S03.E03: Eli Matchett

[Tara Ariano]

Red and Liz head toward the Midwest in their quest to take down the Cabal and exonerate Liz. Meanwhile, Ressler, Samar and Aram discover what could become a global food crisis.

[mrsdalgliesh]

Somebody help me. I'm enjoying this show. I'm not just FFing to Spader, I'm watching the whole thing.

I'm in trouble, man.

[edhopper]

You're not alone, its been pretty good this season. Even Liz is fun to watch.

[Free]

Somebody help me. I'm enjoying this show. I'm not just FFing to Spader, I'm watching the whole thing.

I'm in trouble, man.

 

Don't, it used to stall a lot, now it's a lot more fun so far.

[Chaos Theory]

Although not my favorite episode I did like it. I am enjoying the season as a whole and I do like the fact that the show seems to be going all in with Elizabeth Keen crossing a line she may not be able to come back from. Red might want to clear her name of the treason charges but she is still guilty of at least one murder and now shooting a cop. Those are things you don't come back from even if the show figures out a way to write her back into the FBI which I am actually hoping they don't At least not right away.

That being said it was stupid (but understandable) that she called Ressler. He was her partner and her friend. They talked and she needed someone to talk to. She just picked the wrong someone.

I am interested in Tom's story with Harold Cooper. Those two could have a lot of fun together,

Poor Dembe. At least he has Mr. Vargas to play with.

Edited October 16, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Free]

I do like the fact that the show seems to be going all in with Elizabeth Keen crossing a line she may not be able to come back from

 

I hope it doesn't go back in the end.

[crowswork]

The actor playing Tom could have a future in religious films. Those eyes with the hoodie.

[Jlina]

The exposition fairy was a bit strong in this one with Red and Lizzie explaining patented GMO seeds...but still a good twist to the plot.

 

Ha!  I knew Ressler would eat his words when he found the actual "tin can." :)

 

Indeed, a much better season!  I'm thinking of back watching the last few from last season now...to fill in.

 

Oh, and I knew Harold would use the Tom info wisely.  Ressler is kind of a dumb ass, and his gut is too.  Still not sure how he gets to be in charge, but he IS looking cuter.

[forum4idiots]

was just waiting for tom and ressler to kiss on that confrontation, lol.

[dwmarch]

Well this show is still silly and I still watch it for snark value but overall this was an entertaining episode.

 

Eli Matchett is a Blacklister but why? The Monsanto stand-in group recruited him to be their pet radical. How did Red know about this? And this show continues to have the same issue as its protege Blindspot, namely intricate timing. Red went on the offensive literal hours before this plot could fall into place.

 

Also, it has been a while since I delved into the intricacies of the previous seasons. This episode seems to suggest that Red was not part of an anti-Cabal group but rather was part of the Cabal. They betrayed him so he is now going after them. I will accept it at face value but I feel like this contradicts previous episodes in which the Cabal was always Red's enemy. Does anyone know of a Blacklist fan page which lays out the plots and revelations so far?

 

I was proud of Lizzie for her Grand Theft Auto skills until Red pointed out that she stole a car with no GPS.

 

I liked the meeting at the end between Harold and Tom Keen. It makes me wonder if Harold was reassigned so that he would have lots of free time to do exactly what he is doing now.

[torqy]

I was proud of Lizzie for her Grand Theft Auto skills until Red pointed out that she stole a car with no GPS.

 

If I was in that situation, I would steal a low-tech car, i.e. without GPS, so that it couldn't be tracked.

[norask]

Still loving the show which really surprises me. Red continues to what he does best and I even liked Lizzie, when she wasn't whining. But what I was thinking about during the last episode happened and I was not expecting that. Some undercover cop came for them and almost got killed. That was the exact reason I am frustrated that Liz doesn't insist to know everything that Red knows about her past. Some other overzealous law enforcement agent could come for them again and in a realistic world, she might not be able to get him before he does. She could be dead at any moment. If I were in her place, I would like to know everything before that happens.

 

But Lizzie needs to stop whining. After everything she has seen, is she really surprised that bad things happen to good people? Look at Cooper or Ressler or poor Audrey and her unborn baby. Hell, all she needs to do is look at her own young self and remember what happened when she was a baby and she still thinks good things always happened to her?

 

And I was a little peeved by Red's comment that Ressler is a robot. If he actually believed that, he wouldn't have asked Ressler to make the promise to give Liz benefit of doubt in the first episode.

