The Blacklist season 5 episode 11 review: The 100th episode and the glass-eye mystery
For now though, let’s celebrate one of the greatest turns in a Blacklist episode today — Liz Keen completely hoodwinking Raymond Reddington in order to get what she wanted: To ensure that she could wipe the universe of Robert Navarro. Liz killed him after she failed at getting information out of him regarding Tom’s killer, and following that, she used Reddington in order to ensure that she could sneak in and get a bloody rag out of evidence that could implicate her. In the process, she also used some information regarding the Stewmaker (remember him back from early on in the series’ run?) in order to properly ensure that his body was done away with. This sort of stuff, for whatever reason, also tends to remind us of Breaking Bad.
Liz didn’t necessarily get everything that she wanted out of Navarro, but she did get something interesting: A glass eye with some embedded technology. This is her clue to getting to the next phase of the operation, which she wants to involve Reddington in. Luckily, he’s not opposed to helping her despite her having an ulterior motive to helping him with his own mission: Getting back his rare Lincoln penny (one that wasn’t always in his possession to begin with), which he traded for Winston Churchill’s hat at the end of the episode.
Meet Abraham Stern
Nathan Lane played the Blacklister of the week, a really interesting character who doubled as a bank employee and a thief of the highest order. He started the episode off stealing the penny, which led to him coming up with a way for both the FBI to try and stop him while he also figured out a way to get the penny back. It’s not always easy for Reddington to convince the Task Force to help him, and it certainly wasn’t easy here either … though they did ultimately get what they wanted courtesy of getting Stern in their possession.
The most enjoyable sequence of the episode was the one in which Reddington managed to trap Stern using a few tricks and money flying in all directions. This entire sequence, complete with music, was incredibly put together and so very entertaining. It actually felt more like a heist movie than The Blacklist. Transposing some of this story, which was largely lighthearted and fun, alongside what we got from Liz Keen trying to dispose of Navarro’s body, made for an interesting dichotomy. If you think back to the pilot, it was Liz who had more of the lighthearted moments courtesy of her personal life while Reddington was the dark leader of the criminal world. Liz is clearly becoming more like her purported father, coupled with Blacklisters she has met along the way.
CarterMatt’s final verdict
The Blacklist 100th episode was a hoot, whether it be via the returning of some recurring characters like DMV man Glen or some of the references to the earlier cases on the show. This was fun, dark when it needed to be, and also nostalgic at other times. We couldn’t ask for anything more from this episode, especially since the whole glass-eye mystery sets the stage for events to come.
What did you think about The Blacklist season 5, episode 11? Leave us your thoughts in the comment box below.
(Photo: NBC)