S10.E22: Raymond Reddington: Good Night

[Danielg342]

5 minutes ago, NeenerNeener said:

The whole thing can be rationalized if you're trying to come up with a premise for a tv show.

I don't disagree- I just feel that is "doing the writers' work for them". They should be the ones coming up with a premise and a hook- I should not have to formulate one in my head.

I get it's subjective, but I don't feel "Red inserts himself into Lizzie's life once she joins the FBI" is enough to care about the journey ahead. The show never explained why Red chose that moment and not any other moment, and the show never developed Lizzie into someone worth caring about- all she had was a connection to Red. Otherwise, she was "just another agent" like Donald Ressler was.

Now, I always thought "Cape May" might have been a better starting point, because I think this series would have been better centered around Red, who could perhaps reflect on whether or not his life of crime was really worth it. I can't think of any shows that really explore the "human" side of a "monster" and The Blacklist had the perfect opportunity to do that. Of course, I could say that about a multitude of topics on this show, with its cavalcade of characters and scenarios oozing to be explored (like Tom Keen, for instance).

Which, for some reason, they sadly never did.

[Biggie B]

I was OK with the ending. I've watched this show from Day One and have stuck with it all the way. I thought the show improved dramatically when Liz was killed. I did not care for the actress at all and grew weary of her character almost from the beginning. I, too, am a huge James Spader fan and have been for years. He alone (along with Dembe) were enough to keep me going with this show.

I have no opinion on whether Red was a trans man or not. I simply didn't care about Liz's origin story, even though it was the basis for so many episodes and story lines.

Overall, I feel like Red's death was OK. He knew he was sick and dying and while I don't believe he went out looking to be gored to death by a bull, when he found himself in that moment, perhaps he thought, "OK, if this is how I'm gonna die, so be it." He wasn't trying to kill himself but when the possibility of being killed/dying presented itself, Red - being the ultimate opportunist - let it happen. He certainly wasn't going to allow himself to end up in a jail cell.

I'm glad Dembe lived. Agree with everyone as well that his last scene was beautifully delivered and meaningful. Red died as he lived, on his own terms.

I hope Agnes gets a shit ton of money from Red. Why not? She adored 'Pinky' and vice-versa. With Liz dead, Agnes is an appropriate recipient of at least some of Red's wealth. Dembe, too, should get something.

I hope that Harold now retires and can live out the rest of his life caring for Agnes and shepherding her through her teen years and into adulthood.

Ressler - while I didn't always love his character, I wish him well. He caused me a lot of eye rolls but I did respect his addiction/sponsor storyline and thought the actor handled it convincingly and sincerely.

I'll miss the show on some levels - mostly James Spader!

 

[sweetandsour]

Welp, what a conventionally satisfying ending to reveal that Reddington was Gossip Girl this whole time.  Using his international analog network of spies to uncover and report secrets about all of the cool kids at school before shutting it down and flying away with his bull horns.

And then Cooper said, "if you think about it (Red being Gossip Girl), it's like a love letter to all of us."

Ressler finally "got his man" through typical crackerjack law enforcement work on his part.  Doesn't search the entire property, goes to the market only because someone else told him to, and once there, makes the rounds by himself, knowing he doesn't speak Spanish and not even trying to use online/app translators as he fumbles around with a decades old picture and saying "hombre?" to everyone he passes.  Nope, he doesn't ask the local police for an officer assist.

The task force members all scatter to the wind.  Dembe goes back to the arts and meets the next great love of his life.  Ressler applies to local police departments and finds himself testing on the low end of all skill sets.  He is mainly used only in undercover operations that require someone with "handsome hair."  He does stay sober and also meets a wonderful lady, mostly so he can stop thinking of Liz as the love of his life, barf.  Cooper writes a memoir disguised as 100% pure fiction about his working and personal relationships with Reddington.  It becomes a best-seller.  Agnes never gets mentally old enough to read it, as she continues to act like an 8-year-old in perpetuity, calling Cooper "Pops" and Charlene "Mooms" through adulthood.

XOXO!

[Neiman]

On 7/14/2023 at 10:00 PM, paigow said:

Red was diagnosed with a terminal illness when Liz was still alive. The likely plan was for Red to die and Liz would take over... but reality intruded - Megan Boone quit and  so Red was temporarily cured....

She quit?  I figured they told her it was time to go since so many people complained about her.  

[Danielg342]

22 minutes ago, Neiman said:

She quit?  I figured they told her it was time to go since so many people complained about her.  

I could be wrong, but I believe Megan announced before S8 started that it would be her final season. I haven't read anything that suggests to me that it wasn't Megan's choice, but, then again, these kinds of things don't come out until well after the series is finished and no one has to worry about "selling" the series anymore so they can be forthright about it.