 

I was pleasantly surprised that Liz called him but then was disappointed by their conversation. They said a lot without actually saying anything important. Liz can't turn herself in and Ressler should know that. On the other hand, Ressler can't back off and Liz should know that too.Ressler is stuck between a rock and hard place - he really can't back off. If he did, he would lose his position and someone else who has no connection to Liz and probably a stooge of the Cabal would be brought in. That would be bad for everybody.

 

But is it really necessary to turn Ressler into such a dumbass? I am disappointed - the pretty on its own can only go so far. He should have joined forces with Tom Keen. I was looking forward to that - twice the pretty in place of one. But if he had, Cooper wouldn't have much to do. And really Cooper, the man confided in you and you are going to go behind his back?The writers still don't know how to use all the characters efficiently - Aram and Samar barely had anything to do. I want to see more of them. Pretty please, show.

 

And I am not understanding how Red can reboot Liz's life. After what Liz had done, can anyone come back from that? Even the cabal realistically shouldn't be able to bring her back from it. She almost killed a cop while on the run - that's more than enough to get her life sentence at a supermax. The longer she is on the run, it gets worse for her.

 

Also, why would the Cabal give into his threats? They know that he was going after them anyways. Will they really believe that restoring Liz's life would get Red off their case?

 

 

Eli Matchett is a Blacklister but why? The Monsanto stand-in group recruited him to be their pet radical. How did Red know about this?

    Questions like that are best not asked. We just need to accept the fact that Red knows everything unless the plot needs him to not know something.

Edited October 16, 2015 by norask

[nutty1]

And I am not understanding how Red can reboot Liz's life. After what Liz had done, can anyone come back from that? Even the cabal realistically shouldn't be able to bring her back from it. She almost killed a cop while on the run - that's more than enough to get her life sentence at a supermax. The longer she is on the run, it gets worse for her.

 

 

 

Lizzie will be on the run until the finale when she saves the world from some great disaster. Then she will be able to come home, with total immunity against any charges. In the meantime, look out world!! (JMO, of course!)

 

I also wish we could seem more of Samar and Aram. And less of Dembe being tortured. I am guessing that may come to an end next episode.

Love Tom being back. I hope he stays the entire season.

Also, it has been a while since I delved into the intricacies of the previous seasons. This episode seems to suggest that Red was not part of an anti-Cabal group but rather was part of the Cabal. They betrayed him so he is now going after them. I will accept it at face value but I feel like this contradicts previous episodes in which the Cabal was always Red's enemy. Does anyone know of a Blacklist fan page which lays out the plots and revelations so far?

 

If you go to these links, and scroll down to episodes for each, a synopsis of every episode is listed.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blacklist_(season_1)#Episodes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blacklist_(season_2)#Episodes

[Chaos Theory]

This show has always been a weird mix of geniunly entertaining and pure snark. I can deal with the necessary stupidity that the show sometimes has; like Lizzie calling Ressler. In real life that would be stupid and probably get her caught but on tv it keeps them connected and adds drama so I let it pass. It's the unnessasary stupidity that the show often had, but this season has so far avoided that annoyed me.

<~~~edited for clarity

Edited October 17, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Primetimer]

If you've been wondering when The Blacklist would find a way to dramatize the GMO debate, this is the episode for you!

Read the story

[tanita]

Does Red want her to get back to her old life ??? Yes, he wants to clear her name, but I think he would rather she became his associate or someone like Dembe who is with him all the time. If she is someone who is very important to him that people would use her against him, I'd keep her close at all time.

 

She is clearly working on pure instinct right now, which is why she does some things good and some bad - frankly those moments of stupid stop her from being a Marie Sue - at times I feel Red is a total Gary Sue but I let it slide because he has vast experience in evading the law, lots of resources and plans with-in plans. He has a lot of bravado, but he can back it up.. As for not asking about their connection - that's a pure writing choice IMO at this point. They feel that they still need that mystery.

 

And don't shoot me, but I'm kind of in agreement with Red when it comes to Ressler - he is a robot. The dude is so generic that it amazes me every time. :p

Edited October 16, 2015 by tanita

[Free]

Does Red want her to get back to her old life ??? Yes, he wants to clear her name, but I think he would rather she became his associate or someone like Dembe who is with him all the time. If she is someone who is very important to him that people would use her against him, I'd keep her close at all time.

 

Honestly, it would be better that way if she was.

