half of Season 2 made nice strides in illustrating that this was a woman who despite all the trauma, all the secrets, all the lies, was still willing to push ahead to find pieces of the truth.”
● “The late-season reveal that Lizzie’s mother was a KGB operative was a solid enough wrinkle to the ongoing questions about her family history, and the finale uncovered another substantial piece of that family history in spectacularly melodramatic fashion. Yes friends, anytime a fictional character SUDDENLY remembers a traumatic event that they’ve long suppressed by murdering someone is a good time in my book.”
● “… It was kind of great to see Lizzie decide, ‘You know what? Nah,’ and pop Connolly in the chest. It was brutal and will certainly have long-lasting consequences for a character who has already been put through the emotional ringer, but it was a big move for the character.
● “The few moments between Cooper and Lizzie here, particularly the one early on in the car, was so well acted by both Lennix and Boone that Lizzie’s ultimate decision to kill Connolly and get Cooper fired (presumably) was that much more moving. …
● “… This is still clearly Spader’s show (and if you need evidence of that look no further than the last four minutes of the episode), but there was real value in nudging Red to a slightly more supporting role in Lizzie’s quest to find answers and then clear her name. Of course, this is The Blacklist and we now don’t have any idea as to why Red would have gone so far out of his way to protect this particular truth from Lizzie for so long, but at least there’s a built-in ‘I wanted to protect you’ rationale.”
● “Now Lizzie and Red are on the run, a pair of the FBI’s Most Wanted taking a journey to the unknown. Hopefully this season’s traumas were what Lizzie needed to continuously take a more active role in the increasingly insane world around her, and considering that Ressler and the American Intelligence Apparatus and this dumb Cabal* are all coming for them, she’ll need to be.”
● “[F]rom the post-Super Bowl episode [2:9] onward**, there was more to like than not. Until Season 3!” [Review Grade: A-]
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*The Cabal is dumbly named, but I love the Cold War backdrop and how it provides the context for major political, social and ideological issues we currently face. See: TNR, Mark Lilla: The Truth About Our Libertarian Age – Why the dogma of democracy doesn’t always make the world better http://bit.ly/1sXX2gn – LizzieB90
** I’d say, starting with [2:8 The Decembrist], so Episodes 8-22. – LizzieB90
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Site Grade: A Reviews and links http://www.tv.com/shows/the-blacklist/ updated 6/23
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TVAfterDark
By: Christopher Bourque: The Blacklist Season 2 Finale Review: 2×22 “Tom Connolly”
// 5/18/2015, “Superb, emotional performances by Megan Boone and James Spader. Gutsy and powerful moments for Harry J. Lennix and enlightening twists that answer some questions and serve to deepen the mystery surrounding Liz’s past.
● “Reed Birney has been a joy to despise all season. Slowly integrating his sleazy approach to charm and manipulation into the serialized arc for Red, Liz and Harold instantly made him a fun character to hate.
● “Harry J. Lennix delivered his most endearing and emotional performance of the season as he and Liz discussed his illness. We were moved by Lennix and his vulnerability.
● “As she shared her revelation with Red, Spader was masterful. Red was clearly emotional during her confession.
● “By the time the hour was done, we genuinely did feel very much like Liz. Where was Red’s shoulder for us? We needed it.
● “The Blacklist managed to ramp up to the excellence we’ve come to expect in the last few weeks and the finale was certainly a worthy ending. We have no idea how all these pieces will get sorted, but you can bet we’ll be watching to find out when The Blacklist returns next fall!” [Review Grade: A]
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Site Grade: A: Reviews, Promo Photos & Synopses: http://tvafterdark.com/category/tv/nbc/the-blacklist/
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TVFanatic
By: Sean McKenna: The Blacklist Season 2 Report Card: Grade It! http://bit.ly/1R0LYWy
// 6/2/2015, nice look at entire season, picking out high & points in a fair & considered way, eg:
● “Best episode: There were actually a few episodes that could have taken this one, but I’ll give it to The Blacklist Season 2 Episode 18. We got a blacklister, Vanessa Cruz, who managed to escape from the Liz and the FBI, and yet, Red clearly has something in store for her in the future. Tom really was trying to prove himself to Liz on his journey for forgiveness, even revealing to her the big secret that Red hired him to watch Liz. We also got Liz emotionally confronting Red, even willing to give up the sacred fulcrum, right before the shocking moment of Red getting shot.
