S09.E09: Boukman Baptiste

[mxc90]

Quote

Thu, Jan 20, 2022

A spate of coordinated attacks on Red's lieutenants puts Dembe in imminent danger, prompting him to relive the events that led him to join the FBI two years earlier.

 

[mxc90]

My goodness the show opens with the same damn clip of Liz holding the gun to Red and getting shot. How many times do we need to see this writers? Maybe they enjoy highlighting Ressler's embarrassing crash over and over.

So Red is dumb or arrogant to see Dembe leave for the FBI, never changed anything in his business so Dembe can't blab secrets to Cooper and the misfits?! The man is seriously sliping.
I appreciate Marvin's efforts trying to tell Red how silly, stupid and petty he is being.

I hope Cooper doesn't consider himself on the same level of the great agents that paved the way for him being there.

Once Isabellle was taken and had a gun to her head, I guarantee she was praying a cop would save her. 

How can the FBI be all that Isabella think they if they can hire Dembe with his highly questionable past? It's insane he got a job there.

Why was having the lights go out stop (the so called Wolf) Baptiste from shooting Isabella when he is ready after giving a lengthy monologoue? The gun is right by her head. It's not like he will lose his close aim in the dark. She wasn't running anytime soon.

Great! Now a time killing mystery is created to find out how Vandyke found Liz in order to shoot her. Of course it can't be Neville because he is dead. The rest of the season will be pointless running around BS finding this person until the final episode of the (let's hope) series.

So Red had Vandyke's phone to track the coordinates and couldn't piece it together to clear Dembe from blame in 2 years? But it took Aram 2 seconds to solve it!  And after all he put Dembe through, he just brushes it off like it was nothing. All is forgiven. Dembe should have knocked him out.

Agnes didn't look impressed at all with Red reading her the story.

[preeya]

And they lived happily ever after!

[Just my 2 cents]

2 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Agnes didn't look impressed at all with Red reading her the story.

I'm sure she didn't.  What is she 11?  If she's an intelligent kid she's probably reading at middle school level or close to it.  She no longer needs someone to read to her.

[dwmarch]

So Marvin has got to be the traitor, no? He doesn't agree with Red's motivations or tactics and I vaguely recall that Red hung him out to dry last season after falling for an absurdly dumb plan that Lizzie somehow pulled off. And this show does love a "the bad guy has been standing right there all along" reveal no matter how stale it might be by now.

Isn't Dembe straight up African rather than African-American? His daughter is all upset with him for not being in perfect alignment with the African-American cultural experience but that would seem to be a feature, not a bug. And up until the FBI decided to hire him he was doing a mean rendition of "Fuck tha Police" on a weekly basis.

No dumbass Cooper murder mystery this week! Yeah! But instead we get another layer on the "who really killed Liz?" mystery as if anyone actually gives a shit.

In another absurd FBI fail, the bad guy gets away from the docks because only two FBI agents from another city could be bothered to show up. I guess all the local cops and feds were busy with something else.

Dembe should also know by now that filling a car full of lead does not always lead to the baddie getting caught in the hail of bullets. If you could set up that ambush you could have also set up a long gun and done the guy in with one shot but I guess all of Red's snipers were busy with something else.

Dembe's daughter says she is going to go away and she doesn't want him to know where. Okay sure but it isn't him you have to worry about. The bad guys will still just follow you to wherever you end up and the only thing you've done is made it harder for help to arrive.

I did laugh once and that was when Ressler said Dembe was going to sell Red out and Aram replied "Is that a joke?!" It's usually the audience who gets to say "you've got to be shitting me!" on behalf of the ridiculous things these characters do.

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Great! Now a time killing mystery is created to find out how Vandyke found Liz in order to shoot her.

I already know the answer.  Vandyke stole Liz's dogs all that time ago, just waiting for the right time.  He set them free that night, with a hearty "Go find Liz!", and badda bing, badda boom.

One thing that always puzzles me about TV gunfire is that a blood mark always appears on the opposite side of the body from the shot, in order to emphasize the fact that the person has been shot.  But this means that the bullet exited Liz's body.  Where did it go, since Reddington was standing directly in front of her?

Understatement of the night:  Cooper - "Congratulations, Special Agent."  Dembe - "I couldn't have done it without you, sir."  No screamin' shit.

I agree that Gerard's time is short.  He should be limping with the anvil that Red dropped on his foot that night.

[Brian Cronin]

Cooper, "Do not engage until we know what we're doing."

So...never engage then?