[norask]

 

And don't shoot me, but I'm kind of in agreement with Red when it comes to Ressler - he is a robot. The dude is so generic that it amazes me every time. :p

      LOL. No one will be coming for you with guns drawn. It's not as if Ressler is a fan favorite. Well, I love him but blame that on my thing for big, blonde men. It also helps that he kicks ass every episode and runs around with his gun drawn.

 

But I do have to disagree with the generic comment. He's just someone who believes wholeheartedly in right and wrong, black and white. He probably spent his whole life trying to get into law enforcement and believes in the letter of the law. And I think the show needs someone like him who has a strong moral center, if only as a contrast to the fluid morality of basically every other character. Everyone else, including Cooper have compromised themselves as some point. Ressler came the closest after Audrey's death but didn't actually cross the line. He managed, with Keen's help to rein himself at the last moment.

 

And even now, in his own way he is trying to protect Liz. If he backed off Lizzie, he will be removed from the Directorship. Then what? Whoever replaces him would not hesitate to kill Liz or Reddington. For example, during the chase to the Russian Empassy, he had his gun drawn but never even aimed. Anyone else in his place would have taken the shot and Liz would be dead now.

[saber5055]

This episode started off by putting me off. I live in the middle of the corn belt, my neighbors are corn and bean fields, and the GMO disease plot was not even feasible, it was as poorly thought-out as the X Files movie's plot that bees pollinate corn. Writers, grain farmers DO watch television, we DO have electricity. 

 

And how long has it been since anyone has been able to unlock a car with a piece of wire? My car is 15 years old and the window is surrounded with door metal. Lock my keys in and I'm SOL. (I know because I've done it, plus used to unlock my 1970s car with a wire.) None of my cars have GPS. So, BS on that, too.

 

Fairfield is a real Iowa town and does have a hospital WITH cardiologists, if that cop needed a cardiologist. Hey, Fairfield was good enough for the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Plus it's only a short heli flight to University hospitals. Anyway, there is no "Silver Ridge" anywhere in Iowa that I'm aware of, plus no way, no how would any group of "foreigners" have a cartel in Iowa, home of conservative right-wing Republican white men. Sorry, but it's true. It plays in California, not in Iowa.

 

So Ressler must have flown into Iowa and RENTED? that black Chevy with the cop lights inside? Or did he borrow it from the local FBI office in Fairfield, of which is there none. Even if the car came down from Des Moines, I give Ressler credit for wrecking yet another government vehicle. His totaled car total is now ... what? It's our tax dollars at work!

 

And Lizzy could dump off the Harbormaster's body with not a single pang of guilt, and now she's all "poor me, am I a bad person?" Please.

 

Loved the return of the DMV guy and his "I rolled on you!" phone call with Red. I would have liked this episode if it hadn't started out by making stupid GMO corn "facts."

Edited October 16, 2015 by saber5055

[tanita]

Hey, you're taking the stupidity to personally. :)

 

If you all remember correctly, this show started with an episode that featured a Serbian terrorist. A "Serbian terrorist". There is no such thing. A Kosovo terrorist - sure, Bosnian - sure. But a Serbian ??? As a Serbian I was insulted. Drugs/smuggling/precious gems heists - YES we excel at that, all over the world unfortanatly, but fucking terrorism - NO.

 

For example, during the chase to the Russian Empassy, he had his gun drawn but never even aimed. Anyone else in his place would have taken the shot and Liz would be dead now.

 

And so would be Ressler. You don't think he would have gotten a bullet to the head the second he opened fire on that car. I'm amazed that the Russians didn't asked for his immediate dismissal and prosecution of an attack against Mother Russia for crashing one of their cars in that chase.

[david gideon]

 

she is still guilty of at least one murder and now shooting a cop. Those are things you don't come back from...

Unless you're Arvin Sloane.

[tanita]

Yeah, but that is CIA/SD-6. Everything is "covert" there.

 

Her face is all over the news. People know who she is and what she has done. If next to a murder of that politician, the public now knows she shot a police officer, no amount of clean-up will ever trully unsully her name.

Edited October 16, 2015 by tanita

[Julia]

Her face is all over the news. People know who she is and what she has done. If next to a murder of that politician, the public now knows she shot a police officer, no amount of clean-up will ever trully unsully her name.

 

Unless she gets a terrible red wig, in which case nobody will ever recognize her.

