S08.E19: Balthazar "Bino" Baker

[paigow]

Airing May 28 / 21

Hoping to move some precious cargo quietly, Red enlists the assistance of an enforcer who specializes in transporting items through an underground network.

***************************************************************************

If only Red had access to shipping containers that were livable...

[milkyaqua]

On 5/22/2021 at 4:58 PM, paigow said:

If only Red had access to shipping containers that were livable...

To put Liz in and go sailing around the ocean for eternity...or close to it.  Gosh, so many of these descriptions write their own zingers.

[NeenerNeener]

OK, my first reaction to why Townsend wanted to to kill Lizzie in front of Red was correct.

Oh, Liz, speaking of double standards, your Mommy killed lots of people a few seasons back in an effort to kill YOU and that seems to have gone down the ol' memory hole now. Nice to see you admit your responsibility for all the people who've died since you decided to go rogue, though.

[edhopper]

You are not in an armored vehicle with bulletproof glass? The incompetence never ends.

Edited May 29, 2021 by edhopper

[NeenerNeener]

Oh, if only "the surgeon" was "The Surgeon", but Michael Sheen was on a different network. That would be one hell of a crossover, though.

[redfish]

Seriously? Now Liz is okay about Red's secrets? 

Double Standards? Liz should take a look at herself. And her grandfather was killed by her "mother" and her crew and sister were killed because they were willing to follow her (even though the "secret" had nothing to do with them). She has to own those deaths not blame others.

 

 

[Surrealist]

You couldn't pay me enough money to be around Liz. She gets everyone killed, or nearly dead.

Suuuuuuurrrrre. Red is going to, totally, finally, tell Liz the truth next week. I'll believe it when I see it.

Edited May 29, 2021 by Surrealist

[NeenerNeener]

13 minutes ago, Surrealist said:

Red is going to, totally, finally, tell Liz the truth next week. I'll believe it when I see it.

Yeah, he's promised that at least once before and we've still got nothin'.

[paigow]

Red can never lie if he refuses to say anything....

[edhopper]

And they don't simply arrest Townsend because...?

[mxc90]

Vandyke was ready to pummel the rude pill sorter for bad mouthing Sleepy Neville. I have to admit, I was a little nervous of what I typed about Neville. Didn't want Vandyke paying me a visit. If only Neville was awake to see his loyalty, he just insults him later when told he couldn't find Liz.

Not sure why Neville has a bed in his room. He never uses it.

Only two SUVs in the convoy to transport Liz. If they were so worried about Neville attacking, just add more security to detail or have them flown in a helicopter. Once again, it's always half ass with Cooper's planning.

I think those were the same fake cops that chased Nick Fury in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". Same results in this chase too. 

Liz is now bitching about double standard. Fuck Off! When you supply a list of criminals for the FBI to go after, then you have a legit complaint.

Now we have Liz opening a door with just a badge! What can't she do? 

Neville must have taken too many pills. Before the two kids talked to him, the other kids just took cash and ran away without seeing a picture of Ressler/Liz or given instructions or received a card. Maybe Neville didn't get enough sleep!

Were Liz and Ressler trapped in a foreign country unable to escape or the Seventh Ward of Baltimore? Call for a Lyft service or catch the bus if you didn't trust the police or your own boss Cooper. Nope! Ressler had to call Red just to complicate the situation more.

The people in that neighborhood must be use to automatic weapons going off and not bother call the police.  

Neville's goons travelled together all episode, except for that one loner who decided to break away and eventually got himself killed by Liz. Always stay with your group!!!!!! We learned this in pre-school going on field trips. I am sure this will be brought up at the next "Henchman Safety Seminar".

All that time Aram and Park were still by the crash site instead of going out and search! No wonder they were always one step behind.
Red wasn't concerned about Ressler's status. Just tell him to "stay in the light" was his reply.

Bino supposedly has eyes all over the Seventh Ward yet he didn't know if Liz/Ressler were still in the ward when Red asked him. 

Is Red sure this is the same Bino that was an enforcer for Moms Wimbley in the 70s and had many "hits"? This man was scared as soon as he heard Neville's name and couldn't wait to kiss his ass. Maybe he spent some time in his punching bag?!

Bino needs to work on his security. Blossom's brother and the woman blabbed way too easy to Red and Dembe. 

C'mon on lady! You were so close to putting Ressler out of his misery on this show and bringing us joy! 

Next week, we all know Neville is going to retreat the moment he hears a siren or see a meter maid approach.

