S05.E07: Awl In

[thewhiteowl]

In an effort to stop Madeline from shipping two planes full of ZIP to the US, the team splits up into a high-stakes undercover mission and intercepts Madeline's son. Meanwhile, Madeline interrogates an old ally to get information on Kurt and the team.

[mxc90]

Even in Jane's dream.. Weller looks like shit. She has low standards for her man and surrendered to this scruffy look.

Weller making guarantees again: telling Jane everyone will be safe from Madeline (as if he is in the know with the writers). At least he didn't promise Greg he would be safe.

A few episodes back, Weller claimed Allison is too smart and will have her and Bethany well hidden from Madeline. That sure went well!

Patterson is tracking Ivy's text messages and never got a whiff she is after Allison?

How does Weller feel now that he and Tasha didn't going back to eliminate Ivy and her goons when they were lying on the ground.

Weller mentions "hospital" and Ivy knew where to find Allison quick. I guess there is only one hospital in the U.S.

All this time Tasha knew Madeline has a son and never bothered recommend to go after him for leverage on Madeline.  

"Soft Serve?  Milk shake? Sorbet?" The writers gave Weller and Tasha funny lines this week.

Federal Agent Allison can't tell Madeline to go fuck off? 

Alison's skin tone on her face and neck were off. The makeup department must be on strike.

Where are the props people finding these atrocious wigs?!

We find out from Greg: Madeline went to med school but didn't practice. At what point did she decide "evil villain" is the proper career path!

Just saying ZIP gave Greg a pause and required a quick camera close up to his face (this means it's serious)!

Greg: "she has her troubles but she is not a bad person!" He sure learned quick to not accept a "drink" from mommy! 

Ivy travelled from the U.S. to Hungary real fast.

Why not just have Jane and Weller ambush Ivy and the two goons? Good job letting the ZIP arrive in the U.S. safely.

Did Madeline's two guards go help fly the plane or take a long bathroom break together and just left Tasha and Greg alone with the precious cargo all that time?

WTF? Fugitive Tasha snuck on the plane in Libya, travelled to the U.S. (for a short time) and somehow managed to travel back to the bunker in time for dinner.

I am now convinced no one is looking for these people except for Madeline. These people should leave the bunker and go back to the U.S.

It's the CIA's fault Tasha didn't arrest Madeline in the past. So these dopes let her infiltrate the FBI and maybe allow her to get close to the White House. Now Keaton sees Allie's message and declares they are now in the "end game" and send another message. If they handled Madeline from the start, they wouldn't be in this spot. What is preventing the CIA from assassinating her?

Poor Weller thinking that sign was only his and Allie's little secret. She shared it with other men Kurt (you are not special).

Wow! Some brief acting/emotion from Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. I almost felt sorry for her zipping her son.

Edited June 26, 2020 by mxc90

[alvajon]

I can’t believe we have to muddle through four? more episodes.  I’m a glutton for punishment, so have to watch this series to the end.  

[AnimeMania]

How is Madeline supposed to run for Vice-President if her son just drops off the face of the Earth. That doesn't seem suspicious at all. I guess when she is standing on the podium with her family, she will be all by herself.

[alvajon]

ZIP works that fast? Really? First it was take down Shepherd and Sandstorm.  Now it is take down Madeline.  Boring.  I know, I know, I can stop watching anytime...

[Dowel Jones]

5 hours ago, mxc90 said:

We find out from Greg: Madeline went to med school but didn't practice. At what point did she decide "evil villain" is the proper career path!

Maybe Roman was her college counselor.

They go to all this trouble to develop ZIP when all they had to do was get in touch with the MiB and get lots of those flashy-thingies.  Problem solved.

[mxc90]

4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

How is Madeline supposed to run for Vice-President if her son just drops off the face of the Earth. That doesn't seem suspicious at all. I guess when she is standing on the podium with her family, she will be all by herself.

