S01.E21: Berlin

[ElectricBoogaloo]

LIZ, AT THE END OF HER ROPE, REALIZES SHE CAN'T TRUST ANYONE - Liz refuses to work with Red after discovering the truth about the death of her father. Seeking to make amends and force Liz to see him, Red brings the FBI a case they can't ignore. Meanwhile, Liz reveals what she knows about Tom's secret life to the FBI.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUex6CuYQnw

[ottoDbusdriver]

To paraphrase from the Princess Bride:

 

"Lizzie ...... you keep using that word 'resign', I do not think it means what you think it means."

 

Why didn't Lizzie just say that she wanted a transfer ?

 

And I think Lizzie must have sore legs -- she didn't just jump to conclusions, she leaped over tall buildings in a single bound to conclusions.

 

Man, that was a stupid episode -- from the shooting down an airplane over a populated area for no apparent reason to the aircraft carrier stationed off New York City (was it Fleet Week ?) to the Revolution-style of travel back and forth between Washington and New York.

 

Where did Berlin fly in from ?  Because a C-47 has a limited range of under a 1000 miles, so he had to be in North America already, why didn't he just drive (he would have needed a van with all those other people onboard -- why did they shoot some of them and the pilot ?)

[ottoDbusdriver]

How did someone serving time for conspiracy and murder get on a work furlough so quickly after entering prison ? They kind of glossed over the fact that Gina Zanetakos was roaming free.

 

Why was Tom's nose bleeding when he was interrogating Red's hired tail ?  They didn't show him getting hit in the face.

 

Was Wiggie not aware that she was in a mental hospital until AFTER Dr. Sanders said the words "space agent" ? Because she seemed awfully interested in Dr. Sanders as a credible source of information right up until that point. Wow, she is amazing profiler, isn't she ?

 

They were bouncing around between Washington, Maine, New Jersey and New York City like they were the 5 Boroughs of NYC. Lizzie dashed out of the Post Office in D.C. and met Red in NYC, while at the same time Ressler/Malik dashed off to the airport in New Jersey. And in that time someone was able to coordinate a small unit of undercover officers in the park BEFORE Lizzie showed even up (when did Lizzie tell anyone where she was meeting Red) ? So apparently Lizzie drove to New York.

 

Wiggie determined that UD4126 was a badge number based simply on the fact that a hospital nurse was wearing one -- was pretty lame. Good thing the nurse wasn't wearing a "Have a Nice Day" smiley face or they would have been on the lookout for a happy bald guy with hepatitis.

 

What kind of idiot doctor/criminal would use their own badge to gain access to the hospital to consult with crazy Dr. Sanders ? And he lives in Arlington, which is a long way from Bangor, Maine.

 

Dr. Vogel was bleeding from the nose within seconds of drinking the virus-tainted water -- if it worked that quickly, how come everyone else was coughing and having cold-like symptoms well before they started bleeding from orifices/coughing up blood ? Did the antiviral shot stop the bleeding and only then did they get the cough ? It seems really inconsistent. And if the people Vogel had infected only got a 24 hour prevention shot once a day, how did all those people get a new shot for the following day when Wiggie spent an evening of funky music discovering the connections ?

 

Everytime they say the word 'Berlin', I'm reminded of the truck driver in Eurotrip -- and the reasons why he was no longer allowed in Berlin.

 

Did anyone else find it weird that the C-47 was flying straight at the airport control tower when the infected guy was guiding it in ? That makes no sense at all.

Welcome to the military stock footage video catalog -- because they bounced back and forth from a F-14 Tomcat taking from an aircraft carrier to an F-18 Hornet launching a missile and then back to a missile departing from a F-14 Tomcat -- so yeah, not filmed specifically for this show exactly. Considering that the F-14 was retired 8 years ago, you would think someone on this show would know that. Plus, really bad CGI of that plane engine blowing up.

[kaygeeret]

Love ya' OttoDbusDriver.....you summarized almost everything that drove me crazy this episode.

 

Altho', really what hasn't driven all of us crazy about Lizzie and the show this entire season:

 No continuity

 No character development ro consistency

 

Many more of course, but the two above made me laugh the most.

