‘The Blacklist’ season 1, episode 14 review: James Spader shines as Red’s past revealed

“The Blacklist” returned after a pretty decent hiatus on Monday night, and it luckily did so with an episode that there was really quite a bit to enjoy. There was again plenty of action, but perhaps more importantly, there was an opportunity to see more of Reddington’s past … if you want to believe that any of it was really his past at all.

The target this time was Madeline Pratt, who had quite a history in him, and he was also able to outsmart her through what was quite a tricky little game of cat-and-mouse. There were some particularly amazing moments in here, as Reddington put on a new character in order to keep Liz from being held hostage, later, he gave a “heartbreaking” speech about his past.

On the Liz front, the story was really more of the same as she worried about whether or not her husband Tom was going to finally leave her after she continued to bail on his various plans. This included a weekend getaway to Orlando, which he eventually decided that he was going to go to alone … and possibly meet up with a certain woman that he has been spotted with a couple of times already. You know that this can’t be good.

While it still seems like there is something brewing with Liz and Ressler, it’s still early … and judging from the end of the episode, the FBI is going to be knee-deep in more drama after an attempt to investigate Diane Fowler was stonewalled. Clearly, Reddington is once again right … and underestimated. This was not the best episode of the season, but there was enough going on to keep us excited about what lies ahead. Grade: B.

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Photo: NBC