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S04.E06: The Thrushes


MostlyC
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I missed this show for a couple of weeks because of baseball and because I was getting tired of Alexander Kirk and Liz and this junk of a storyline, but I watched tonight because I got snookered by the trailers saying "you won't want to miss this".

Bad sign.

I watched it...only to find out that I really didn't miss much anyway. Kirk still isn't interesting, Lizzie's a drag and a bore and the entire operation is pointless. Tell me again why the FBI would use all of its resources to find the baby of some civilian (who's also a convicted murderer, several times), when I'm sure there are tons of other missing children that could actually deserve that kind of attention?

Having said that...I did enjoy seeing Aram and how badly he was at trying to snooker his new girlfriend, or "girlfriend". Pity, though, that she wound up being a plant- it's way too much of a cliche. At least have Kate Lord actually fall in love with the guy, because Aram's pretty likeable.

Oh well...at least Samar and Aram are back together. They should have a series by themselves- dweeby tech guy and super tough agent make love by day and solve the world's toughest cases at night. I'd watch every week- would you?

Episode Grade: C-. Had some nice moments- all provided by Amir Arison- but little else.

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Lizzie is pissed at Red not because of Agnes but because he's trying to kill Alexander Kirk -- since he's her daddy. All because of some DNA evidence that is in all likelihood fake -- oh Lizzie, you are so stupid. And she's done with Red once again. How many times are they going to trot this out ?  But this time it's a fakeout to feed misinformation to 'The Thrushes'.  This is almost as bad a name for a Blacklister of the week as the Kings of the Highway.  Only it isn't a fakeout -- Lizzie realy is still mad at Red.  Or is the fakeout yet another fakeout ?  Who knows at this point ?

Why are Aram and Navabi all buddy-buddy again ?  It's almost like Aram's speech to her never occurred -- are we (the viewers) just supposed to forget it ever occurred ?

Aram's hot girlfriend works for the Thrushes.  Yawn. 

And something happened with Mr. Kaplan and her captor -- it's all just so terribly dull. And he just happens to have motion activated cameras scattered throughout the woods conveniently where Dembe parked the car.  Oh come on.

Quack, quack bitch -- sorry Aram, you just can't pull that off since you got your ass kicked by your girlfriend.

Could Lizzie get rid of that stupid string bracelet already ?

Kirk just grazes Red with a bullet -- what was the point of that ?  Lizzie gets Kirk to surrender Agnes because she said please daddy.  I'm just surprised there wasn't a turd-shaped block of C4 in Agnes' diaper.

I'm pretty sure at this point that Kirk wanted to get captured.  Because the FBI is just that stupid not to have figured that out -- and have obviously never seen Skyfall.

And we never actually get to see the Thrushes in person during the entire episode (just some photos), only one of their hired hands.  So they were never at risk of even getting caught.  How terribly underwhelming.

Still no sign of Tom and Lizzie's dogs -- maybe the dogs will just show up at the new house/apartment Tom and Lizzie get.  Like an episode of 'Lassie Come Home'.

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There were a few things I liked. First and foremost was Aram being smart enough to figure out he was being played five seconds after his team found out. I do think it's silly that he felt all betrayed by them not telling him. Like dude, we were literally just discussing this new development as you were walking over here.

I see Samar read my posts here about how to actually meaningfully get Aram's attention. That tender kiss on the cheek isn't as forward as her sweaty sex with Ressler but it's a clear signal nonetheless. It didn't bother me that she forgave Aram for telling her off last week. She did have it coming for her passive-aggressive shittiness towards him and bearing in mind that she is an Iranian-Jewish Mossad agent I'm sure she's heard worse.

Is The Box this show's way of establishing how badass someone is supposed to be? Like a 21st century version of Hannibal Lecter's prison getup or that Steve Buscemi character from Con Air? These mofos are so dangerous they have to be CONTAINED! But there's no toilet in the box so you've got to let them out every time they have to poop. I think that's in the Constitution.

I don't know if they were intentionally trying to invoke Elodie Yung's Elektra (from Daredevil S2) character with Kirk's assistant but I couldn't help but notice she was wearing a similar black blouse and leather skirt combo that Elektra wore in one episode. Badassedness to follow I assume.

Really hoping that the Mr. Kaplan plot consists of her gathering her strength so that she can kill that dude with a single unexpected move.

