S03.E18: Mr. Solomon: Conclusion

[Tara Ariano]

Conclusion. A team member falls into grave danger due to a tragedy, leading the task force to rely on Red and his unorthodox methods. Meanwhile, an unforeseen complication impacts Tom and Liz.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Conclusion. A team member falls into grave danger due to a tragedy, leading the task force to rely on Red and his unorthodox methods.

 

Paraphrasing ....

 

Red: A team member falls into danger.

Lizzie: Grave Danger ?

Red: Is there another kind ?

Wow, I can't believe that the task force is forced to rely on Red's methods .... again. Now where have we seen this before -- basically every other episode this season.

 

Meanwhile, an unforeseen complication impacts Tom and Liz.

 

What, oh, what could the unforeseen complication be ? Baby arrives early and Lizzie gives birth in the back seat of Aram's grandfather's car, and they neglect to clean up the car before returning it (because Lizzie and Tom are really self-absorbed dicks) -- nope couldn't be that, that's way too obvious.

Oh, I know, Cooper wasn't really a ordained minister from the hokey Internet church that ordained him 10 minutes before the wedding after he paid them $10 or something similar -- and they have to find a real minister and get married before the baby is born. Because Lizzie is truly an old-fashioned traditional kind of gal at heart.

Edited April 14, 2016 by ottoDbusdriver

[ottoDbusdriver]

Who was that thin woman pretending to be Lizzie hanging out the car finding lobbing off shots at the white SUV ?  Couldn't they find an appropriately sized body double ?

 

Lizzie: "Oh my god, we're terrible parents."

Truer words have never been stated on TV.

 

There's no way that was Lizzie under that sheet on the bed when Mr. Solomon entered that hospital room.

 

How did Tom and Lizzie get out of Aram's grandfather's car so quickly after the accident ? There's no way that happened.

 

How did Team Post Office escape from that church and NONE of them caught a bullet ?  With the sheer volume of bullets flying around that building, someone had to have gotten clipped by a ricochet ?

 

Mr. Kaplan: "Your baby deserves more than we can provide"
Why exactly ?  Is Lizzie's baby the Second Coming or something ?  Some sort of miracle child ?

 

Lizzie: "I'm not having my baby in a dirty warehouse"
And Lizzie, you might want to remember that you are on the run and you can't really be so choosy about where your baby is born. 

 

Magical -- really Lizzie ?  Have never seen any documentaries about the birthing process ?  Magical rarely describes it. 
Though it does lend credence to the theory that the baby is off-the-charts special -- going to bring about world peace, and make the trains run on time and solve climate challenge all at once.

 

And this episode just turned into a poor man's version of ER -- first the baby is in trouble, but then is fine, now Lizzie is in trouble, but you just know Lizzie will be fine.  Or will she ?

 

And now it has turned into Poor Man's ER on wheels combined with Clint Eastwood's 'The Gauntlet' on the way from the nightclub back to the hospital they just came from.  As Lizzie slowly lays dying and unresponsive to treatment.

 

Finally !!! Lizzie's dead.  Now we've got a show.

 

Megan Boone did some of her finest acting this episode -- while pretending to be unconscious.

 

A team member falls into grave danger due to a tragedy, leading the task force to rely on Red and his unorthodox methods.

 

I'm still trying to figure out at what point the task force relied on Red and his unorthodox methods.  When did that happen ?

Edited April 17, 2016 by ottoDbusdriver

[aliya]

Lizzie: "I'm not having my baby in a dirty warehouse"

And Lizzie, you might want to remember that you are on the run and you can't really be so choosy about where your baby is born. 

 

Finally !!! Lizzie's dead.  Now we've got a show.

I expected someone to say something about Christ being born in a manger...

 

Because I love this show, I have been willing to close my eyes to a lot of stuff, but I swear, 'Disco Duck' would have been a better choice than 'Having My Baby.'  Good Lord...