Edited May 29, 2021 by mxc90

[saber5055]

On 5/22/2021 at 6:58 PM, paigow said:

If only Red had access to shipping containers that were livable...

Oh, man, that takes me back. What was that, Season 1 or 2? Those were good times.

[milkyaqua]

More Liz blaming everyone but herself for all the dead bodies around her.  Kill her already!

And yes, you have a guy who's will to shoot up a sheriff's office and has bounties on people's heads but yes, lets just have two trucks take Liz anyway because nothing can go wrong while you sit in your office and ring your hands (Harold).

Except for obviously being crazy, why was Bino so scared of Townsend?  I don't necessarily blame his folks for talking though it sounds like they should be used to people waving guns around.

Liz declaring her love for Ressler, sure Liz.  Ressler's not the brightest bulb in the box but he really needs to think about his personal relationship choices.

Also, it's not just Red promising to tell Liz something or rather but what exactly is he going to tell her and will she ever be satisfied and why should we care?

Why can't we be rid of Townsend already?  Please, please, please let this guy did already....  And Townsend's devoted goon who went after pill wrangler guy?  What is his deal?  I really dislike people who follow crazy people blindly.

[CaptainE]

More garbage writing.  Oooh and next week we’re gonna learn everything?

Yeah, sure. 

8 seasons of this bilge and I can’t even have a sixth of Black Mirror?  It’s not right.

[paigow]

[Interior: Shanghai Palace dining room]

Customer: What do you recommend?

Server: White meat stew

 

[dwmarch]

4 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Not sure why Neville has a bed in his room. He never uses it.

Only two SUVs in the convoy to transport Liz. If they were so worried about Neville attacking, just add more security to detail or have them flown in a helicopter. Once again, it's always half ass with Cooper's planning.

No kidding! Townsend can't sleep? Get a new mattress! Get a comforter and some new pillows! Maybe an ambient noise machine and some soft lighting. Oh, you have to stay awake just in case Russian goons come back to murder your family in front of you again? Your family that's already dead? You can't find Michael Jackson's doctor to put you on that same shit he was on? Townsend, I don't care that you're crazy but I hate that you are wasteful with your resources. And that's exactly what happens when you don't get a good night's sleep!

That convoy was a straight up joke. As soon as Cooper said Liz and Ressler were traveling together I knew what was going to happen.

1 hour ago, milkyaqua said:

Why can't we be rid of Townsend already?

For that matter, wasn't Townsend originally a Macguffin? A few seasons back (and no I am not going to re-watch, I was drunk for most of it and now I can't drink anymore for health reasons so forget it) I vaguely recall whispers of "the Townsend Directive". No one outright knew what it was or what it did because the goddamn writers didn't bother to figure that out first. So it was a person, place or thing. Might have been a file folder full of secrets or some off-book intelligence agency or some gang of ruthless criminals. But I can tell you what it was not: it was not a dude with insomnia who was right around the corner from Liz and Reddington the whole time. But now, you drop the name Neville Townsend and all the local criminals shit themselves like frightened animals. Not only do they know who he is, they know his reputation and they want to help him if they can. Damn, if only Reddington had some kind of list, maybe one that includes all the high-profile criminals and gangsters who might get in his way. He could share this list with the FBI and they could take this dude down since he has started operating way out in the open!

I wish Ressler had remembered that the last time he was in a hospital with Liz she blew him up.

[BrownBear2012]

Cooper and company are inept boobs. Megan Boone is a terrible actress. The writing sucks. Why do I keep watching this? 

[Dowel Jones]

I have come to the conclusion that there's a labor shortage in the US because every single person in the country is either a mercenary for Townsend or Reddington, or a support person for them or any of the other factions out there, or a Blacklister.  One thing there aren't any of is FBI agents, apparently.

[tljgator]

4 hours ago, BrownBear2012 said:

Why do I keep watching this? 

I'm starting to think I have a Statler & Waldorf complex (I actually found myself humming 'why do we always come here? I guess we'll never know. it's like a kind of torture, to have to watch the show' at one point when I looked at the clock and realized how much time was left). *sigh* Because the show is so awful I often find myself fixating on something inane that the writers repeat ad nauseam that bugs me. This week it was Liz going on about how it's Red's fault HER HUSBAND (this is the part she kept repeating, lol) got killed. Not that Red, you know, paid this random-ass bad guy to marry her in the first place. The dude she would later kidnap and something something with a boat...who remembers. Feh. Anyway, then NBC showed a big ol' fancy promo for his new show, and things made a smidge more sense. (But not much.)

