Should ‘The Blacklist’ season 4 kill off Alexander Kirk?
“The Blacklist” may not be your typical procedural, but it does have a structure that is very much its own. For the past few years, the fall has told its own separate story. For much of season 2, it was Berlin. Meanwhile, for season 3 it was Liz and Red on the run. Now, we’ve dived into the tale of Alexander Kirk and all of his craziness, and for the most part we’ll say that we’ve enjoyed just about every second of it. He’s a fascinating villain, one with deep personal connections to Liz. Also, he’s been able to aggrandize those in her mind to the point where her perception is badly distorted. Down is up, up is down, and trust is out the window.
Come Thursday, we’re kicking off the first of two episodes entitled “Dr. Adrian Shaw,” which should propel us into what is firmly the home stretch of this season. With that, we want to pose a case for the show doing something different; namely, we want them keeping Kirk alive.
On paper, that doesn’t look like it’s happening — he’s got a severe medical condition that is only worsening, he’s dangerous, and to quote a very notable person these days, most of what he’s shown so far suggests that he’s a real bad hombre. Yet, things are more complicated with him there. He adds another layer of depth, and that’s a pretty wonderful thing to have. (Plus, isn’t it nice to break the tradition of killing people off? Maybe have Mr. Kaplan team with him — do something crazy, and bring him back down the road!)
Also, there’s something to be said for keeping characters alive as embracing a greater narrative challenge. On TV, it’s so easy to eliminate a recurring character. They’re not contractually obligated to keep appearing, they don’t have the huge following, and it enables you to move on to the next thing. This is what makes a great show like “The Good Wife” even greater. They had for the entirety of their run an excellent cast of characters they were able to keep bringing back whenever it made sense for the story. Kirk does have expertise, and there are reasons for Liz to visit him in jail. Also, to carry along the “Good Wife” analogy further, it makes it when characters actually die all the more impactful. Just look at Will Gardner.
Are there reasons to get rid of Kirk? Sure. Maybe you hate him, maybe you want to move on, or maybe he starts to really pour his heart out to Liz right before he goes. We just think there is reason to pontificate on the future. Rest assured, we want to hear from you on this in the comments below.
(Photo: NBC.)