Round Two: The Blacklist

The Blacklist: Season 1, Episode 2 “The Freelancer” (C-)

I wasn’t so taken with the first episode of this show, but I thought it would be worthwhile to give it a second shot since its premise, while the over-the-top, was appealing. The problems in the pilot are only multiplied here, as Reddington continues to manipulate all events to his every desire, inexplicably given countless opportunities to gain the upper hand in every situation and outsmart his police protection. The FBI agents on this show truly do have similar brainpower to those on “The Following,” never thinking of anything the criminals might do to outwit them, and as a result, losing many lives and helping to get others killed in the process. Isabella Rossellini was a big-name guest star so early in this show’s run, but her part was a rather momentous one, a sex trafficker who posed as the number one enemy of sex trafficking. The fact that Reddington pretty much got away with poisoning her and everyone accepted it because she was evil is ludicrous, and I can tell that the framework for this show is going to be constantly predictable and enormously repetitive. Elizabeth continues to exhibit few interesting qualities, and the same is true of her husband, who is very obviously hiding many things, despite Elizabeth’s efforts to convince herself that Reddington made it all up. I don’t see this show being the least bit believable, and Spader just coasts through it with an incredible ease that makes watching his performance less appealing since it clearly doesn’t take much effort for him to portray Reddington.