[Brian Cronin]

Gerard has been treated so poorly by Red that he would be a totally logical choice to be the traitor, but I hope not, as I really like Stevens as Gerard. 

[paigow]

57 minutes ago, Brian Cronin said:

Gerard has been treated so poorly by Red that he would be a totally logical choice to be the traitor, but I hope not, as I really like Stevens as Gerard. 

Who else would be "shocking"???

[milkyaqua]

Yes, it will probably be Gerard who winds-up being the traitor but I to hope that's not the case.  I really just wish this show would stop inserting Liz into every freakin' ep.  Enough show.  At this point all you can do is try and wrap this show up with some semblance of cohesiveness and dragging Liz into everything is not helping...

I did like Gerard telling Red to get his thumb out of his butt re: Liz, Dembe and all of it (the dead flowers, eesh).  Red being blase about Dembe after he found out someone else was responsible was classic Red but yes, Dembe would have been more than justified in cold cocking him.

As for Dembe killing Baptiste's son, agree, that was sloppy all around.  A shootout in the middle of the road?  There were better ways to take the guy out.

Even knowing this epi was coming explaining how Dembe came to be in the FBI, agree it still makes no sense that he ever got in Cooper or not.  But hey, I'm not mad about it.  His family leaving to try and get away, okay, but as others have said, unless they go completely off the grid, they won't be that hard to find for someone who's really motivated.

Yes to no Cooper mystery this week and even our merry band of questionable agents was kept to a minimum of doing dumb things...

[Brian Cronin]

2 hours ago, paigow said:

Who else would be "shocking"???

Yeah, sadly it has to be Gerard. The fascinating thing about it being Gerard is that clearly he would have been doing it to PROTECT the organization that he had been so loyal to, as he knew (like everyone) that Liz would have been terrible in the role. So he thought VanDyke could kill Liz to remove her from the table. That's a pretty good hook, honestly, as far as these twists go. Certainly better than Cooper's moronic "Only two people knew about this guy who could clear my name. Me and my super-eager-to-get-involved buddy who we've never seen before this season. WHO COULD BE BEHIND THIS?!?"

[NeenerNeener]

2 hours ago, Brian Cronin said:

Yeah, sadly it has to be Gerard. The fascinating thing about it being Gerard is that clearly he would have been doing it to PROTECT the organization that he had been so loyal to, as he knew (like everyone) that Liz would have been terrible in the role. So he thought VanDyke could kill Liz to remove her from the table.

That makes too much sense, and since this show has always stretched credulity to infinity and beyond it will probably be somebody who was stalking Ressler and hit Liz by accident.

[Dowel Jones]

Maybe Gerard is the real, Real, I Mean Really Real and This Time We're Not Kidding Real Reddington.

Edited January 22, 2022 by Dowel Jones

[ottoDbusdriver]

I was bored by this episode.  The plots have to get more interesting at some point. 

And as mentioned upthread, they need to stop showing that clip of Lizzie getting shot.

Still no sign or mention of the dogs, Robert Vesco's cat or Sierra the cat.

[Such A Flirt]

13 hours ago, paigow said:

Who else would be "shocking"???

Huey Lewis?

I was totally expecting Gerard to be exposed and killed by the end of the episode. So, if that's their big reveal... whatever.

And yes, those girls are way too old to be read to.

[tljgator]

Y'all? Did...did Ressler actually shoot someone he intended to shoot? From some distance away? Maybe he needs to stay on the pills.

[PBnJay]

On 1/21/2022 at 12:36 PM, paigow said:

Who else would be "shocking"???

Cooper? I'd rather see him gone than Marvin. Marvin (and Glen, RIP) are/were the best characters on this show.

[Neiman]

Awwww, next episode is February 25.  

[rr2911]

One of the reasons I like The Blacklist was, there never was any "wokeness" in the episodes.  Until now.  My eyes rolled all over the place like a pinball machine with Dembe's daughter.  I guess no show is safe anymore.

. Yes.  Those girls were too old to be read to.

.  Who else could be the one that told Vandyke where Liz was?  How about Miere (sp) or Weecha?  Of course this would mean that we would have to learn their backstory and how they met Red.

 

[Neiman]

Read aloud is considered an effective teaching strategy for middle school students. Studies show that students who are engaged in reading activities at home (with adult role models) outperform their peers on standardized reading tests. I congratulate Red for caring about Agnes’s education to the extent that he’s personally involved. To all of you criticizing Red, if you have a middle school student in your life, I encourage you to try to read aloud of a classic with that young person. It’s a great way to bond and you may be surprised by how the experience builds confidence, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills, as well as a love for literature. Do you think most of today’s middle school students are going to pick up a classic on their own to read independently? They need that modeling and encouragement. 