[ItCouldBeWorse]

My educated guess: she's not dead.  Mr. Kaplan arranged something with her and the Dr. to make Red believe she was dead so that he'll be out of her life and so the baby will be safe, since if Lizzie is believed to be alive, the baby can be used to get to her.  Don't know how she got the Dr. to go along with the plan,  except that maybe he can get out, too, which we know he wants to do.  He (the Dr.) was very convincing, though.  For this plan to be effective, Tom can't know either, because he would lead Red right back to Lizzie.

[ottoDbusdriver]

My educated guess: she's not dead.  Mr. Kaplan arranged something with her and the Dr. to make Red believe she was dead so that he'll be out of her life and so the baby will be safe, since if Lizzie is believed to be alive, the baby can be used to get to her.  Don't know how she got the Dr. to go along with the plan,  except that maybe he can get out, too, which we know he wants to do.  He (the Dr.) was very convincing, though.  For this plan to be effective, Tom can't know either, because he would lead Red right back to Lizzie.

 

You kind of expected the ole switcheroo to happen -- that wasn't really Lizzie, it was a clone that Red had grown in a lab just in case of emergencies and they needed to fake Lizzie's death.

 

I was waiting for Mr. Kaplan to tell Lizzie that she was Lizzie's father.  

 

Are we ever going to find out what exactly the relationship between Red and Lizzie is all about ?

Edited April 15, 2016 by ottoDbusdriver

[kdm07]

So...Liz is dead?

 

Are we ever going to find out what exactly the relationship between Red and Lizzie is all about ?

 

I want the answer to this too.

[Free]

Finally !!! Lizzie's dead.  Now we've got a show.

 

I'll wait for confirmation.

 

Are we ever going to find out what exactly the relationship between Red and Lizzie is all about ?

 

It depends on how long they'll keep dragging it out.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Her "death" coincides with Megan Boone's maternity leave, I presume. They had to find a way to remove her from the show for a while.

[Texasmom1970]

Yeah, I am not buying she is dead either. Some kind of plan to ensure her safety. She will eventually pop up again, you know like Michael Meyers!

[DEM]

Wow, I'm stunned.  The only way that could be a ruse is if the medical team and Mr Kaplan conspired behind Red's back.  Even that is a stretch because Liz was lliterally not breathing for an AWFULLY long time; moreover, a coma patient and a dead body do not feel the same.

 

I was confused by the news of Tom leaving for a spinoff and how that would work for Liz, but if she's dead the question is moot.

 

TVLine:

NBC declined to comment on Boone’s involvement with the series moving forward, but Eggold released an exclusive statement to TVLine: “I was as shocked as I think the fans are! I have loved working with Megan, especially as we explored the complicated dynamic in Liz and Tom’s relationship. I’m incredibly curious to see how this deep cut affects Tom’s understanding of the world and what this means for the future of their daughter.”

 

EW:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Is Elizabeth Keen really dead?
JAMES SPADER: I think it’s most prudent not only as just myself and what I know or don’t know for that, but also in terms of the character of Reddington: Elizabeth Keen is dead.

Edited April 15, 2016 by DEM

[Ottis]

Fast forwarded through every Lizzie scene. Then she was dead. Awesome.

For a moment, I thought James Spader had heard my prayers.

Sadly, I, too, don't think it is permanent. Which is too bad, because I realized I was excited about the possibilities with no Lizzie. So many interesting stories around the other characters.

[Artsda]

The whole thing seems like a set-up. Lizzie injected herself with something before the birth, Lizzie's not going to the morgue. No way she's dead, but she has to be for her to not be kidnapped.

[ottoDbusdriver]

The whole thing seems like a set-up. Lizzie injected herself with something before the birth, Lizzie's not going to the morgue. No way she's dead, but she has to be for her to not be kidnapped.

 

And Liz becomes the new Red, since she will be officially dead and is able to easily hide, but will still somehow work as a full-time contractor for the FBI Team Post Office -- under an assumed name and she will start wearing glasses.  Maybe Elizabeen Keth, or Janice from Accounting (because she doesn't give a fuck).

Edited April 16, 2016 by ottoDbusdriver

[Primetimer]

Because Liz is having our baby. What a lovely way to say how much she loves us.

