‘The Blacklist’ season 2 premiere review: ‘Who is Naomi Hyland?’ and more revealed

Tonight, “The Blacklist” returned to NBC with a premiere entitled “Lord Baltimore,” and ultimately what we had here was a reminder that this may be the best procedural on TV right now. The show is raw, gritty, and above all exciting.

Following a great cold-open and a reintroduction to some of the characters, we also had one of the biggest stunners to date: Raymond Reddington has a wife! Her name is Naomi Hyland (played by Mary-Louise Parker), and she had tried to move on. She hadn’t even seen Red supposedly in 20 years when Berlin and company caught her as a result of Lord Baltimore, the Blacklister of the week.

We do feel like the introduction to the Naomi character may be further evidence that Liz is not Red’s daughter, given that she did not seem to recognize him. Yes, there still are holes in the timeline where it could be possible, but still.

In going back to Lord Baltimore, this story was interesting since we figured that something big was coming for Krysten Ritter the moment that she was cast on the show. She wouldn’t have appeared otherwise! She had an almost-perfect cover of a woman with dissociative identity disorder, and music caused her to shift personalities from the deadly, dangerous twin to the one who was kind, perfect, and lived a seemingly ordinary life. This is all why it took her so much time to eventually be caught.

On the personal front, Liz finally got an annulment, but decided to keep the “Keen” name since it was never really his to begin with.

Then, we have the closing event of the night: Reddington receiving a “gift” in the mail, but not the kind he would want. Berlin means business, and this is the disgusting proof of it.

“The Blacklist” is an excellent show, and “Lord Baltimore” proved that time and time again. There are still supporting characters that need work, but it gives most of its familiar faces so much depth, you would think the show is much older than it is. Grade: A-.

What did you think about tonight’s premiere episode of “The Blacklist”? Let us know in the comments.

Photo: NBC