I was also surprised to discover that Nick's Pizza is actually a pizza joint! However I wonder how Aram didn't blow his cover at that point considering that his girlfriend was there with him and knew damn well that he didn't order a pizza first thing in the morning!

Kirk surrendered because he didn't want to listen to Lizzie whining at him all night. Take your friggin' baby, dismantle my criminal empire... just shut up already!

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55 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

I see Samar read my posts here about how to actually meaningfully get Aram's attention. That tender kiss on the cheek isn't as forward as her sweaty sex with Ressler but it's a clear signal nonetheless. It didn't bother me that she forgave Aram for telling her off last week. She did have it coming for her passive-aggressive shittiness towards him and bearing in mind that she is an Iranian-Jewish Mossad agent I'm sure she's heard worse.

Actually, Samar is not Jewish, but from a Muslim Iranian family - remember the subplot with her brother, Shahin?

 

58 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

I do think it's silly that he felt all betrayed by them not telling him. Like dude, we were literally just discussing this new development as you were walking over here.

If they had simply told him that they had just figured out that his girlfriend was the mole 30 seconds before he walked in (and left out the part where they had decided not to tell him since it was now moot) you would be completely correct, but as the recap points out, they all failed to console him by saying what any normal person in real life would have said, "We just figured this out, too" so he thought they had been sitting on the information for a while.

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So I've decided Aram is kinda hot! His scenes were the best parts. I loved his big smile when Samar said the other guys better get to his girlfriend first because she'd mess her up. 

The only enjoyable part of the missing Agnes storyline is it gave me and my husband a chance to sing that old Chili's jingle every week. "Did she get her baby back?" "I want my baby back, baby back....".  Hee hee. 

And Agnes is still the worst baby name ever. (Cue Rachel from Friends: "I'm sorry, are we having an 89 year old?")

When Red summoned everyone with the pizzas I got sidetracked thinking about whose duty is was to print up the invitations to tape to the boxes. Is that Dembe's job? Or does Red have another guy we never see who is responsible for that sort of thing? Does Red have a stockpile of nice stationery for all the times he has to send mysterious cards and notes? I demand answers!

Edited by desertflower
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Thank good little Agnes is back home and the baby in peril story is done. It went on way too long. Hopefully Kirk will be shipped off to a Federal prison never to be seen again.

I am most interested in Mr. Kaplan's story at this point. They wouldn't be spending time on it only to have her killed in the end.

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2 hours ago, orza said:

Hopefully Kirk will be shipped off to a Federal prison never to be seen again.

I doubt it.  He knows the answers to all of Lizzie's questions!  Who wants to bet that she becomes a voluntary blood donor so as to keep him alive?

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18 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Kirk surrendered because he didn't want to listen to Lizzie whining at him all night. Take your friggin' baby, dismantle my criminal empire... just shut up already!

That's probably the truth.

However, I suspect that the baby drama is far from over -- Kirk will escape and take Agnes with him and we get to restart this process ALL over again.

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How would a person who has spent their adult life learning to hack unhackable systems develop mad martial arts skills?

I was hoping Kirk would jump, and land on a balcony with an open door just five feet below.  Because, you know, the FBI never seems to be able to secure a scene before a confrontation.

I don't really understand Liz's obsession with her past, to the exclusion of everything else.  So she finds out her mother was a terrorist that killed people indiscriminately, but was tied in with various governments, etc. (Oops, getting off track there; wrong show), and her putative father is an international bad guy too.  This is what you wanted to know?  How about starting your life from now and concentrating on Agnes?

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I was hoping Kirk would jump, and land on a balcony with an open door just five feet below.  Because, you know, the FBI never seems to be able to secure a scene before a confrontation.

I knew this wouldn't happen b/c they never "set a perimeter." Still, it would have been great if Kirk pulled a Jason Bourne and jumped into a window across the street while holding baby Agnes. 

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7 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

How would a person who has spent their adult life learning to hack unhackable systems develop mad martial arts skills?

How does that work exactly ?

7 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I don't really understand Liz's obsession with her past, to the exclusion of everything else.  So she finds out her mother was a terrorist that killed people indiscriminately, but was tied in with various governments, etc. (Oops, getting off track there; wrong show), and her putative father is an international bad guy too.  This is what you wanted to know?  How about starting your life from now and concentrating on Agnes?

And she glosses over the fact that he is a killer -- if not in person, he has commanded the murders of dozens of people, yet somehow Lizzie just sweeps past that fact like he has too many parking tickets -- because he's her daddy.  But who's kidding who, we all know Kirk isn't her father.