The rest was garbage as usual: Ressler got all full of himself for actually hitting his targets the past few weeks and karma swung on him (and not for nothing, who wouldn't wear a vest and helmet in the general vicinity of Lizzie, lord); Lizzie -- after, I'll admit, speaking some truth about how she can't come back from an awful lot of terrible shit and a string of needless dead bodies -- gets yet another chance to just shoot Red if killing him is actually her objective and...can't be bothered (did I mention that about three or four dudes got killed in that moment?); Dembe was clearly itching to just throw-down in an epic chess match with Bino to solve it all (I might have been here for that, especially if they brought a little Queen's Gambit style to it); Townsend only actually explains why he's handing out money to one kid -- I mean, really?!

I know not sleeping is supposed to be his super-power or some nonsense, but can't they just blast a lullaby over some loud speakers til Townsend nods off and arrest him? Even for this show, he's a bit extra. Enough already.

[Surrealist]

12 hours ago, edhopper said:

And they don't simply arrest Townsend because...?

How is it that no one has managed to shoot and kill him already?

[Surrealist]

6 hours ago, BrownBear2012 said:

Cooper and company are inept boobs. Megan Boone is a terrible actress. The writing sucks. Why do I keep watching this? 

So that you can come here and mock it with us? 🤷🏻‍♀️

[paigow]

Red, Dembe and Liz saw the secret panel in the bar.. bet that Liz is standing in front of the Copperfield chess club exit. 

9 minutes ago, Surrealist said:

How is it that no one has managed to shoot and kill him already?

Dembe had a pretty clean opportunity but passed...

[ottoDbusdriver]

Where exactly were Lizzie and Ressler going in the convoy ?  End of last episode Aram and Park were hauling Lizzie away, presumably back to the Post Office -- but this episode opens with Aram and Park already back at the Post Office.  So why the need for a convoy ?

And where in the 7th ward are all the trees and open fields located that Lizzie/Ressler were driving past before the convoy was hit ?

I think Fedex was paying for product placement -- because a Fedex delivery truck was clearly visible in two scenes as the convoy was being hit.

Why couldn't Lizzie have been the one to have been shot ?  Talk about a chess piece that needs to be taken off the board.

How was Bino actually on the Blacklist ?  At no time was the Post Office team aware of him or even hunting for him.

Lizzie is just so sad as this supposed mastermind criminal who thinks she can out-Reddington Reddington.  All her henchmen/henchwomen are dead, she's just been arrested (again), and she's on the run from an actual crimelord.  Which means she will likely be an agent again by the season finale.

And yeah, we are not going to find out "everything" from Reddington next week.  Who are the writer's kidding ?

While we did get an Agnes reference from Ressler, still no sign or mention of the dogs, Robert Vesco's cat or Sierra the cat.

[NeenerNeener]

14 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Blossom's brother

That's who that was!!!! HITG!

[yourmomiseasy]

I'm only 7 minutes in and fuck Liz for blaming her sister's death on Red.  That was only last week, so I still remember that it was 100% her fault.  Her whole self righteous rant is bullshit.  

And now she's yelling at the driver to get them out of there while someone is shooting at them.  No shit.  I doubt he was planning on just hanging out.  She really is a mastermind.

Edited May 29, 2021 by yourmomiseasy

[TV Anonymous]

When I thought that the show was on the bottom of its stupidity, it managed to find shovel and dig deeper.

Were FBI agents really that incompetent that they let an unconfirmed car (police or otherwise) pulled up beside them without any challenge? 

The FBI is the nation's prime law enforcement agency, is it not? They should be able to mobilize all federal and local law enforcement in the area and completely saturate that ward. The idea that an evil criminal like Townsend is capable to stand against the FBI in a show of brute force is laughable.

[milkyaqua]

3 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

And yeah, we are not going to find out "everything" from Reddington next week.  Who are the writer's kidding ?

No one because we all know they have no clue as to what any of these "secrets" is/are supposed to be.  I'd just be happy if we could see the last of Townsend and the end of Lizzie's whining, "me, me, me,' except for that part about her taking responsibility for any dead bodies...

[yourmomiseasy]

I don't think it needs repeating or even saying, but this show is so stupid.  

Why exactly does everyone fear Townsend?  We keep hearing how scary he is, but he's a joke. Sure he's crazy, but the punching bag thing is so stupid.  Like this not-sleeping fool really has it in him to beat the shit out of people?  Red'll tell you a long story and then shoot you in the head, that seems worse.