[saber5055]

Hey, you're taking the stupidity to personally. :)

 

 

Now there's two of us. LOL!

no amount of clean-up will ever trully unsully her name.

 

 

Red can and will do this. Well, Red and Julia's RED wig!

[Gregg247]

This makes 3 episodes in a row that have been really good!  I like that having Red and Liz on the run has shaken things up and made the stakes much higher each week.  

 

The farmer extremists, I think, came in 3 varieties.  The first group that Red confronted were guys who were just protesting, writing letters, and maybe vandalizing some property.  A few broke from that first group and actually killed those men at the beginning of the episode.  However, all but one of them were interested in stealing the formula and putting it on the internet in order to ruin the company.  The "main" guy was working on the virus that was going to bring down food production world-wide.  Little did he know that there was a 4th group, the company itself, that had already created an antidote that they would sell to the world for huge profits.  That's a lot of layers for one episode, yet it all seemed to work.

 

Glad to see Tom back in action, and with a mission that doesn't involve walking around with swastikas on his neck.  I wonder if he's back to teaching elementary school on the side while in between missions (I got the feeling he was actually good at it when he was undercover).

[norask]

And so would be Ressler. You don't think he would have gotten a bullet to the head the second he opened fire on that car.

        I was talking about the chase to the Embassy on foot just before Liz climbed up the big iron gate. She was still on American soil and the Russians  wouldn't have cared one way or other if some American terrorist was gunned down out side their gates. Anyone else in Ressler or Samar's place wouldn't have given chase, instead they would have shot her in the back.

    

 

I'm amazed that the Russians didn't asked for his immediate dismissal and prosecution of an attack against Mother Russia for crashing one of their cars in that chase.

I'm not sure it wouldn't come back to haunt him in some later episode. This is Ressler we are talking about - the butt monkey of the show.

[tanita]

Well, they could have shot her. Of course. The fact that he knows her and probably underneath it all still trusts her is a huge factor. He is most definitely has an internal moral struggle. He knows she isn't a Russian spy but he can't ignore the fact that she broke the law. I get Ressler's character. Just find him and to an even greater extent the actor incredibly boring - I find him very stilted and wooden (and now in two shows, maybe if I saw him in another role,...) and it color's my opinion of the character and his function in the show.

 

I forgot to ask. All those tatt's Tom had during his Neo-Nazi excursion - was that permanent ink ??? If so, did he remove it and if he did, how could he do it so fast. Those things were huge.

[saber5055]

All those tatt's Tom had during his Neo-Nazi excursion - was that permanent ink ??? If so, did he remove it and if he did, how could he do it so fast.

 

 

If I remember correctly, when he and Lizzie were "sorta kinda" getting back together last season, she wanted them gone so voilá, they were gone within minutes. Removing tats in Blacklist World takes about the same amount of time it does to get from the eastern seaboard to Iowa ... two or three minutes, or during a commercial break.

 

Yeah, I can totally see Tom (is that his name, really?) doing some sub teaching to bring in some cash, now that he seems to be unemployed by an criminal faction. I'm guessing he has a teacher ID somewhere in his go bag.

[NateCon]

Liz telling Ressler to back off was so dumb I was rolling my eyes. He's literally doing the only thing he can and she's lucky that it's him and not some random who wont thinking twice about shooting. Ressler is the most interesting character to me at the minute because he has no real choice in what's happening and everyone is giving him shit about it.

[KittenPokerCheater]

Love Tom being back. I hope he stays the entire season.

 

Yes please.  Also, I'm hoping both "Tom" and "Dembe"  are doing many many pushups in case we get some great shirtless chase scene.  /wishful thinking.

 

I'm surprised that I am liking the show this much this season.  Who knew?  I'm glad they took on Monsanto (as it were).  And it's nice to see Liz being more badass and less whiney.

[paigow]

Removing tats in Blacklist World takes about the same amount of time it does to get from the eastern seaboard to Iowa ... two or three minutes, or during a commercial break...

Oliver Queen, despite his almost unlimited financial resources, has huge scars from his de-tatting,  Yet "Tom", who cannot afford an entree at the chinese restaurant, shows no scarring whatsoever.

 

Also, I'm hoping both "Tom" and "Dembe"  are doing many many pushups in case we get some great shirtless chase scene. 

If the tattoo remover is also a skilled surgeon, Dembe will recover from his injuries within the hour...

[Wynterwolf]

Yeah, I can totally see Tom (is that his name, really?) ...