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Neiman said:

It’s a great way to bond and you may be surprised by how the experience builds confidence, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills, as well as a love for literature.

She has to learn how to deliver flowery pre-murder monologues as the Princess Of Crime

[cameron]

On 1/21/2022 at 12:10 AM, Just my 2 cents said:

I'm sure she didn't.  What is she 11?  If she's an intelligent kid she's probably reading at middle school level or close to it.  She no longer needs someone to read to her.

And the same goes for Dembe reading to his granddaughter.  She looked to be in her late teens at the least.

[Neiman]

12 minutes ago, cameron said:

And the same goes for Dembe reading to his granddaughter.  She looked to be in her late teens at the least.

Sad so many here feel that way about reading 😕

Go into a middle school or high school classroom around here, and you’ll find teens being read to—even in honors classes. Adults must model and foster a love of reading. Conversations about what is read need to happen. I celebrate Red and Dembe for recognizing the importance of literacy and understanding the positive impact of shared reading and read aloud.

[cameron]

While I agree with the importance of literacy, I find it more important to foster good reading habits early on in a child's life.  Our grandchild started reading when she was four and is currently in a  honors reading course now and attended a week long honor's summer session at a well known college.  This was accomplish without having her parents read to her at a later age.  And personally, I don't like reading tapes.  I much prefer reading it for myself and seeing the words and thinking about them as I go through the book.

[Just my 2 cents]

1 hour ago, cameron said:

While I agree with the importance of literacy, I find it more important to foster good reading habits early on in a child's life.  Our grandchild started reading when she was four and is currently in a  honors reading course now and attended a week long honor's summer session at a well known college.  This was accomplish without having her parents read to her at a later age.  And personally, I don't like reading tapes.  I much prefer reading it for myself and seeing the words and thinking about them as I go through the book.

I grew up in a strict household.  My parents didn't care what we were doing as long as we were in the house and they could keep an eye on us.  The thing that we did the most was read.  To this day my dad always proudly says that we were reading at a high school level and taking advanced classes long before we got to high school.  It was very fun to read.  

[Just my 2 cents]

3 hours ago, Neiman said:

Sad so many here feel that way about reading 😕

Go into a middle school or high school classroom around here, and you’ll find teens being read to—even in honors classes. Adults must model and foster a love of reading. Conversations about what is read need to happen. I celebrate Red and Dembe for recognizing the importance of literacy and understanding the positive impact of shared reading and read aloud.

I don't think it's sad.  I've worked with children off and on for many years and from what I've seen it is very important for them to learn some things on their own with the guidance of an adult.  I think the better situation is to give the child the book and have them read to the adult or the family, while encouraging them.  There are many children that have trouble with reading and spelling.  If the adult is constantly reading to them how can they know?  You'd be surprised at how many people have no idea what their children are learning in school and sadly have no time to find out.  Unfortunately, we live in a time when parents are too busy working to make ends meet to spend any time with the children let alone read to them.  They simply plop them in front of a television, computer, video game, or send them outside.  It is one thing to read to a child when they are young and are unable to read.  It is another thing to present a classic or book and sit with the child and have them read it aloud.  

[Dowel Jones]

13 hours ago, rr2911 said:

Yes.  Those girls were too old to be read to.

It would have been so much more delicious if Red had been reading from John Grisham or Mario Puzo.

[Brian Cronin]

14 hours ago, rr2911 said:

One of the reasons I like The Blacklist was, there never was any "wokeness" in the episodes.  Until now.  My eyes rolled all over the place like a pinball machine with Dembe's daughter.  I guess no show is safe anymore.

The Blacklist ROUTINELY takes liberal positions on political plots. There was a storyline a couple seasons back where anti-abortion politicians were experimented on so that they could give birth to force them to go through the pregnancy that was forced on a woman. 

Heck, the main character is almost assuredly a trans man. 

Granted, that's so hacky that it's probably offensive in and of itself, but that's not the show's intent. 

[Neiman]

1 hour ago, Dowel Jones said:

It would have been so much more delicious if Red had been reading from John Grisham or Mario Puzo.

That would have been funny, but I imagine Cooper insisted on pre-approving the reading selections.  Cooper probably had the room wired or he was pacing the hall to make sure Red didn't stray from the script.  😂

[paigow]

2 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

It would have been so much more delicious if Red had been reading from John Grisham or Mario Puzo.

Spader

to the writing staff