What's with all the close-ups on Lizzie's face while she's monologuing?  That's new this season, right?  Is it because of COVID or is it supposed to highlight how expressive her wooden face is?  It is driving me nuts.  I can't pay attention when the screen is just her face and then I get distracted or fall asleep and have to rewind and it drags the show out to multiple hours.

 

Edited to add:  Was Townsend the one that took the bottom of that guy's face off?  Because that was actually scary and would totally build street cred.

Edited May 29, 2021 by yourmomiseasy

[milkyaqua]

15 minutes ago, yourmomiseasy said:

What's with all the close-ups on Lizzie's face while she's monologuing?  That's new this season, right?  Is it because of COVID or is it supposed to highlight how expressive her wooden face is?  It is driving me nuts.  I can't pay attention when the screen is just her face and then I get distracted or fall asleep and have to rewind and it drags the show out to multiple hours.

This is similar to comments on another blog about how a few posters didn't appreciate them giving Liz a "Shakespearean soliloquy" while she was talking to an unconscious Ressler.  It does seem a bit much for Boone to sell these speeches TPTB like to give her.  I think it's their way of torturing us for complaining about her so much.

[yourmomiseasy]

It's part of her transformation into supervillain, they all get monologues.  But Boone's no Spader.  Red's are fun to watch. 

Edited May 29, 2021 by yourmomiseasy

[BrownBear2012]

Lizzie's hair always looks it was just blown out and coiffed...even in a shoot out. Never out of place and always shampooed...amazing. I walk outside and within ten minutes if there is slightest uptick in the humidity my hair goes from decent looking to a frizzy disaster but Lizzie gets shot at, is on the run and barely has time to shower, but her hair is perfection. 

[paigow]

19 minutes ago, BrownBear2012 said:

Lizzie's hair always looks it was just blown out and coiffed...even in a shoot out. Never out of place and always shampooed...amazing. I walk outside and within ten minutes if there is slightest uptick in the humidity my hair goes from decent looking to a frizzy disaster but Lizzie gets shot at, is on the run and barely has time to shower, but her hair is perfection. 

Revenge by the hair and makeup team that was roasted in earlier seasons about her wigs....

[CaptainE]

1 hour ago, milkyaqua said:

This is similar to comments on another blog about how a few posters didn't appreciate them giving Liz a "Shakespearean soliloquy" while she was talking to an unconscious Ressler.  It does seem a bit much for Boone to sell these speeches TPTB like to give her.  I think it's their way of torturing us for complaining about her so much.

I wonder what she said.  No, no, I don’t really.  
 

I have stuck with this garbage because of Spader and an insane hope of a resolution of some kind, but a Boone monologue, no way.   I fast forwarded through it all.  For your blood pressure I suggest others do too.  It felt good, like emptying a stinky trash bag that you’ll no longer have to smell.

[LucidDreamer]

Do the writers really think we are buying this load of garbage from Lizzie about how her actions should be justified, just because Red's been given a pass on almost everything? I mean, okay, he has, but a.) Spader's a much better actor who can pull off the ambiguity, and b.) the Red character never pretends he is standing on some moral high ground. Unlike Liz, who always seems convinced she's still a good person, despite all the murder and mayhem she's caused.

I can take a morally bankrupt character like Red who doesn't pretend to be a saint, but I can't stand Liz's hypocrisy. Her status as one of the "good guys" expired some time ago. 

[DaphneCat]

I love how Liz expects criminals she's never met or interacted with in any way (i.e. Bino) to simply take her word for it that she's right and Reddington (or Townsend) is wrong.  SHE is concerned with saving their lives while the OTHER person is trying to kill them.  They're also supposed to feel guilty that she might possibly be killed - like they really should give a rat's ass about her.

[Brian Cronin]

A problem this show has had for pretty much its entire run is that Spader sells all of his scenes, and because he's SO good, they never really had to sell Red as a criminal mastermind, as Spader does it himself. Since their other actors aren't in the league of a FOUR TIME Best Actor Emmy-winner like James Spader, though, they can't sell it and thus the show decides to just TELL us it CONSTANTLY and it's such shitty writing. 

Everyone tells us how special Liz is while Boone never actually shows it.

Everyone tells us how scary Townsend is while the writers never show it (I actually don't blame Rogers for how bad Townsend is. I think he's actually a talented actor, it's just a really poorly written character and he's clearly just being told "Ham it the fuck up!" Boone can't even ham up a scene! It's stunning how bad she is). 

[cameron]

I don't remember anyone using the term "wards" all the years we lived in Washington.  It was quadrants or areas.  They could have used Anacostia in describing where they were and all the locals would immediately know what they were talking about.