 

Jacob Phelps was his "real" name, but I think he sees Tom Keen as who he is now.  

 

Very interested in Tom and Harold and what mischief they can get into together.  Loved Harold trying to engage Ressler in a 'teaching moment', but realizing Ressler wouldn't be able to take advantage of Tom's expertise and deciding to do it himself.  Harold needs to stay in the game.  

 

And egad, I hope we don't have to wait too long before Red rescues Dembe!!  

[morgankobi]

To date, that waitress is the smartest person on this show. 

 

I kind of loved how rattled Tom was at Cooper finding him at his special place.

[thuganomics85]

Lizzie calling Ressler and almost getting them caught, was a brief return to the classic idiotic Lizzie I know and love (kind of.)  Even if she is right that he is a "good man", she should know by now that he is the type of person that believes fully in the law, and that Lizzie should be arrested, and if she's innocent, it will work out.  He is not going to back off; especially he did last season briefly, only for her to reward that trust by shooting Connolly (even if he was an asshole.)  That trust is broken, Lizzie!  You've been doing well this season, so get your shit together, and don't be that dumbass again!

 

Kind of bored with one, because it felt like the "mission of the week" was just full of a bunch of boring exposition and jargon, and all it amounted to was another variation of an extremist trying to unleash a virus to make humanity "pay."  I guess there was the twist that the company/Cabal was behind it, in order to make themselves look like heroes after they cure it, but it was still going through the motions.  And it reminded me again over my confusion of the blacklist and how it was formed.  It sounded like before this, Eli Matchett was a protestor, but not too crazy.  So, how is he already on the list, then?

 

Tom's return and Harold working with is certainly an intriguing idea.  And surprisingly believable for this show.

 

Mr. Solomon has now captured Paul Reubens character and is torturing him, since Dembre is still remaining silent.  Hopefully Red will get over their soon and prove Solomon wrong, by helping his buddies out.

[Drusilla]

The writing in the Blacklist is sometimes risible. I know it's TV and all, but for the love of God come on, think of all the other FBI/cop shows that do it realistically or are the writers wishing to slide into the ridic realms of Castle??

[Julia]

The writing in the Blacklist is sometimes risible. I know it's TV and all, but for the love of God come on, think of all the other FBI/cop shows that do it realistically or are the writers wishing to slide into the ridic realms of Castle??

 

Would that be a slide? As ridiculous as Castle has been for most of its run, there really isn't anyone onscreen who clearly and obviously should not be an actor. There's only so much they can do while everyone's trying to pull focus away from the gaping hole in the cast.

Edited October 17, 2015 by Julia

[Drusilla]

Would that be a slide? As ridiculous as Castle has been for most of its run, there really isn't anyone onscreen who clearly and obviously should not be an actor. There's only so much they can do while everyone's trying to pull focus away from the gaping hole in the cast.

You're not a fan of Ms Boone I take it...?!

[Julia]

You're not a fan of Ms Boone I take it...?!

 

Well, let's say I wasn't too worried that nobody would know who I was talking about.

[saber5055]

Mr. Solomon has now captured Paul Reubens character and is torturing him

 

 

Oh yeah, I had totally forgotten that PeeWee showed up at the end. What connection does he have with Dembe that Dembe would all of a sudden start talking now that Paul is being tortured along with him? Me, I wouldn't count on it. I do love me some Dembe.

 

And, does anyone know who Mr. Solomon is and why he wants Red so badly? Everyone else seems to be able to locate Red, why not him?

[Texasmom1970]

Loved Red turning off the lights in his pimped out tin can by using a clapper!

Shallow note, after Ressler got finished fighting the guy in the corn field he looked really hot all smudged with dirt.

I want Mr. Kaplan to rescue Dembe, miss her.

Glad to see Tom back, even though he is a baddie, just can't quit him.

[Danielg342]

Ho hum. I guess it was only a matter of time before this show took on Monsanto- named "Veridiant" in this episode- although this episode was more like "The Front" but with cornfields this time. Actually, this episode was "The Front" with a cornfield in it...guys, it's a little early to start copping ideas from past seasons, isn't it?

 

Now, I could buy that something like this could happen- big time crop failures due to pests have happened before, and there's no reason why it couldn't happen again with this virus. I also understand that this is a TV show that's going to exaggerate that crop failure and make things more dangerous and expedient than it actually would be...but I couldn't shake the sense that this whole plot feels implausible. Maybe it's because the story is such a cliche that it just doesn't do it for me, but I also think in reality authorities would do everything they could to contain the virus plus gene replication isn't always perfect- some crops just won't be affected by the virus.