Read the story

[mertensia]

Agnes. Really? As if that kid's life isn't going to be hard enough they foist fusty Agnes on her.

I'm voting for Mr. Kaplan to be Lizzie's mom.

Lizzie's death will last as long as her maternity leave.

[buttersister]

For a moment, I was singing, "ding, dong the wig is dead" but then ... she wasn't going to the morgue. Uh-oh. Mr. Kaplan was going to take care of everything. Including making sure that not-all-the-way-dead Lizzie doesn't get an autopsy. The doctor gave her almost-stop-breathing drugs (Kaplan counter-acting them in the car after they pulled away). My question is whether Red was in on it---he seemed pretty devastated (Spader!), but that would be true if he was sending her off to be safe from the bad guys and he couldn't see her anymore (daughter will be sent to be with her soon enough). Point being that she could come back in a future season. (It's okay, you can stay away, Lizzie.)

[Dowel Jones]

So the FBI finds an earset that the bad guys were using (bad luck for the previous owner).  Maybe it's just me, but I would have put it on and maybe listened in on their conversations, found out about operator 46, etc.  But, no, let's run a partial print, trace it to a house in Phoenix, wait for the local agents to run that down, trace some phone calls back to a local house (I WANT that DSL connection), establish that the ownership is false, and then go out to the house to check it out.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

 

I have never once fast forwarded through this show, but that ended when DJ Tom put that record on and cued the lights.  That scene alone should have made him a Blacklister.

 

Why did no one on Reddington's team not notice that the goon squad weren't wearing any body armor on their legs? Not being able to hit the broad side of a barn notwithstanding, they could have done a lot better than endangering every citizen for a mile around the gunfights. 

 

Again, if someone maybe had the foresight to shoot Solomon, much of the incentive to fight goes out the window for the mercs.

 

Mr. Kaplan sure stepped on Reddington at the "clinic".  And then Elizabeth.  He knew it, too

 

Did I hear right?  Agnes??

[glowbug]

There's no way Elizabeth Keen is permanently dead. The actress is having a baby so they needed her off screen for a while. Also, if they were going to kill her off they would solve the mystery of Red's connection to her. Without resolving that her story arc is incomplete and it makes no sense from a narrative perspective to get rid of her. 

[Rosebud1970]

For the love of God, won't somebody feed that poor baby?

 

I get that Tom doesn't know the first thing about taking care of a newborn, but even the most unprepared of parents knows you gotta feed the thing.  Anyone? Bueller?

 

Full disclosure: I had a placental abruption and it was the scariest thing imaginable. Had an emergency C, my daughter was born 12 weeks early.  I had no issues with the amniotic fluid making its way to my lungs, though. Good thing I had no idea that was even a possibility. It would have freaked me out even more than I already was.

[Brian Cronin]

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Is Elizabeth Keen really dead?

JAMES SPADER: I think it’s most prudent not only as just myself and what I know or don’t know for that, but also in terms of the character of Reddington: Elizabeth Keen is dead.

 

That's a pretty note perfect answer. That Spader is a sharp guy. 

The doctor is Lizzie's ex-boyfriend, so he'd be very easy for Kaplan to convince to fake Lizzie's death. 

[Dowel Jones]

For the love of God, won't somebody feed that poor baby?

 

Remember, they couldn't even take care of a dog.

[yourmomiseasy]

I'm upset about Aram's grandpa's car.  Maybe Red will take care of it, because you know Zombie Liz won't.

[mertensia]

Oh also: Solomon knows very well that Lizzie is injured; why the hell didn't he stop to think: maybe she really needs the hospital? Maybe I should wait.

[dwmarch]

I'd almost laugh if it turned out that Lizzie's complications were caused by the surgeon nicking an artery because he couldn't see what he was doing when Tom ever so helpfully turned on the disco lighting.

 

Lizzie asked for magic and POOF! Tom is now magically a DJ!

 

Given the line about putting Lizzie in a coma, I'm guessing that's what happened. There was no ambiguity about Tony's death on 24 but he somehow got better a couple of seasons later. Lizzie's potential survival after an appropriate absence won't entirely come as bullshit to me.