● “This was a well-crafted episode on all fronts that left you wanting to know more. And it really set the pace for those final episodes of the season.” [Review Grade: A+]
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Site Grade: A: Reviews of every episode, articles, interviews, links, photos, quotes: http://www.tvfanatic.com/shows/the-blacklist/
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TVLine
By: Rebecca Ianucci: The Blacklist Recap: 7 Biggest Moments From the Season Finale http://bit.ly/1FWQEYj
// 5/14/2015, more a recap than a review (w 7 ‘take-always’), but I liked this: “I’d like to suggest the alternate title Elizabeth Keen and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Life. (The hashtag might need some work, but I’m willing to rally around the #EKATTHNGVBL cause if you guys are.)” [B]
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Site Grade: C: Intermittent reviews, ratings oriented: http://tvline.com/tag/the-blacklist/
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TVOvermind
By: Nick Hogan: The Blacklist Season 2 Episode 22 Review: “Tom Connolly (No. 11)” http://bit.ly/1HLcmmF
// 5/15/2015, “What an exciting thrill ride the second season of NBC’s The Blacklist has been. It’s been such a fun show to write about, and the finale ended with quite a bang. This episode was a culmination of multiple seasons of plot, intrigue, and non-stop action, and was arguably The Blacklist’s best hour yet. It was certainly a game-changer.”
● “Wow. Any expectations I had for the final episode of this season were absolutely blown out of the water by this episode. It was action-packed, revealed lots of plot, and managed to do all of that while keeping a tight reign on my attention, never wavering. I cannot praise the direction of the show or its characters enough. I was surprised, but since I’m pretty good at predictions, I love it when a show keeps me on my toes. I don’t think there’s anything they could’ve done to get me more interested in Season 3.”
● “Megan Boone has been wonderful all season, and I’ve not been shy about saying so. She was never bad, but at the beginning, the show was about James Spader and no one else. … As details come out about Agent (well, I guess not any more) Keen’s past, the more that Boone embodies those traits in her nuanced but powerful portrayal. Many people believed (and some still do) that Reddington is Liz’s father, but from what the show has shown me so far, the past for the two of them is a much more complicated matter. Either way, I’m excited to find out.”
● “Of course, you really can’t talk about a finale without touching the main character, and James Spader is always deserving of the praise that everyone (myself included) gives him. He has a certain level of gravitas that is untouched by those around him, and his performances are always so powerful. …”
● “This episode has to be in the five best The Blacklist has ever done. It has everything you could want, and perfectly set up a game-changed new season.” [Review Grade: A]
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Site Grade: C: None, each review listed separately
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Variety
By Brian Lowry: ‘Scandal,’ ‘The Blacklist’ Season Finales Go In Opposite Directions http://bit.ly/1A68NpJ
// 5/15/2015, “Yet while the NBC drama actually shifted course in an unexpected and invigorating way, the centerpiece of ABC’s “TGIT” lineup flung around absurd plot twists so promiscuously even die-hard fans will likely need the summer to recover.”
● “When NBC Entertainment chief Bob Greenblatt described “The Blacklist” finale as a “game-changer” during this week’s upfront presentation, the temptation was to roll your eyes. After all, the show had kicked the can down the road regarding FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen’s background so many times as to merit skepticism.
● “The episode, however … more than delivered on that promise, not just transforming Keen (Megan Boone) into a fugitive after she killed a member of the Cabal, but finally exposing what happened to her father when she was a child, and why Raymond Reddington (James Spader) had gone to such great lengths to conceal it from her.”
● “The finish set up all kinds of possibilities for season three, with Keen on the FBI’s “most wanted” list, former colleagues charged with tracking her down, and her on-and-off again bond with Reddington seemingly solidified, at least for now. Even his description of himself as a ‘sin eater,’ an archaic term, felt especially elegant and appropriate under the circumstances.” [Review Grade: A-]
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Site Grade: B: Reviews, articles, ratings: http://variety.com/t/the-blacklist/
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WSJSpeakeasy
WSJ, Blacklist Blog, By Jason Evans: Synopses http://on.wsj.com/1sMrXMo [B]
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Site Grade: C-: Although JE’s synopses are very good, the blog itself is ill-managed and inbred and given to exotic theories.
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Wegotthiscovered
By: Adam A. Donaldson: The Blacklist Season Finale Review: “Masha Rostova” (Season 2, Episode 22) http://bit.ly/1ehQVhR
// 5/15/2015, “From the criminal and cop dichotomy, to the are they or aren’t they father/daughter relationship, it always seemed like they were made for each other, like peanut butter and jam. And now, at the end of the second season of The Blacklist, it turns out that they truly are peas in a pod. The finale firmly answered the question of Red’s potential paternity to Liz, and it set up a fascinating new dynamic for next season that will likely see Liz becoming more like Red in a way she never thought she would.”
● “There was something delightfully fatalistic about the moment when Liz shot Connolly. First it was like she came full circle, since the show sometimes likes to dangle the possibility that there’s more criminality to Liz then she’d like to admit. At the same time, it’s going to be harder for the writers to walk back Liz shooting the Attorney General dead than it would have been to just explain away that she was framed for the murder of a senator. It’ll be really hard to re-establish the status quo now, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the writers will try.” [Review Grade: B]
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Site Grade: C: Synopses/Reviews, each listed separately, no individual link
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