 

I also wonder if it's really feasible for an "inside man" to go into the field with "guns blazing" and just kill his co-workers- he's making himself out to be a target. It'd make more sense for him to gather information from inside the company over time and give the info as he collects it to his fellow henchmen, which would allow the virologist time to actually create the destructive agent. Of course, then we wouldn't have an entertaining show, I guess.

 

Also, to paraphrase the Previously.TV recap- it's awfully convenient of Eli Matchett to leave his computers on and unprotected. He probably doesn't realize that Veridiant could likely hack onto his computer if they wanted to and steal the information right back. Pretty sure if there's a company that wouldn't worry about ethics- based on what the former workers told us- it's Veridiant, and they'd likely have some of the best hackers out there. Matchett was playing with fire. 

 

Liked seeing the DMV guy- he had Red fooled (as was I), and I like how Ressler is really "in charge". He's really come into his own as an actor on this show.

 

I'm also intrigued by what is going on with Tom...I like seeing Cooper seek him out, and I also have a sneaking suspicion the Oriental waitress is going to reappear at some point either as Tom's new love interest or as a Blacklister...she had two scenes that could have easily been moulded into one, and every scene was framed to give her focus. We'll see.

 

Lastly, I'm not sure I like where Mr. Solomon is going. He still came across as a one-dimensional bad guy when the character could be so much better. I also wonder what Mr. Solomon hopes to achieve with those billiard balls- I doubt that Dembe would genuinely know where Red is, and he probably knows that Red knows that this is merely a trap. So this is no straightforward operation.

 

All in all...pretty terrible.

[paigow]

I'm also intrigued by what is going on with Tom...I like seeing Cooper seek him out, and I also have a sneaking suspicion the Oriental waitress is going to reappear at some point either as Tom's new love interest or as a Blacklister...

She likely works for Cooper and dropped a dime on "Tom"...

[Wynterwolf]

She likely works for Cooper and dropped a dime on "Tom"...

 

Particularly if Liz told Cooper about that communication method (or she didn't even need to tell him, he could have just looked at her phone records and decided to put someone in place to keep tabs on who showed up).  Tom lets Liz make him dumb.  

[norask]

Lastly, I'm not sure I like where Mr. Solomon is going. He still came across as a one-dimensional bad guy when the character could be so much better. I also wonder what Mr. Solomon hopes to achieve with those billiard balls- I doubt that Dembe would genuinely know where Red is, and he probably knows that Red knows that this is merely a trap. So this is no straightforward operation.

Agree with you there. The reason all this cabal talk falls flat for me is because we haven't had one great, compelling villain . They had all these great actors like Alan Alda and David Strathairn and failed to use them properly. And now it is Edi Gatheg's turn to be a not-so-effective villain until he is taken down by Red.

 

Mr.Solomon better have an ulterior motive, because otherwise this torture-porn nonsense just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If Solomon really needed Red's location, why didn't he just use Dembe's family in the first place? Why wait around and then bring in the other guy? His family are the only reason for which Dembe might have betrayed Red.

 

Another thing caught my notice on the second watch. If the original plan was to head to Valencia, then why did Red have a meeting place with Dembe set up in Iowa? And it must have been set up in advance because Red hadn't been in contact with Dembe in a long while. All this development with Verdient happened after Dembe was taken and so, how the hell did Red set up their meeting place? Did he just leave a message on some voicemail and never looked for Dembe's reply? Does that seem to be in character for the concierge of crime, who has been on the run for 20 years?

[Danielg342]

Agree with you there. The reason all this cabal talk falls flat for me is because we haven't had one great, compelling villain . They had all these great actors like Alan Alda and David Strathairn and failed to use them properly. And now it is Edi Gatheg's turn to be a not-so-effective villain until he is taken down by Red.

 

Mr.Solomon better have an ulterior motive, because otherwise this torture-porn nonsense just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If Solomon really needed Red's location, why didn't he just use Dembe's family in the first place? Why wait around and then bring in the other guy? His family are the only reason for which Dembe might have betrayed Red.

 

I would have loved to have known- early on- that Red was once a member of The Cabal (which seems highly likely, given his role as the "Concierge of Crime" and that he was wanted for stealing government documents) but left because The Cabal betrayed him in some way; with Red's motivation being some kind of a whistle-blower. That would be an easy but compelling storyline that gives the show its purpose.

