S07.E04: Kuwait

[TigerLynx]

I have finally figured it out.  Harold is the real Katerina Restova.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[edhopper]

Well, the solved the whole Cooper and Red were in Iraq together. Red was just Harrison Ford in Apokalypse Now.

Cooper was an idiot for not seeing that Dan had turned.

Liz is still an idiot in general.

Edited October 26, 2019 by edhopper

[mxc90]

Why did Red propose he should go to Iran if he wasn't going to accompany Cooper due to being a "wanted individual" over there?  He was just planning to go there to kiss Farhad "two" times on the right cheek and "one" on the left, smoke from a Hookah and let Cooper do all the dirty work. Cooper and Dembe could have taken the trip and he stayed in the US.

Koslov to Cooper: "I know because ......I know!"  Thanks for explaining how you know all of the real Red's memories.

So the CIA doesn't want anything to do with Hutton but how do they allow a high level FBI official travel with locals/no US back up?

Did Katarina need to go through all the subterfuge to get Denora to quit? Just tell her Elizabeth treats the help like $hit and her breath stinks. And if all she wanted to do was gain access to the items in Liz's drawer, she just could have broken in while Liz is at work.

What is Ressler's role on the show? Just be Red's delivery boy to the hacker.

Hutton held out for years before he broke to give Iran information? During that time the US Navy upgraded their intelligence and Hutton still broke it. Way to go US Navy! 

Cooper knows the Simoon is responsible for the deaths of countless US citizens and bombings, then finds out Hutton is him and Cooper was still willing to save his murderous ass? Should have left him lying there unable to move.

I wonder if Red would have killed Cooper on the spot if he confessed to telling Panabaker his true identity.

Did Katarina need to toss the phone to her henchman (as he almost dropped it)? Two seconds later she walked over to him. Could have passed it then.

Are we sure Hutton is dead.

Edited October 26, 2019 by mxc90

[Dowel Jones]

So, Last Ship Tex decided that the other side paid better. 

Is Kuwait is a blacklister without a number?  What about the axis of evil?  And Ukraine better make the cut now.

I got a kick out of RealRed interrogating Cooper back at the base.  And I loved his handwave about evading sanctions on Iran.  It ranks right up there with "If I paid taxes, I'd be outraged."

As stated, Rostov seemed to know Reddington's memories.  In addition, it was implied that he knew that Hutton has been alive all these years and would be a danger to him, as well as Cooper,  if he made it back to the US.

I'm still hoping against all odds that Liz is playing the long con against Katarina.  Or at least Red is, through Liz.  But I'm not betting the lunch money on it.  When Katarina finds that guy, Ilya(?), let him know I have some questions too.  It would have been funny if the henchman had look at the photo gallery and said "What's with the dogs?"

1 hour ago, mxc90 said:

And if all she wanted to do was gain access to the items in Liz's drawer, she just could have broken in while Liz is at work.

Duh.  She already made a key copy.  Maybe she hasn't been watching the show and she thinks that Liz actually has the brains to set up a security system.

Was that hacker wearing a fat suit, or did the casting director just go over the top with the nerd stereotype?  Of course that drone didn't show up on anyone's radar.

Edited October 26, 2019 by Dowel Jones

[dwmarch]

2 hours ago, mxc90 said:

What is Ressler's role on the show? Just be Red's delivery boy to the hacker.

Hutton held out for years before he broke to give Iran information? During that time the US Navy upgraded their intelligence and Hutton still broke it. Way to go US Navy! 

Cooper knows the Simoon is responsible for the deaths of countless US citizens and bombings, then finds out Hutton is him and Cooper was still willing to save his murderous ass? Should have left him lying there unable to move.

Did Katarina need to toss the phone to her henchman (as he almost dropped it)? Two seconds later she walked over to him. Could have passed it then.

Are we sure Hutton is dead.

Ressler's role is similar to Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He's supposed to be the tough guy of the team but he mostly ends up getting punked by the bad guys to show how badass they are.

As for Hutton's intel, how much of it would be good after so many years? Any specific access codes he had would have been changed the day he was captured. And judging by his age he was a foot soldier not a boss so he only would have known what he needed to know for his particular mission. To use a contemporary example, Edward Snowden didn't know everything he leaked; he figured out how to vacuum up a bunch of information and export it because of weak administrative controls on the NSA's part. But this show never established Hutton as being a hacker with mad skillz so where did he get this intel that was so valuable as to let him set himself up as a terrorist (complete with disposable lackeys!) after he had run out of intel value?

Agreed on Cooper's tactical fail. Sure, pull the Star Trek ceiling rock off of Hutton's legs but secure that friggin' weapon first! Jesus Cooper, you're going to get sent back to Quantico alongside Ressler if you keep this up.

Count me in among those who wonder about villains who are so over-resourced that they can play catch with a $1000 phone.

I am pretty sure Hutton is dead although I would be amused if we found out that he had been dead the whole time and Red set this up through The Illusionist. It would be a very Red thing to do.

I got a good laugh out of Red's guy in Iran. "I left my faith on the plane... let's go back and get it!"

The drone strike explosion reflected in Red's glasses was a cool effect. This show tends to lack style.

I also appreciate that the show remembered that if cooking skills are crap, Lizzie can't even break wind. OMFG, that's what happened to the dogs! Someone asked Lizzie to make hot dogs at some point in time and she still managed to burn the water!

[Brian Cronin]

I, too, am holding out hope that Liz is somehow leading Katerina on, as otherwise, holy shit, how can anyone be as stupid as Liz appears to be? ESPECIALLY with her very particular history.

Not only that, but:

Red: "It is safe to bring Agnes home now."

Red promptly gets kidnapped

Liz: "Oh well, I guess it's still safe, right?"

Liz is such a trainwreck. 