 

At least we're spared from watching Elizabeth trying to microwave her right breast to warm up the milk for baby.

 

Did they mention the dog? I think they might have mentioned the dog. What dog?

 

I'm guessing the military guy and his uber-commandos are some blacker-than-black special forces outfit that's trying to find Masha Rostova. Lizzie spelled out what she thought Momma's plan was so we know that's not what's actually going on. I imagine the spec ops team is trying to draw Rostova out.

 

I did like that moment near the end where Samar basically told Ressler "Yes you can give me a hug, you big lunk." Aram's expression at the end was haunting.

 

Safety fail: I think it was Harold who had the great idea, hey there's confused local cops arriving! Let's run out the doors with our guns drawn.

 

Red mentions that he should have had five teams out there. Start with one, dude. Red's idea of reinforcements was basically his closest beer buddies. I'm glad Mr. Kaplan told him off. She may be the first person on this show to tell Red off and a) live and b) actually get the last word in on the subject.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Did they mention the dog? I think they might have mentioned the dog. What dog?

 

Liz will be joining the dog on a big farm somewhere in upstate New York, where she'll be able to play chase butterflies, and run through the fields.

 

Here's the thing -- we all know that Lizzie isn't dead, and the producers attempt to sell this stupid plot development is just insulting to the audience, especially the part about where they don't appear to tell Tom or Red.  

 

It'll probably be something equally stupid that they will come up with to explain why she is back-- like the baby's blood magically saves Lizzie or some other bullshit.

 

And now Red is off to seek revenge on people for the fake ass death of Lizzie, which cheapens things even further.  The writers for this show are just so bad.

 

And in case no one noticed, Mr. Solomon got away which is par for the course of most Blacklisters this season.  Really, why even bother with Blacklisters names/numbers any more ?

Edited April 15, 2016 by ottoDbusdriver

[Demented Daisy]

Maybe I've been watching Supernatural too long, but when a show has co-leads, neither stay dead.

 

I think my favorite line of the night was from Mr. Solomon (paraphrasing), "Turn that van into swiss cheese -- but don't kill Elizabeth."  Yeah, good luck with that.  For someone who didn't want her dead, he was doing his best to kill her.

[KirkB]

I imagine Mr. Solomon's intention was by having all the other guys do the shooting (he never fired a shot) if they happened to kill Liz he could tell their employer it was their fault, not his.

I would be surprised if Liz is most sincerely dead, but for once I think the trick is on Red rather than from him.

[DEM]

Oh also: Solomon knows very well that Lizzie is injured; why the hell didn't he stop to think: maybe she really needs the hospital? Maybe I should wait.

Exactly! She went to a hospital, fled the hospital, then tried to make her way BACK to a hospital. "Huh, I wonder what that means??"

 

Maybe I've been watching Supernatural too long, but when a show has co-leads, neither stay dead.

And then there's Sleepy Hollow.  The main reason I'm entertaining the idea that Keen is not dead is because the showrunner did not give interviews or release a statement.

[mytmo]

So there is this invisible nightclub covered by paper within walking distance of the hospital that readily has Having my Baby on record easily located and played within 12 seconds? I'm sure that song is a nightclub standard.

[slowpoked]

Oh also: Solomon knows very well that Lizzie is injured; why the hell didn't he stop to think: maybe she really needs the hospital? Maybe I should wait.

Yes, that was the stupidest thing ever. He kept on saying kill everyone, just not Keen. Well, sure, your men didn't shoot her, but she's dead anyway because you halted the ambulance. What was the master plan anyway, I mean, if he had successfully kidnapped her - does he have Reddington's top-notch ICU unit just by the abandoned warehouse beside the road where they all started shooting at one another?! Is he personally going to resuscitate her to give her to his boss?

He's a bad contractor.

Edited April 15, 2016 by slowpoked

[Gregg247]

So Mr. Solomon's "new employer" from last week was actually the President of NBC!  Who knew?