 

Then the question becomes, "who is Red betraying?" The big thing for me is that I have no idea why "The Cabal" even exists. This isn't a kids' show where your bad guy only needs "being evil" as a reason for being an antagonist- this is adult fare, and adults don't normally do things "just to be evil", they do things for a reason...and that reason just isn't known when we get to The Cabal.

 

Truth be told, I don't think it's too hard for me to buy the existence of The Cabal. We're largely becoming a "globalized" world with companies and ideas moving well beyond- and often ignoring- national boundaries, creating what is almost a homogeneous "mass culture" where massive groups of nations pretty much all act in lock-step. It's a process that arguably began with European imperialism in the 19th century, continued with the emergence of multinational corporations and has sped up with the Internet age of the current generation. The Cabal, at least in an abstract kind of way, probably already exists, as I doubt there are that many countries today that truly think for themselves- it's become a tangled web where one country becomes "dominant" but the other countries do what they can to influence what the "top" country does (since everyone is so interconnected, no one truly is self-reliant), thereby ensuring no one has "absolute" power.

 

More formally, though, I could buy The Cabal as some kind of "corporatocracy" where some of the world's largest multinational corporations have bandied together to influence world governments to cater to their needs. Many people believe this kind of thing already exists, and I wouldn't be surprised. It probably wouldn't even take much to establish, and, though I grant it's a cliche, it's one that works, since corporations are easy to paint as large, faceless and callous. Here the show would have to be careful to establish that The Cabal is acting purely to ensure that its companies are productive and efficient, which would mean from time to time that it actually caters to its workers (since a worker who is too mistreated isn't productive), but only as far as its bottom line is concerned. I would expect The Cabal to, say, aim for keeping the unemployment rate high enough that it can believably tell its workers, "you've got to accept these conditions or else we'll find someone else" but also not so high that they've got too many people with time on their hands that can band together and "revolt" against The Cabal. In this sense, too, it's essential for The Cabal to have periods of low unemployment and "great worker treatment", but only as a mind game- "see, things can get better if you apply yourselves!"

 

I think that could be a fun storyline, and perhaps Red bought along too but had a moment of altruism that got him kicked out- which is why he wanted to join the FBI in the first place and stays within the FBI's grasp despite it not being the smartest move. Perhaps Katarina Rostova was once- or maybe even still is- a member of The Cabal and without Red stepping in, Lizzie would wind up fighting "the wrong enemy".

 

Or perhaps this is all silly and we're back at square one...well, I at least think it's a bit better than what we have now, where we still know nothing.

[dwmarch]

I want Mr. Kaplan to rescue Dembe, miss her.

 

If there is any justice in this universe Mr. Kaplan will be kidnapped next and at that point Mr. Solomon is going to realize just what a terrible mistake he's made.

[Drusilla]

I would have loved to have known- early on- that Red was once a member of The Cabal (which seems highly likely, given his role as the "Concierge of Crime" and that he was wanted for stealing government documents) but left because The Cabal betrayed him in some way; with Red's motivation being some kind of a whistle-blower. That would be an easy but compelling storyline that gives the show its purpose.

 

Then the question becomes, "who is Red betraying?" The big thing for me is that I have no idea why "The Cabal" even exists. This isn't a kids' show where your bad guy only needs "being evil" as a reason for being an antagonist- this is adult fare, and adults don't normally do things "just to be evil", they do things for a reason...and that reason just isn't known when we get to The Cabal.

 

Truth be told, I don't think it's too hard for me to buy the existence of The Cabal. We're largely becoming a "globalized" world with companies and ideas moving well beyond- and often ignoring- national boundaries, creating what is almost a homogeneous "mass culture" where massive groups of nations pretty much all act in lock-step. It's a process that arguably began with European imperialism in the 19th century, continued with the emergence of multinational corporations and has sped up with the Internet age of the current generation. The Cabal, at least in an abstract kind of way, probably already exists, as I doubt there are that many countries today that truly think for themselves- it's become a tangled web where one country becomes "dominant" but the other countries do what they can to influence what the "top" country does (since everyone is so interconnected, no one truly is self-reliant), thereby ensuring no one has "absolute" power.

 

More formally, though, I could buy The Cabal as some kind of "corporatocracy" where some of the world's largest multinational corporations have bandied together to influence world governments to cater to their needs. Many people believe this kind of thing already exists, and I wouldn't be surprised. It probably wouldn't even take much to establish, and, though I grant it's a cliche, it's one that works, since corporations are easy to paint as large, faceless and callous. Here the show would have to be careful to establish that The Cabal is acting purely to ensure that its companies are productive and efficient, which would mean from time to time that it actually caters to its workers (since a worker who is too mistreated isn't productive), but only as far as its bottom line is concerned. I would expect The Cabal to, say, aim for keeping the unemployment rate high enough that it can believably tell its workers, "you've got to accept these conditions or else we'll find someone else" but also not so high that they've got too many people with time on their hands that can band together and "revolt" against The Cabal. In this sense, too, it's essential for The Cabal to have periods of low unemployment and "great worker treatment", but only as a mind game- "see, things can get better if you apply yourselves!"

 

I think that could be a fun storyline, and perhaps Red bought along too but had a moment of altruism that got him kicked out- which is why he wanted to join the FBI in the first place and stays within the FBI's grasp despite it not being the smartest move. Perhaps Katarina Rostova was once- or maybe even still is- a member of The Cabal and without Red stepping in, Lizzie would wind up fighting "the wrong enemy".

 

Or perhaps this is all silly and we're back at square one...well, I at least think it's a bit better than what we have now, where we still know nothing.

 

How have you managed to stay so invested? My eyes glaze over after the first episode of every season until the last one rolls in, simply because I am mostly bored to tears with it all. Now it seems I'm watching to tear it apart and I loved it so much! If it wasn't for Spader, I'd have shut up and gone home a long time ago!

If there is any justice in this universe Mr. Kaplan will be kidnapped next and at that point Mr. Solomon is going to realize just what a terrible mistake he's made.

 

I'd PAY to see that one!

[Ottis]

This makes 3 episodes in a row that have been really good!

 

 

Almost. The quality of each episode is inversely proportional to how much Lizzy's actions drive it. The first twp eps were very good, when Lizzy was a passenger to Red's machinations. This one was a bit of a snooze, and the couple of times Lizzy took action were the worst parts of the ep (calling Ressler? Really?). 

 

I know it is a real thing, but I had a hard time getting excited about corn viruses.I need something more visceral as a TV threat.

[betsyboo]

Still loving the show which really surprises me. Red continues to what he does best and I even liked Lizzie, when she wasn't whining. But what I was thinking about during the last episode happened and I was not expecting that. Some undercover cop came for them and almost got killed. That was the exact reason I am frustrated that Liz doesn't insist to know everything that Red knows about her past. Some other overzealous law enforcement agent could come for them again and in a realistic world, she might not be able to get him before he does. She could be dead at any moment. If I were in her place, I would like to know everything before that happens.

Can someone clarify - as much as I never want to see a first responder killed (entire family -firemen and policemen) - at any time did the cop in the diner who approached Red identify himself? I absolutely thought he was an enemy or gun-for-hire when he walked up and snarled Red's name. Again, not trying to justify Eliz's actions, but she didn't know he was a cop, did she?

 

Loved Red turning off the lights in his pimped out tin can by using a clapper!

This made me squeal with delight! I rewound it three times! JS's expression was flawless.

 

Poor Dembe. Although if CabalGuy had done his homework - or even taken off Dembe's shirt - he would know that Dembe has survived far worse, and that Red saved him (yes?). No way is Dembe going to turn on him now.

 

I, too, would pay for a Mr. Kaplan v. CabalGuy throwdown.

[norask]

Again, not trying to justify Eliz's actions, but she didn't know he was a cop, did she?

No, she didn't know but in the real world, that wouldn't matter. Even if she is exonerated of her other crimes, shooting a cop, even accidentally, isn't something that goes away. But the writers love to pretend that Red is an all-powerful god in this world and so he will, of course, make it go away, come season finale.

 

Funny thing is that I actually support Liz in the shooting. I'm not her biggest supporter but in that moment, she did the only thing she could. Some guy in a bar was trying to shoot them, what was she supposed to do? My personal problem is that she is still so passive. She makes some noise about how she is not a good person anymore but that's about it. Why not ask the relevant questions? What happens the next time she bumps into another off duty cop who happens to be a quicker draw that her? In a real world, every cop in the country will be on the lookout for her. Why doesn't the writer's just have her ask Red what the big secret about their relationship is? It is on season three,  writers. It's is about time the cat is let out the bag.

Edited October 21, 2015 by norask