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On 10/28/2016 at 1:30 AM, ottoDbusdriver said:

I'm pretty sure at this point that Kirk wanted to get captured.  Because the FBI is just that stupid not to have figured that out -- and have obviously never seen Skyfall...

Or The Avengers ....

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1 hour ago, Loandbehold said:

Still, it would have been great if Kirk pulled a Jason Bourne and jumped into a window across the street while holding baby Agnes. 

Or John McClane...tying a handy rooftop fire hose around his waist and shooting out the window 5 floors down...

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On 10/28/2016 at 3:26 AM, dwmarch said:

Kirk surrendered because he didn't want to listen to Lizzie whining at him all night. Take your friggin' baby, dismantle my criminal empire... just shut up already!

Then he demanded isolation...

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Kirk has never seen Skyfall. Or Avengers. Or worst of all, watched The Blacklist, where neither Red and Ressler didn't stay in The Box all that long. But obviously Kirk did see the first episode, where Red "got himself captured" so he could hang out with Lizzie. Will there now be dueling FBI blacklists, Red's one week, Kirk's the next? And Lizzie speaks conversational Russian since ... when? And her obsession with her father ... Red or Kirk, both international murderers, and her mom, same thing. But then again, so is Lizzie, so I guess that apple didn't fall far. And could I hate Lizzie any more than I did before this episode aired? Answer: Yes.

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I know I said last week that I'd be surprised if Kirk wasn't her father, but now Red's continued insistence has got me wondering.  He's hardly one to beat a dead horse, after all...  

But I'm a bad person.  I was WAY more concerned about Red getting ambushed and killed than I was about Kirk killing Agnes.  It was barely an afterthought...

19 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I don't really understand Liz's obsession with her past, to the exclusion of everything else.  So she finds out her mother was a terrorist that killed people indiscriminately, but was tied in with various governments, etc. (Oops, getting off track there; wrong show), and her putative father is an international bad guy too.  This is what you wanted to know?  How about starting your life from now and concentrating on Agnes?

I can't understand why she's so obsessed with it when she's got Red right there.  Hell, if she said jump, he'd ask how high.  Yeah, he might go a little overboard worrying about her, but, really, that's hardly unexpected, given the kind of danger she gets into on a regular basis, and his own life. (So the wanted criminal thing is a bit of a downside, we all have our faults.  Anyway, hey, millionaire.)  I would LOVE to have a father (figure) like that.  I'll trade her.  She can sit and listen to mine bitch and complain and belittle, and then completely ignore her for years at a time because he decided she didn't turn out how he wanted.  I'll happily be off listening to Red tell amusing little stories while we sit at a little cafe in Paris or something.

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So, are all of The Thrushes badass fighters, alongside being top-notch hackers, or is that just Elise/Kate Ford?  Because she was busting out some moves before Samar and Ressler got there to save the day.  Not surprised that she ended up being bad/the mole, but I'm surprised they revealed and resolved it this early.  I did like that Aram had actually figured it out on his own, and it was hidden from him for ages.  Well done, show!  It's a bit too bad simply because Annie Heise is very pretty, but I guess they are going to use to this to finally make Samar/Aram happen.  Maybe.  I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to mess it up!

Thank goodness they finally got Agnes back and Kirk is locked up.  I'm sure Kirk will probably find some way to slither out, but I'm glad they're finally done with the "baby in peril" storyline, which is always dull, because network shows will never actually risk a baby's life, unless it's a Law & Order-type "baby of the week" episode.  Babies that are actually part of the main character's normal life?  Yeah, they ain't going anywhere.

I did like that they got some Red/Harry exchanges, because I do like the few times James Spader and Henry Lennix get to play off each other like the pros they are.

Ressler hasn't gotten much to do this season, but he at least is getting a few laughs like his description of Aram being a hamster (or something like that) on cocaine during his undercover stint and his "I knew she was too hot for him!", after he found out the truth about Elise.  Oh, Ressler.  How did you become one of my favorites on this show?

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So, was it just me, or did Kirk show a bit of confusion/surprise when Liz told him over the phone that she had seen the DNA results that proved he was her father? And, if so, why would he want Agnes? If he doesn't think he's Liz's father, Agnes's blood won't help him.

Ah, well. It really doesn't matter...

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23 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Ressler hasn't gotten much to do this season, but he at least is getting a few laughs like his description of Aram being a hamster (or something like that) on cocaine during his undercover stint and his "I knew she was too hot for him!", after he found out the truth about Elise.  Oh, Ressler.  How did you become one of my favorites on this show?

My recollection is "a gerbil on meth" but I could be wrong...

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So after all the "Agnessssssssss!" moaning, when Liz has to make a choice between getting Agnes back and her (alleged) father, she has to think about it, and then declare Agnes is the priority? Liz doesn't even make sense to herself.

So this Thrush woman was banging Aram, apparently multiple times, just to get access to his laptop? That's dedication. Lizzie, make a note of it.

I don't understand the necessity of Mr. Kaplan's story. At some point she will escape, or not. What will matter is what she then does. Why are we dithering?

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On 10/27/2016 at 8:47 PM, PreviouslyTV said:

Because there's no better way to combat super-hackers than with a well-choreographed slide show.

View the full article

Great rundown, but note to editors: "doff" means to take off, not put on.

And the fact that's all I have to say makes me realize that I'm doing a lot more hating than watching this show. It's all about James Spader for me. Wrap him up with Dembe and Panabaker and Harry Lennix and whatever's left of Mr. Kaplan and maybe they could take the show on the road.

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My browser will not allow me to "like" posts, so I'll put it in writing: Great post, Khat, about what real fathers are like. Here's hoping show writers are reading here. (And yeah, good luck on that.) I'm actually all for Agnes to be gone. I do expect her to end up in the same place as the dogs though ... gone and forgotten, until needed for a plot or for Liz to whinge about. I still wish the kid would act like a real baby though. You know ... crying for no reason and pooping diapers every 10 minutes.

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On 29/10/2016 at 9:17 PM, Khat said:

I can't understand why she's so obsessed with it when she's got Red right there.  Hell, if she said jump, he'd ask how high.  Yeah, he might go a little overboard worrying about her, but, really, that's hardly unexpected, given the kind of danger she gets into on a regular basis, and his own life. (So the wanted criminal thing is a bit of a downside, we all have our faults.  Anyway, hey, millionaire.)  I would LOVE to have a father (figure) like that.  I'll trade her.  She can sit and listen to mine bitch and complain and belittle, and then completely ignore her for years at a time because he decided she didn't turn out how he wanted.  I'll happily be off listening to Red tell amusing little stories while we sit at a little cafe in Paris or something.

I was amused and heartbroken at the same time. Sounds like you had a rough experience with your father...if so, *hugs* I know the feeling myself. :(

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On 2016-11-01 at 4:18 PM, Danielg342 said:

I was amused and heartbroken at the same time. Sounds like you had a rough experience with your father...if so, *hugs* I know the feeling myself. :(

Yes, he obviously liked me up until the third girl came along when I was 4, (the second died very quickly of adult meningitis at 6 months) because there are tons of baby pictures, but for as long as I can remember she was the favourite, and, recently, he's chosen my youngest sister as his new preference.  It's horrible to say it, but honestly, if he were to disappear off the face of the Earth tomorrow, I wouldn't notice any difference in my life (including big events, like Christmas, birthdays, etc.).  I can't remember the last time we actually spoke to each other for more than a single question/answer when it wasn't a fight (The last one came after he decided to try locking the middle sister out of the house because he got pissed off at her, and I told him off.  I don't put up with his abusive attitude, which is another reason he doesn't like me.)

 

On 2016-11-01 at 3:30 PM, saber5055 said:

My browser will not allow me to "like" posts, so I'll put it in writing: Great post, Khat, about what real fathers are like. Here's hoping show writers are reading here. (And yeah, good luck on that.) I'm actually all for Agnes to be gone. I do expect her to end up in the same place as the dogs though ... gone and forgotten, until needed for a plot or for Liz to whinge about. I still wish the kid would act like a real baby though. You know ... crying for no reason and pooping diapers every 10 minutes.

Thank you.  And I know, really?  It's the quietest, most well-behaved baby I've ever seen.  Any other kid'd be squalling it's lungs out being manhandled around like that.  Won't surprise me if they (or Red) come up with a nanny or something, because Lizzy certainly can't be up all hours of the night like a real parent, and then have to go to work looking exhausted, y'know.  Hey, they can hire Mr. Kaplan.  I'd love to see how Agnes'd turn out with her handling her upbringing.  lmao

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