She can throw Ivy a few more bucks to stand with her and order Weitz and Afreen to play distant relatives.

3 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

They go to all this trouble to develop ZIP when all they had to do was get in touch with the MiB and get lots of those flashy-thingies.  Problem solved.

Ivy is itching to get the Zip released soon. If she has her way, people will forget to show up and vote on election day. Does Ivy have enough to cover the U.S or is just Manhattan in her sights?

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Ivy is itching to get the Zip released soon. If she has her way, people will forget to show up and vote on election day. Does Ivy have enough to cover the U.S or is just Manhattan in her sights?

I am pretty sure they said enough for a city (probably not a large city) especially since they only have half the amount (functional) than they think they have, the results would be scattered.

ZIP would be a great way to rob banks and jewelry stores, throw the ZIP in, walk in a few minutes later and you can take whatever you want and you don't have to kill anyone.

[blackwing]

Weller should have killed Ivy when he had the chance.  He had her gun, I still don't understand why he didn't kill her.  She is part of a plot to kill millions of people, Madeline's #2 and a high ranking operative in the Dabbur Zann, and he conveniently lets her live just because the actress has a few episodes left on her contract?  Stupid.

I also don't understand why Weller and Jane just didn't kill Ivy and her goons right there in the warehouse in Hungary.  So they can track where the ZIP goes?  The team already knew the other shipment was going to Jordan.  If they just confiscated this amount then that's half the supply that's gone.  Is it so they could trick Madeline into thinking she has working ZIP when it has been denatured?

Greg was dumb to call Tasha in the FBI headquarters, but Tasha should also have warned him to assume that every public place he was in was bugged.  Poor Greg.  Now he's ZIPped and doesn't remember a thing.

I find it inconceivable that Madeline is on the short list for VP.  Is the President supposed to be corrupt as well?  It's the only explanation for how she suddenly became in charge of the FBI.  Aren't they wondering what happened to that other candidate who died suspiciously?  Miss Shah?

So Keaton is the person who has been sending the team messages.  Was really really hoping that it was going to be Roman.  And yes, he died in Jane's arms but I'm still holding on hope to it being a fake death.

No matter what happens by season finale, Madeline and Ivy must die horrible deaths.  Or get ZIPped and thrown into a hole somewhere in Afghanistan or Yemen.

[saber5055]

13 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Even in Jane's dream.. Weller looks like shit.

Best line ever. As soon as I read that, I knew some great posts were ahead.

I keep forgetting this is on so miss most of it while watching ancient Roseanne reruns. I don't even know what the plot is any more, not that I care, this show whacked out a couple seasons ago.

But again I am fascinated by the hair. Weller's appearance actually improved by his homeless-guy wig, he became tolerable for me to look at (see quote above). But Jane went from fakety blackety black hair to fakety whitest blond hair. Nothing like picking the most obvious fake wig, Jane. Why not a nice mousey brown. Of course, the ball cap will totally hide your identity.

I was wanting Greg to do the "HEY! Look over there!" when Mom gave him the drink so he could switch out the glasses. WTH writers, that would have been awesome.

I really need to look up what happens when someone gets a 3-inch needle stuck into their neck. That's the preferred method of shot giving on tv these days. I still want my injections in my upper arm, please.

Right about now, I'm saying giving everyone in the United States a nice Zip shot would not necessarily be a bad thing. I'd queue up for that.

[Dowel Jones]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

I also don't understand why Weller and Jane just didn't kill Ivy and her goons right there in the warehouse in Hungary. 

It's sort of like the old action/horror movie trope.  If people behaved in a logical manner at the beginning of the movie, it would last about seven minutes.  Thus, if Weller and Jane killed Ivy & Co., the show would end too soon.  Rich would be out of a job and Patterson would go back to designing sudoku puzzles.

[totallyrosalie]

What was up with Jane’s mouth and teeth in this episode? She was holding them both so weirdly throughout.

