The Blacklist Season 3 Episode 9 Review: “The Director (No. 24)”

It’s no secret that I was extremely impressed with the first 8 episodes of The Blacklist‘s third season. It was some of the most thrilling work they’ve done on the show yet. Every episode was pulse-pounding excitement, and the departure from the status quo into a much more serialized story, while still maintaining the elements that made it unique. I’m happy to report that after the hiatus, The Blacklist has returned with what may have been its best episode of the season.

This week on The Blacklist: After Elizabeth is apprehended, Aram has to protect her from The Director so she can’t be “moved”. Ressler lets some important information slip, so he teams up with Tom and Harold to protect Karakurt. Samar assists Reddington in a deal he’s trying to make with Venezuela.

Honestly, I was blown away by this episode. It was one of my favorite, and probably one of the best episodes of The Blacklist to date. What’s crazy about my saying that is usually, I would argue that the more Reddington, the better the episode. Though the rest of the cast is great, James Spader occasionally carries the show on his back. However, this episode had minimal Spader, and was still one of the best episodes they’ve done. The ensemble of the show stepped it up in this episode, and it really paid off.

Season 3 has done well to shift some of the character pairings and offer a fresh perspective. This week’s unusual character grouping consisted of Ressler, Tom, Harold Cooper and Karakurt. Talk about a band of misfits, am I right? It was really incredible to watch as each of those men put aside their differences to help Elizabeth. I really love standoff scenes, and the creative team gave us a really good one with these characters. “The Director” was driven by the action scenes, but each one was meaty and meaningful.

“The Director” as a whole had a very high intensity to it, but raising that a level was Amir Arison’s Aram (say that 10 times fast). All the characters were affected and played a role in keeping Elizabeth safe, but Aram was a special case as he spent the bulk of the episode at ground zero, when he usually keeps a safe distance. Aram’s journey in “The Director” was filled with conflict as he saved Elizabeth’s life, and emotion as he stood up to the Director himself. Each actor on this show brings something special to their character, and this may have been Arison’s best work yet. I was so compelled by him.

If I have one criticism, it would be that this show needs more Dembe. I’m only half kidding, but this season has been really great about getting people off the bench and into the game. Who cared about anyone besides Reddington, Elizabeth and Tom before this season? Now each character has substance and a real role in the show. The entire season has been wonderful so far, but “The Director” was simply a mid-season reminder of that. It was a pulse-pounding episode that kept me engaged and made me desperate to watch the next episode.

What did you guys think? Did you enjoy the mid-season premiere? Let us know in the comments!

The Blacklist airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC