S03.E04: The Djinn

[Ottis]

Even the blacklister's IQ dropped when Red was around. He had been running a very dangerous operation very successfully right under his father's nose, yet he brought his father into his own house to torture, where anyone could and everyone did find the crucified man, all because the plot demanded it.

 

 

Not only that, but it was a very slow death, that required that the blacklister leave for long periods of time and then return to the victim. Because, you know, you like having a man who you are murdering on the premises for as long as possible.

 

Oh, who are we kidding. Identifying "ridiculous" on this show is like catching fish in a bathtub. That said, I still enjoy it, especially with less Lizzy.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

The Blacklist Plays Djinn Rummy
If this week's Blacklist-er grants wishes, why is Liz's hair still blonde?

[calipiano81]

I'm alarmed by how many people in this thread say they like Lizzie. The less Lizzy, the better.

Without Lizzie, the whole premise of the show would have to change. She is the main motivation for most of Red's actions, including his creation of the Blacklist.

[Drusilla]

Nice catch. I was too busy rolling my eyes to notice that. So Ressler only surrounded the house on one side. Why did he even have to surround the house in the first place? What exactly stopped him from barging into the house right away?

 

This particular cat-and-mouse game would have so much more compelling if the writers actually made an effort to make both sides equally smart and competent. Right now it's the same old, same old. Red is the smartest person on the show because everyone else is an idiot. Even the blacklister's IQ dropped when Red was around. He had been running a very dangerous operation very successfully right under his father's nose, yet he brought his father into his own house to torture, where anyone could and everyone did find the crucified man, all because the plot demanded it.

 

I love you

[norask]

Not only that, but it was a very slow death, that required that the blacklister leave for long periods of time and then return to the victim. Because, you know, you like having a man who you are murdering on the premises for as long as possible.

 

Exactly. His brother came looking for him. Another minute and he would have stumbled upon their father. What kind of criminal mastermind tortures someone in their own home? Don't they usually do that sort of thing in creepy abandoned warehouses?

 

Oh, who are we kidding. Identifying "ridiculous" on this show is like catching fish in a bathtub. That said, I still enjoy it, especially with less Lizzy.

 

I like the show too but only when I don't think too hard about it. I just enjoy the pretty, especially the strawberry-blonde pretty. Aram is hot too.

 

The writing for Liz is really bad, bordering on sexism. She barely has any agency - all she does is follow Red's lead. I understand that Red is the lead but so is Lizzie. There must be a way to make her a competent, rational human being without reducing Red's awesomeness.

 

I love you

 

Aww! Thank you. I love you too. I really enjoy your posts.

Edited October 29, 2015 by norask

[paigow]

The writing for Liz is really bad, bordering on sexism. She barely has any agency - all she does is follow Red's lead...

Their relationship is more like Padewan - Jedi... therefore, gender bias / agency issues become less relevant. That is, if Ressler & Red were on the run and Lizzie was chasing them, Red would treat Ressler like a Chicago Fire candidate...

[norask]

Their relationship is more like Padewan - Jedi... therefore, gender bias / agency issues become less relevant. That is, if Ressler & Red were on the run and Lizzie was chasing them, Red would treat Ressler like a Chicago Fire candidate...

I don't watch Chicago Fire. So I am not sure if you're disagreeing with me or not. lol. Call me an idiot but a little hint would be appreciated.

 

Personally, I don't think Star Wars analogy works here. Padawans knew right from the beginning why they were being trained by the jedi. And even then, very young children were indoctrinated into their belief-system when they were blank slates. That's one of the reasons the Jedi High Council didn't want to train Anakin as he was too old. And look what happened. He never learned to obey them completely and ended up betraying them.

 

Liz is a grown woman who is supposed to be a trained profiler and who also claimed to have raised herself. Someone like that cannot be a puppet. Yet she is one. Why isn't she shown to ask questions? Why is she never shown to take the lead? Just once, I'd like to see her be in charge. Unlike a padawan, she isn't a child and shouldn't be always shown having to be lead by Red. I could go on and on about how lacking Liz is as a character but that has been covered a lot in these forums.

 

Maybe it's not a sexist issue and only a bad writing issue. But it still looks iffy that the male lead is the epitome of awesomeness and the female lead is a bumbling moron.

 

Another thing that caught my notice is that by now, every male lead in the show is desperate to save Liz. And the only one who isn't is the only other female lead. Make of that what you will.

Edited November 3, 2015 by norask

[Drusilla]

Exactly. His brother came looking for him. Another minute and he would have stumbled upon their father. What kind of criminal mastermind tortures someone in their own home? Don't they usually do that sort of thing in creepy abandoned warehouses?

 

I like the show too but only when I don't think too hard about it. I just enjoy the pretty, especially the strawberry-blonde pretty. Aram is hot too.

 

The writing for Liz is really bad, bordering on sexism. She barely has any agency - all she does is follow Red's lead. I understand that Red is the lead but so is Lizzie. There must be a way to make her a competent, rational human being without reducing Red's awesomeness.

 

 

Aww! Thank you. I love you too. I really enjoy your posts.

 

The whole Ressler conundrum: he wants to save Liz from being killed by the Cabal, yes. And then what? And then what? He's FBI, she stone cold pulled the trigger on the Attorney Gen and now he's dead. The cop? Will we ever learn if he lived or died? We assume not because there's no coming back from a double murder rap. So Samar's words, 'no one forced her (liz) to pull the trigger'.... this scares me. Is this a grassy knoll two gunmen scenario? Please God no.

[paigow]

I don't watch Chicago Fire. So I am not sure if you're disagreeing with me or not. lol. Call me an idiot but a little hint would be appreciated.

Rookie firefighters [Candidates] are treated like slaves...doing all the cooking, cleaning etc... at the firehouse. However, they get to absorb the collective wisdom of veterans so that candidates don't get themselves [or anyone else] killed. Much to learn has Ressler