[saber5055]

On 5/29/2021 at 12:09 AM, milkyaqua said:

Liz declaring her love for Ressler, sure Liz. 

Actually, she didn't. She said something like "I love how you ... something something do something." She did not say "Donald, I love you." What she said was akin to saying "I love that thin-crust pizza cooks quicker than stuffed crust." Doesn't mean she loves thin crust, just loves the fact it's quicker to the plate -- all while not saying the pizza she really loves is pan.

Her next sentence was, "There, I said it!" while I'm thinking, no Lizzie, you did NOT say "it." Saying you love how someone dresses or drinks coffee black doesn't mean you love that person.

[BrownBear2012]

7 hours ago, cameron said:

I don't remember anyone using the term "wards" all the years we lived in Washington.  It was quadrants or areas.  They could have used Anacostia in describing where they were and all the locals would immediately know what they were talking about.

Actually they do use the word "Ward" during elections. I live in the DC area and every election cycle they will talk about the areas in DC in terms of "wards"...wasn't former disgraced Mayor Marion Barry from Ward 7?

[Neiman]

How many facial expressions does she use in one episode? Must be exhausting. What acting! 😂

 

[Neiman]

Still disappointed Townsend’s guys haven’t captured Agnes 😐

[paigow]

Has Townsend been assigned a Blacklist number?

How many Top 10 spots are still open? N-13 deserves one...

[Dowel Jones]

#2 is still open.  I can't find Townsend anywhere on my list.

[ottoDbusdriver]

8 hours ago, paigow said:

Has Townsend been assigned a Blacklist number?

How many Top 10 spots are still open? N-13 deserves one...

You would hope that they would have reserved #13 on the The Blacklist for N-13, unfortunately #13 has already been taken by Ian Garvey in Season 5.

Somehow, Townsend has managed to avoid being assigned a Blacklist number. For now.

16 hours ago, Neiman said:

Still disappointed Townsend’s guys haven’t captured Agnes 😐

I'm surprised that Townsend hasn't found an even more elusive target than Agnes -- like Lizzie's dogs or Robert Vesco's cat.  :)

 

[Brian Cronin]

One thing that continues to amaze me over the years is how much Bokenkamp clearly thinks that he has written a different show than he actually has. And the crazy thing is that there is a lot that he should be proud about with this show! Red Reddington is an actively GREAT character. Does James Spader deserve much of the credit? Of course, but Bokenkamp did his part, as well. Plus, the whole basic concept of the show is really good. Aram is a great character. Dembe is a great character. Red's various criminal associates have mostly been great characters. Park has been worked into the show pretty seamlessly. Cooper is not even an awful character (although there, I think Lennix is also doing the heavy lifting). There is so much that Bokenkamp can be very proud of.

And yet he has always thought that he has this great character in Liz Keen and a great actress in Megan Boone and it's Just. Not. There. 

But he keeps coming back to it as if it IS there and it's so foolish. Liz sounds like a stupid, spoiled child constantly and everyone doesn't just humor her, they actively AGREE with her pouting bullshit and think that she's CORRECT in her moronic views! And Boone can't sell the character, so the whole thing is this major drag in what is otherwise an entertaining show. 

[Surrealist]

I'm blown away that many of you remember the Blacklisters and their respective numbers. I have vague memories of past BLs.

I hadn't even paid that much attention. I think, initially, I did. Then the show slowly, but steadily went off the rails.

Edited June 3, 2021 by Surrealist

[Dowel Jones]

4 hours ago, Surrealist said:

I'm blown away that many of you remember the Blacklisters and their respective numbers. I have vague memories of past BLs.

Way back in season 2, I started making a list (and checking it twice...) just for shits and giggles.  Even going over the list in front of me, I can't remember at least half of them.

[dwmarch]

3 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Way back in season 2, I started making a list (and checking it twice...) just for shits and giggles.  Even going over the list in front of me, I can't remember at least half of them.

I have a very random favorite. In 1x17 we meet the Pavlovich brothers (who each got their own spot!) and there is a scene in that episode that I loved for sentimental reasons. There was an expansion pack for the video game Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 called Yuri's Revenge where the commando unit was a Russian dude named Boris. And when the Pavlovich brothers are trying to capture Tom, there's what seems to be a live action version of him. After bombing the entrance of Tom's hideout he pulls out an absurdly huge AK and he utterly wrecks the building Tom is in. It still brings me joy.

[anthonyd46]

Bino is the guy that got poisoned in Dumb and Dumber. I knew I recognized him from somewhere.