 

Thank you, Mr. Solomon, for saving this show for me.  I almost didn't watch last night.  In fact, I've been close to giving up on the show once and for all.  Now, without the weakest character on the show, I can go back to full time viewing again!  (Megan Boone may be a totally lovely person for all I know; I just don't think she's a good actress, especially on a show like this, where you're up against some real acting heavyweights.)

 

She IS really dead, right?

 

I'm ashamed to say that, when she started to go into cardiac arrest (or whatever was causing all the beeping and alarms), I was cheering, "Kill her! Kill her!"

 

Please stay dead.

[misstwpherecool]

 

For a moment, I was singing, "ding, dong the wig is dead" but then ... she wasn't going to the morgue. Uh-oh. Mr. Kaplan was going to take care of everything. Including making sure that not-all-the-way-dead Lizzie doesn't get an autopsy. The doctor gave her almost-stop-breathing drugs (Kaplan counter-acting them in the car after they pulled away). My question is whether Red was in on it---he seemed pretty devastated (Spader!), but that would be true if he was sending her off to be safe from the bad guys and he couldn't see her anymore (daughter will be sent to be with her soon enough). Point being that she could come back in a future season. (It's okay, you can stay away, Lizzie.)

 

 

 

 

I think Mr Kaplan the doctor who fancies Liz came up with the something. Mr Kaplan knows Red's life is no good for Liz or child. Also Liz kicks Red out then invites him back in for an apology/good bye shortly after? The doctor wants her/out of that life as well. They were very careful to show Mr Kaplan who questions little tell Red this was no good for the baby or Liz. They also were careful to show or make the point 'let Mr Kaplan take care of it.

 

I thought the final shootout scene AFTER the shootout was filmed well. They used a blue or sunset/darker colors during a "death" scene. I liked the camera view through the back of the ambulance as well.

 

This epi was filled with usual over trained/talented bad guy mercenaries vs the dumb FBI. Mr Soloman's super villain game was raised but predictable(ear wig). The tech guy giving directions reminded me of the movie with Will Smith and Gene Hackman about privacy.

Edited April 15, 2016 by misstwpherecool

[misstwpherecool]

For the love of God, won't somebody feed that poor baby?

 

I get that Tom doesn't know the first thing about taking care of a newborn, but even the most unprepared of parents knows you gotta feed the thing.  Anyone? Bueller?

 

Full disclosure: I had a placental abruption and it was the scariest thing imaginable. Had an emergency C, my daughter was born 12 weeks early.  I had no issues with the amniotic fluid making its way to my lungs, though. Good thing I had no idea that was even a possibility. It would have freaked me out even more than I already was.

 

As conflicting as this is I think Mr Kaplan in particular wanted the baby to go to Tom to protect the child because now Tom only has to worry about himself and the child. Also maybe a child will change Tom. But now Liz is with her doctor friend. And Tom's baby will probably have a KGB agent as a step mommy now. Does Lizzy's cycle repeat for child?

[Chaos Theory]

I hated this episode enough to take the show of my DVR season past thing.  I know a lot of people didn't like Elizabeth Keen or more the point the actress who plays her but for me the entire show revolved around the relationship between Liz and Red.  Honestly I don't care about the show anymore now that Liz is dead.   If this turns out to be one big ruse I will watch it again. 

[saber5055]

Oh, you guys are so heartless, but so funny too. I've had Lizzie hate since season 1, but I have to admit that I had shed at least one tear by the end of this episode when she actually died. Yeah, I guess I'm not such a cold heartless thing after all, I'm just a big sap.

 

Except NO WAY is she dead. So I will be doubly PO'd when she resurrects herself next season after living with Mr. Kaplan for a year.

 

I gotta question Tom's eyesight if he couldn't see that gigantic box truck parked on the side of the road three blocks before they even got to it. RIP cool limo.

 

I was shouting STFU at Lizzie when she bitches Red for making her have a baby in a "filthy dirty abandoned warehouse." Girl, this man owns a fleet of palatial shipping containers that he lives in for overseas cruises and you think his hospital staff is in a dank and dark warehouse? Where have you been all these seasons?