 

In this episode, our lovely Lizzie is all tough and in charge until she isn't....our equally lovely Lizzie is all very in charge FBI profiler until she completely blows an interview with a MENTAL patient.  My eyebrows reached new heights.

 

I am convinced that the writing and show running is responsible for this mess.

 

Conversely, I believe that Meryl Streep could sell the role of Lizzie.

 

And I really have a hard time with the actor who plays Lizzie.  Her face is frozen.  She is far too young to have Barbara Walters level plastic surgery...why won't her face move?  She doesn't frown, altho' I think she tries or is supposed to.  Really when I watch - she actually seems fake, leaden and frozen........

 

I don't like to criticize looks in an actor, but this is sort of crazy to me..I wish I had seen her in something else.

[mertensia]

Personally I know whenever I raid the house of a man suspected of messing with an Ebola like virus only airborne I always forego the HazMat suit because I don't want to be thought of as just another hysterical woman. Seriously people- what the Hell? He's easily the kind of guy who would leave booby traps everywhere.

[Danielg342]

I think what jarred me the most about this episode was how quickly Lizzie made an about face and started to care about Red's welfare right after learning about Berlin despite not adequately forgiving Red. I thought she was doing so well with the "get this case over with" vibe that she had no reason to have any concern for Red outside of work- meaning she shouldn't have cared if Red was in jail because then Red would be forced by the authorities to give some answers, especially if the interrogation would be as mean as the show said it would be.

Harold Cooper also unsettled me here because he was so shady...no Harry, I don't buy for one second that you think Lizzie is strong enough for the task force. You're only saying that so that Lizzie stays on and your own behind gets spared. It was such a selfish act for a character that had more integrity, making the exchange pretty disappointing.

To me, the episode would have worked much better if Lizzie had outright quit the FBI after dealing with the Kentucky Fried Doctor (how else can you describe the crazy Dr. *Sanders*?). By that point, she stopped believing- or caring- that any of this stuff was real or important (remember, after dealing with KFD, she accused Red of orchestrating the trip just so he could be alone with her), which I think would have been a nice moment for her to go incognito. Her position with the FBI would be compromised, but so what? She quit, and probably only Cooper would be upset that she's not there, with Ressler and Malik understanding why.

What could have then happened was the rest of the team uncover the truth about Berlin and the shady doctor (the team has done far better with far less, sometimes comically so), with perhaps something uncovered that makes the team realize Berlin's coming after Lizzie as well and not just Red. Red could then be the one to court Lizzie to come back, with what could have been a nice character moment about why he couldn't be upfront with her about all this (since he didn't want her to panic), and, with Lizzie understanding the purpose, agrees to come back. At least this way Red as a character isn't compromised and Lizzie's vulnerabilities make sense, instead of what we have now as a convoluted mess of contrivances and coincidences.

I only hope the conclusion is much better, and that the episodic writing improves- I think this show is great with its arcs but average to terrible in its individual episodes, with this one being a prime example of the latter.

[Julia]

"Lizzie ...... you keep using that word 'resign', I do not think it means what you think it means."

 

Ya know? "I resign." "The FBI says no." Leaving aside that I can't think of a single reason for the FBI to say no (or for her interrogator to be able to keep a straight face at the sight of our little Lizzie calling anyone else stupid), 13th Amendment much, guys? She's an employee. She's not chained in a galley somewhere.

 

Of course, she accepted it, which is absolutely the hardass iconoclastic thing to do. Sigh.

 

Good thing the nurse wasn't wearing a "Have a Nice Day" smiley face or they would have been on the lookout for a happy bald guy with hepatitis.

 

Totally scared the cat, there :)

 

I don't know when they realized how unappealing they've made Tom, but they sure are determined to salvage the actor who plays him, between the commercial crossovers and the morning show guest spots and the endless interviews.

[Biggie B]

I've watched this show from the moment it first came on the air, and for the first time, I honestly had NO IDEA what was going on in this episode. None at all. How did those people, like Paul Blankenship, get infected/injected? Did someone jump them, drag them into a dark alley, and inject them? What did I miss? And what was the purpose of infecting them? I understand they were being extorted into doing this, that, and the other but I completely don't know who was making them do whatever it was that they were doing. 