[paigow]

18 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Where are the props people finding these atrocious wigs?!

The Blacklist  [The punchline that keeps giving]

[paigow]

4 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I was wanting Greg to do the "HEY! Look over there!" when Mom gave him the drink so he could switch out the glasses. WTH writers, that would have been awesome.

[Loandbehold]

22 hours ago, blackwing said:

I also don't understand why Weller and Jane just didn't kill Ivy and her goons right there in the warehouse in Hungary. 

 

21 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

It's sort of like the old action/horror movie trope.  If people behaved in a logical manner at the beginning of the movie, it would last about seven minutes.

Eddie Murphy pointed this out. 

Warning: NSFW due to language.

On an unrelated note, I saw him do this routine at a concert when I was in college. 

[luckyroll3]

Weller's mullet....with bangs!

Was I supposed to remember who that guy in the last shot it?  Cause I don't.

On 6/26/2020 at 3:15 AM, alvajon said:

ZIP works that fast? Really? First it was take down Shepherd and Sandstorm.  Now it is take down Madeline.  Boring.  I know, I know, I can stop watching anytime...

Me: This episode is dumb.  Why are these characters so stupid.  This fucking show is ridiculous.

Also me: I guess I'll just keep watching....

[blackwing]

4 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

Was I supposed to remember who that guy in the last shot it?  Cause I don't.

That's Keaton, the CIA guy.  He's been in a lot of episodes over the years.

[mandigirl]

On 6/25/2020 at 8:05 PM, mxc90 said:

Wow! Some brief acting/emotion from Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. I almost felt sorry for her zipping her son.

I've always liked MEM. But this almost exact scene was done on another show (not with ZIP, some other dangerous substance)-- 24 maybe? Whatever show it was, the scene in this episode lost impact because of that. The 'Put him somewhere nice.' had so much emotion to it though.  

On 6/25/2020 at 11:53 PM, AnimeMania said:

How is Madeline supposed to run for Vice-President if her son just drops off the face of the Earth.

I wondered this as well. Madeline said Greg was 'her oldest', implying she has other kids. And Greg was on his way to another job when he stopped in NYC. So people are going to notice him missing. Also, Jane flooded her body with Zip which is why she lost her memories for so long. With a smaller dose, like the one Madeline gave Greg, Roman regained his memories in a couple months, maybe even weeks. 

On 6/26/2020 at 8:59 AM, blackwing said:

I also don't understand why Weller and Jane just didn't kill Ivy and her goons right there in the warehouse in Hungary. 

They still need her to link Madeline to the terrorist organization. 

On 6/26/2020 at 8:59 AM, blackwing said:

So Keaton is the person who has been sending the team messages.  Was really really hoping that it was going to be Roman.  And yes, he died in Jane's arms but I'm still holding on hope to it being a fake death.

Very underwhelmed to see Keaton. Never liked him although they tried redo his character to make him more likeable. Don't give up hope-- Keaton was speaking to someone else on the phone. So Allie, Keaton and atleast one other person have been working together. 

I'm hopeful for a couple of reasons-- Roman was a far more likely person to appear in Kurt's dream than Oscar, so maybe they are waiting for the big reveal? Also, Madeline killed Blake so makes sense Roman would want revenge. Or... maybe the actor just isn't available, lol.  

[saber5055]

On 6/27/2020 at 11:55 AM, luckyroll3 said:

Weller's mullet....with bangs!

Yes! And consider that I believe it improved his looks 100 percent. He should keep it.

Although if he actually ever SHAVED, that would disguise him more than some Blacklist-borrowed wig.

[PurpleTentacle]

I guess Zapata should have added "Don't be a dumbass about it. Don't basically tell your mother that you are on to her and use a payphone."

Isn't ZIP still deadly? At that point why not just use some generic poison gas? What's the difference?

Edited December 26, 2022 by PurpleTentacle