 

Then I was shouting STFU again at Lizzie when she kicked Red out of HIS plastic-lined delivery room. Bitch.

 

When Lizzie started having complications immediately after the section, all I could think of was YEAH, of course she is, because no one bothered to suture up that gigantic hole into her insides, she's not only bleeding out, she's going into shock from that gaping opening that everyone is ignoring.

 

And yeah, babies DO need to eat for freak's sake. Red couldn't have called the 7-11 to deliver some formula?

 

Speaking of barn broadsides, I did laugh when Lizzie was firing that pistol out of the car window at that gigantic SUV on their tail and couldn't hit a single shot. Although later someone mentioned the SUVs were armored, so I guess there's that.

 

If you are a major bad ass like Solomon, you can walk unscathed through gunfights between dozens of automatic weapons and incur not a single graze or splinter.

 

Liz saying she knew the doctor in the "dirty warehouse" would be her ex was the perfect set up for faking her death.

 

Liz got an epidural so she could be awake during the c-section, but all that does is deaden the lower half of your body. She acted like she was on an LSD trip when Tom turned on the disco ball. "Oooh, aaahhh, wow ... groovy and far out." And yeah, Tom turning into DJ Tom was all kinds of funny. Maybe he moonlights at Red's disco now that he's no longer a hired killer?

 

Ressler and Navim (or whatever her name is) hugging at the end ... I imagine the next episode starting with them in bed. Again. Ressler, gotta give it to you, you are a nice guy. 

Honestly I don't care about the show anymore now that Liz is dead.   If this turns out to be one big ruse I will watch it again.

See you next season then.

Edited April 15, 2016 by saber5055

[Ottis]

I know a lot of people didn't like Elizabeth Keen or more the point the actress who plays her but for me the entire show revolved around the relationship between Liz and Red.  Honestly I don't care about the show anymore now that Liz is dead.

 

 

And I will find it infinitely more interesting if Lizzie is dead. The show may have revolved around Red and Lizzie's mysterious relationship, but any meaning in that boat sailed a while ago. Now it is just a contrivance to allow Lizzie to periodically pout and yell at Red that "This ends now!" And then come crawling back. 

 

Think how much more fascinating this show would be if we watched the rest of the FBI cast forced to interact with Red, and all the bumps along the way and unique relationships between Red and each of the FBI team. He would be a necessary evil to some, an ethical affront to others and a personal friend to a few (to the degree he could be). Dembe would take on the role of middle man generally, with Red coming in and out of contact. I mean, think of the possibilities. 

And there would be no one pouting or saying "Look at me!" or alternately loving and hating Tom or Red or anyone else.

 

What was with the all-seeing, eye in the sky dude? I kept expecting it to be G Gordon Liddy or Locke from Lost, but he basically was a collection of partial face shots. 

[milkyaqua]

Another one sad that Lizzie is probably coming back after Megan's maternity leave.

 

Also, all her yelling at Red.  Every time she started in on him I was like, "Really, Lizzie?"  You're trying to start a life with Tom of all people.  You have no room to criticize anybody.  AND, you couldn't have just cut ties with Red if he's ruined your life so much?  You didn't figure this out in the first season?  Shut-up!

 

Kudos to Mr. Soloman for being able to keep the collar of his coat up like that throughout the whole operation.  That's style.

[morgankobi]

And Liz become the new Red, since she will be officially dead and is able to easily hide, but will still somehow work as a full-time contractor for the FBI Team Post Office -- under an assumed name and she will start wearing glasses.  Maybe Elizabeen Keth, or Janice from Accounting (because she doesn't give a fuck).

I second Janice from accounting!

 

People I felt sorry for:

Mr. Kaplan 

Red

Aram

Nick

 

Yep, that's it.

 

I really hope Red doesn't fire Mr. Kaplan when he finds out she Romeo & Juliet'ed Liz (speculation only).

 

"Elizabeth Keen is dead." Long live Masha. sigh

Edited April 15, 2016 by morgankobi

[saber5055]

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Is Elizabeth Keen really dead?