 

Who was Berlin? DId we see him? If so, what scenes was he in? I simply could not follow this episode. It came across as utterly jumbled. I do appreciate that everyone now knows about Tom, though. I'm glad it was spelled out chapter and verse (sort of) for Lizzie's colleagues. 

 

Anyway - I am just going to forget this episode because I don't know what happened, who was in it, and what the significance of anything was! Clueless!

[IndependentMind]

All I can say is, bad, bad wig day.

[caseylane]

Can I say Booth's worst acting of the night was in the Xfinity commercials they kept showing. Seriously, she sounded like she was trying to be a robot.

 

I'm trying to figure out why I'm watching this show. It actually isn't very good at all but I still watch. My life must be very, very boring.

[milkyaqua]

All I can say is what a waste of John Glover.  The man has played the Devil before people and he's resigned to patient in mental hospital?  Ugh.

 

Everything else has already been addressed thoroughly.  I just hope the finale offers a decent payoff thought I'm not holding my breath.

[JavaBlue]

 

Everytime they say the word 'Berlin', I'm reminded of the truck driver in Eurotrip -- and the reasons why he was no longer allowed in Berlin.

 

 

 

YES! I kept repeating it in my head just like the guy said it in the movie. Bear-Lynn? Haha!

[TwistedandBored]

For moment I thought the crazy doctor that was played by John Glover was Berlin cause that wouldn't have been a surprise at all. Seen it happen a million times. 

 

Anyways, I really hope they don't hold back this season finale. They have been teasing for 22 hours now. I want some payoff. 

[millahnna]

Plot holes and all I still enjoyed it. What can I say the point arc intrigues me.

[desertflower]

Who was Berlin? DId we see him? If so, what scenes was he in? 

 

I think he was the guy in the hood on the plane. We heard him say a couple words but did not see his face.

 

The whole injecting people to make them do stuff just seemed like an overly complicated way to go about it. And it looked like they just shot them in the end anyway. (At least I think they did; it was getting pretty confusing there for a while.) 

 

 

Personally I know whenever I raid the house of a man suspected of messing with an Ebola like virus only airborne I always forego the HazMat suit

 

 I KNOW!! (Monica Gellar voice). And Parminder (can't remember her character name) just saunters into the lab area. Um, no. I'd be waiting in the car.

 

I'm surprised they actually apprehended the doctor, that's usually the point in the show where the bad guy gets away because they don't send enough backup. Maybe they're learning!

[Rapunzel]

I'm trying to figure out why I'm watching this show. It actually isn't very good at all but I still watch. My life must be very, very boring.

I often wonder the same thing but the only reason I keep tuning in is for James Spader. I'd watch pretty much anything he was in. However, if they don't at least answer one of the two big questions (why is Red so attached to Lizzy/is she his daughter or related somehow? or who is Tom and who does he work for?) in the season finale I don't know that I'll tune into the next season (or at least stick with it the whole way through).

Edited May 7, 2014 by Rapunzel

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Seriously, I could not believe that they raided the house of a crazy doctor who's screwing around with The Most Dangerous Virus EVAH but Meera was just strolling around without so much as one of those paper masks you get in the ER. And then when she found his lab, she was like oh, let me go poke around in here by myself and just see what I find!

 

The special effects of the plane on fire at the end of the episode were hilariously bad.

 

I don't understand Elizabeth at all. I quit! I swear to God, I am super duper double dog quitting! Yes, I'll even call Reddington and set up a meet so you guys can take him into custody! Because I don't care what happens to him! I hate that stupid jerkface! I don't care what you do with him! I'm quitting. damn it! Wait, no, I changed my mind! Let me go to the meeting place and try to convince him to get into a car with me! That won't look suspicious to all the FBI agents who are already in place! And I bet they won't even try to stop us from leaving! Come on, hurry up! Get in the car with me! I mean, I'm still mad at you!

 

ITA that it made no sense for ace profiler Elizabeth to be so clueless that she didn't realize she was in a mental institution interviewing a crazy person until he mentioned the space people. One thing I love about Reddington is that he's friendly and jovial with everyone, even crazy people.

Edited June 30, 2014 by ElectricBoogaloo