[preeya]

13 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

So, Last Ship Tex decided that the other side paid better. 

Thanks for this.  I couldn't place where I knew him from.

[preeya]

13 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Hutton held out for years before he broke to give Iran information? During that time the US Navy upgraded their intelligence and Hutton still broke it. Way to go US Navy! 

Perhaps he learned it while on the USS Nathan James (Last Ship).  (Thanks, again @Dowel Jones)

[Loandbehold]

17 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

So, Last Ship Tex decided that the other side paid better.

He's been in everything, but I first saw him in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. A peek at his imdb page is like a trip down genre TV memory lane.

[ottoDbusdriver]

So. no Blacklister number this week, but the entire country of Kuwait.  They should have just gone with 'The Simoon' as the Blacklister o' the week.

Cooper's backstory.  Sigh. I suppose with Cooper's name drop that he served with Reddington that they had to come with some bullshit retcon.
Wow, big surprise the 'escapee' is actually the warlord out for revenge on Cooper, that's really original.  </sarcasm>

Lizzie is so dumb.  And her security detail is the worst.

How many times are they going to replay that Kuwait ambush scene ?  Christ, is this episode so weak it needs that much filler to pad the run time ?

Lizzie's nanny issues are just ..... so .... boring. And could Lizzie get a nany-cam or some Nest cameras to keep tabs on the woman from next door that SHE BARELY KNOWS.

And does Lizzie really keep files on Ilya Koslov in a effing desk drawer ?  Not in an lock box or a safe ?  FFS !!

This whole season is just ..... meandering so far.   And dull as dishwater.  This is all the writer's could come up with ??

ETA: Still no sign of the dogs or Robert Vesco's cat

Edited October 28, 2019 by ottoDbusdriver

[Dowel Jones]

I wonder if Reddington would consider a time share on that Predator drone of his?  I have some ideas.

[ottoDbusdriver]

14 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Deleted quote -- not sure why this happened.

This post needs to be removed.

Edited October 27, 2019 by ottoDbusdriver

[Johnny Dollar]

I use cc to watch this show so when I “read” that the big bad was called The Simoon I read it as The Spitoon, which I find to be a much better name. 

I waver between Lizzie being on to KR and Lizzie just being dumb as a stump, and StumpLizzie seems to be winning. 

How could The Spitoon still know the location of the Super Secret CIA House if he was captured thirty years ago?

Very impressive plot armor that Harold was wearing when he managed to not be crushed when large pieces of concrete were falling around his cage after the Big Gulp Product Placement Drone Strike. 

[Dowel Jones]

2 hours ago, Johnny Dollar said:

How could The Spitoon still know the location of the Super Secret CIA House if he was captured thirty years ago?

It was the only place in town with a Netflix account.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

If the Navy wanted to get rid of Hutton because he knew about the payments,  why have him captured alive by forces who would extract far more crucial Intel?  Was that not forseeable? Wouldn't it have been simpler to just have Hutton and Cooper killed?

Someone please remind me of the circumstances and episode in which Red gave Cooper the thumb drive  containing the info about Kuwait. 

Is Cooper going to follow up with the truth about Hutton's further adventures,  or will he withhold that information to keep Hutton's memory unblemished?

Who will take Cooper's abandoned Navy Cross and use it to impersonate a Navy hero for illicit purposes?

[preeya]

2 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Who will take Cooper's abandoned Navy Cross and use it to impersonate a Navy hero for illicit purposes?

Yeah, that was quite the dumb move leaving it atop the headstone. He could have buried beneath, or sent it anonymously to someone in his family.

Edited October 27, 2019 by preeya

[paigow]

On 10/27/2019 at 9:08 AM, Johnny Dollar said:

How could The Spitoon still know the location of the Super Secret CIA House if he was captured thirty years ago?

Prime office space with easy access to highways and good restaurants is hard to find....

Edited October 28, 2019 by paigow

[paigow]

On 10/26/2019 at 10:54 PM, ottoDbusdriver said:

And does Lizzie really keep files on Ilya Koslov in a effing desk drawer ?  Not in an lock box or a safe ?  FFS !!

These two superspies have no idea who Koslov is/was? How much do they actually know about Reddington? Was there only one swap? 

[paigow]

On 10/25/2019 at 11:03 PM, mxc90 said:

Are we sure Hutton is dead.

Yes. This version of Red never misses a kill shot. If Cooper was shooting, Hutton would likely survive. During the Kuwait shootout, Cooper fired off several rounds but did not hit anyone. He must have trained Ressler.....

[ItCouldBeWorse]

23 hours ago, paigow said:

These two superspies have no idea who Koslov is/was? How much do they actually know about Reddington? Was there only one swap? 

Which is why if Koslov became Red, this Katarina is not the Katarina from Koslov's youth. And therefore not Masha's mother or Agnes' grandmother. 

I would have hoped that once Agnes came home, either Red or Scottie would have people keeping an eye on Lizzie's apartment,  but I guess not. It feels like Scottie gave Agnes up too easily, and with no concerns about her safety, which is pretty strange after her experience losing Tom when he was young.

[andipandi]

4 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

 It feels like Scottie gave Agnes up too easily, and with no concerns about her safety, which is pretty strange after her experience losing Tom when he was young.

Could be kind of cool to have Scottie and NotKatarina duke it out, after Scottie rescues Agnes when NotKatarina kidnaps her in 2 episodes. #TeamScottie.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

1 hour ago, andipandi said:

Could be kind of cool to have Scottie and NotKatarina duke it out, after Scottie rescues Agnes when NotKatarina kidnaps her in 2 episodes. #TeamScottie.

I would love to see that.

Showrunners, get on that and bring back Famke Janssen for one episode!

Edited October 29, 2019 by ItCouldBeWorse