[JWattsUK]

On 7/15/2023 at 11:15 PM, Hedgehog2022 said:

What a hot mess this last season was...from the shifting of days and times it was shown to the build up of what would be Red's demise. Glad it's over and we have been put out of our collective misery.

I just want to mention that one of the most egregious errors made by the writers was Dembe as an FBI special agent. I mean...come on now. First off, he would never be accepted into the program due to his past affiliation as Reddington's driver/security guy. Maybe they would put him on the payroll as a CI but definitely he would never be accepted into the FBI training program. The security protocols for this program are extensive and several deep background checks would have eliminated him immediately. But this kind of sloppy writing came to be par for the course during the course of this show. 

The ending was ridiculous of course. Getting gored by a bull? It would have been if he had just had a heart attack and collapsed on his walk. RIP Blacklist.

Im with you on the ending, while he was eye to eye with that bull, I was thinking no this cant be the way he dies, and yes it was. What a ridiculous ending that was, he survived a lot did red, but then its like the writers came to a lazy ending and thought ah that will do. Which disappointed me, and Im pretty sure, you and I aint the only ones thats disappointed with that ending.

[paigow]

3 hours ago, JWattsUK said:

Im with you on the ending, while he was eye to eye with that bull,

The bull is naturally scared by the helicopter... for now... Ressler is going to die...

[Dowel Jones]

Another alternate ending:  Ressler runs up on Red's body, assumes he's dead, and runs back to the helicopter.  The bull, having been in Red's employ the entire time and so faked the attack, charges Ressler instead.  He hops into the helicopter which lifts off, only to return and find the bull in an empty pasture and Reddington long gone.  Fade to black.

[b4pjoe]

27 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

Another alternate ending:  Ressler runs up on Red's body, assumes he's dead, and runs back to the helicopter.  The bull, having been in Red's employ the entire time and so faked the attack, charges Ressler instead.  He hops into the helicopter which lifts off, only to return and find the bull in an empty pasture and Reddington long gone.  Fade to black.

I much prefer your ending!

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Dowel Jones said:

He hops into the helicopter which lifts off, only to return and find the bull in an empty pasture and Reddington long gone.  Fade to black.

Red executes the father & daughter fruit stand owners for ratting him out...

[tvfanatic13]

On 7/14/2023 at 12:45 PM, anthonyd46 said:

I agree that the future of certain members of the task force is something they should have expanded on the finale needed to be like another 10 minutes to explain this.

I think it was implied that they kept their jobs. Harold would have told Dembe otherwise. 

On 7/15/2023 at 1:36 PM, ottoDbusdriver said:

Agreed, such a stupid way to end it.  Just seems so random.
Would have been better if Belka the goat killed him.

10 seasons and no confirmation of what Red's relationship with Lizzie was.

I am glad they didn't kill off Dembe.

Ressler is still just so terrible at his job.

Not to ask a silly question, but what were the 2 watermelons for ? 
Because that seems like an awful lot of watermelon for 2 people.

And for the final time:

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

But we did get a bull -- so that's something. I guess.
 

Otto- thanks for the running follow up on the Blacklist menagerie. 
 

I actually didn’t hate the ending. He died “his way”. I liked Red’s relationship with Agnes too. my only disappointment- no return of Mr Kaplan…

[paigow]

17 minutes ago, tvfanatic13 said:

my only disappointment- no return of Mr Kaplan…

That bull was going to walk away from Red... until Mr. Kaplan mind melded with it and crushed Red...

[KaveDweller]

22 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

I could be wrong, but I believe Megan announced before S8 started that it would be her final season. I haven't read anything that suggests to me that it wasn't Megan's choice, but, then again, these kinds of things don't come out until well after the series is finished and no one has to worry about "selling" the series anymore so they can be forthright about it.

I believe the story that came out at the time was that Megan asked for equal pay with James Spader and NBC said no, so she walked.

[Surrealist]

13 hours ago, paigow said:

Red executes the father & daughter fruit stand owners for ratting him out...

He's starts with a long monologue, then POP POP. 

[pertho]

Well that was terrible.

[Ottis]

On 7/13/2023 at 10:37 PM, StewieGriffin said:

Interesting ending after 10 years no FBI Agents or Criminal Masterminds could kill Red then he gets killed by a wild bull.  They've hinted that Red was actually Liz's mom but they never cleared that up.  Show should've ended when Liz died honestly but once I start watching a show for a while I keep with it till the end so here we are 10 years later.  Leave the Memories Alone.

The show was far, far better without Liz.