Welcome back, fellow fans of The Blacklist. In the premiere episode, the game has fundamentally been changed. Keen and Reddington are on the run. Ressler is now leading the task force. Cooper is in perfect health. Nothing is the same as it was before. But there is still plenty of action, thrills, and mile a minute stimulation to keep fans of the show engaged. I have to admit, I’m pretty impressed.
This week on The Blacklist: Immediately following the assassination of Tom Connolly, Red and Liz flee. They must outwit Ressler and the rest of the task force to get out of the city undetected. Ressler and the remaining members of the task force try to outwit the two fugitives. Ressler remains convinced that Harold was complicit in Elizabeth’s escape. Dembe is drawn out by the kidnapping of his granddaughter.
Just from the brief synopsis above, you can tell that this week’s episode was high-stakes. I personally wondered if things wouldn’t be resolved within a couple of episodes, and bring the show’s status quo back for the second half of the season at the latest. Now that I’ve seen the episode, I’ve changed my tune. This is something that could easily alter the DNA of the show for the long term. Although I still predict that eventually, Liz’s name will be cleared and she will return to the task force. In the meantime, however, this is going to be a fun ride.
The fundamental change to the show is a good one for several reasons. First, we don’t have to think of excuses to keep Harold Cooper alive. Second, Ressler becomes the leader, giving Diego Klattenhoff more to do. I felt both Klattenhoff and Harry Lennix had much less to do last season. As much as the show focuses on Keen and Reddington, they have a strong ensemble that they should definitely be leaning on more.
Which brings me to my third point: Dembe! I’m not sure what’s going on with his family, or how he could possibly be old enough to have a grandchild, but everything happening with him adds another layer to an already compelling series. Hisham Tawfiq, now a series regular, will hopefully have plenty more meat to his stories, and I’m very much looking forward to it. I was almost more invested in his story than the others, honestly. One of my favorite parts of the premiere was to become reacquainted with Dembe, and I found his story very compelling.
This show definitely needed this “jump start,” or “reboot,” or whatever you’d like to call it. I didn’t think the show was ever bad, but I could see how a third straight season of the same would get old. Luckily, the show seems to have jumped out ahead of any creative slump. The main point of “The Troll Farmer” was to set up all of these new plots and a new world for the characters, but also to maintain the show’s core.
Perhaps the strongest element of “The Troll Farmer” was how leads James Spader and Megan Boone handled the differences. While different, the other characters were still operating within similar circumstances, but Spader and Boone had the most changes to deal with. Aside from Agent Keen’s new blonde look, these characters being on the run (from Ressler, no less) created a special element. I appreciated the several twists the plot took, also, in that Keen was both unable to escape the city and is now at the Russian embassy.
“The Troll Farmer” set up The Blacklist for what could be its most thrilling season yet. The game has changed but the stakes are as high as ever. I’m definitely still invested in this show, and I can’t wait to see where they go from here.
What did you guys think? Did you enjoy the premiere? Let us know what you thought!
The Blacklist airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
Photo by: David Giesbrecht/NBC
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