JAMES SPADER: I think it’s most prudent not only as just myself and what I know or don’t know for that, but also in terms of the character of Reddington: Elizabeth Keen is dead.

 

Okay, does anyone understand Spader's double speak and what he said there? i sure don't. Except for the fact that REDDINGTON says Keen is dead. Not the writers or producers or even Spader himself. So there's that.

 

See ya soon, Lizzie. I hope you remember to feed your real baby.

[Grace284]

I admire the show's commitment to killing off its worst actors. At least Meera stayed dead, I don't expect the same from Liz.

 

And Tom Keen being left in charge of a baby does not call for emotional hopeful music, it calls for a scare chord.

[calipiano81]

Think how much more fascinating this show would be if we watched the rest of the FBI cast forced to interact with Red, and all the bumps along the way and unique relationships between Red and each of the FBI team. He would be a necessary evil to some, an ethical affront to others and a personal friend to a few (to the degree he could be). Dembe would take on the role of middle man generally, with Red coming in and out of contact. I mean, think of the possibilities.

Except, without Liz, Red has no motivation to continue the Blacklist. He originally surrendered to the FBI and created the Blacklist in order to be close to Liz to protect her. His whole life has been about her.

[Dowel Jones]

Scene:  Two weeks later, Tom gets a letter in the mail from Mobile Surgical Hospitals, Inc.  "$23,000?  What the hell is this?  Why does an epidural cost $6000?  And $22 a mile for transport?  This can't be right."  Reddington:  "If I paid taxes, I'd be outraged."

[saber5055]

Ha ha, Dowel. Yes, Nick still has those medical student loans to pay off. At least the ones not already paid by Red.

[Brian Cronin]

Okay, does anyone understand Spader's double speak and what he said there? i sure don't. Except for the fact that REDDINGTON says Keen is dead. Not the writers or producers or even Spader himself. So there's that.

 

He's saying that as far as Reddington is concerned, Lizzie is dead. It's just a sneaky way of saying, "Yeah, obviously I know she's still alive, but the character that I play believes that she is dead." 

[morgankobi]

I zoned out a bit here and there, so excuse me if this was obvious. Right after they decide to finally take Lizzie to a hospital, Red goes to what is likely the leader of their mercenary group and asks if he can speak to him and what he said is not known to us. Was it implied later what Red secretly asked of him?

[Ottis]

Except, without Liz, Red has no motivation to continue the Blacklist. He originally surrendered to the FBI and created the Blacklist in order to be close to Liz to protect her. His whole life has been about her.

 

 

That's an easy fix. Red could begin a quest for revenge on those who killed Lizzie, with Solomon becoming the arch villain (or, more likely, someone who is pulling Solomon's strings becoming the arch villain). Lizzie could appear now and then in flashbacks to an anguished Red, or even a spirit guide of sorts. That's just one idea. Another? We *think* Red's life has been about Lizzie because that is what we have been told. We can now be told anything. Maybe that wasn't Masha, Maybe Lizzie has a sister who is also important to Red and Red doesn't even know she exists. Maybe Masha's mom is alive and connects with Red to give him purpose.

 

We don't need Lizzie. It would be a better show. Unfortunately, I agree that Lizzie isn't dead. But maybe Tom can keep the disco ball. That was a truly horrid sequence.

[seacliffsal]

I was so excited when Liz died. And then, reading the comments here, of course you all are right, of course Liz isn't dead. Darn it. Sigh, oh well...

[Happytobehere]

I think I'm just with this show until they set up the Tom spin-off, and then I'm done. I will switch my viewership to that show.

[AimingforYoko]

One of the keys to professional wrestling is "The Sell". That is, you have to sell the punch that missed you by 6 inches really hurt you. All the best are good sellers. The point here is, James Spader sold Liz's 'death' like nobody's business. Her demise may not have hurt us, but it devastated him, and that's where its power lies.

As to if she's really dead, who knows? Five years ago, I'd have said it's a swerve for certain. But in today's TV, they're killing [Gary Oldman]everyone[/Gary Oldman].