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The Blacklist Review: “The Deer Hunter” (Season 2, Episode13)

Although it would have been a brazen move to turn Liz into a member of The Blacklist by either sending her to jail or making her a fugitive, there was actually very little chance of that. So, why the drawn out ticking time clock of the unusually effective Detective Martin Wilcox? Drama! Forget the fact that she's the center of the an international conspiracy, forget the fact that she's basically seen her own life blow up in her face, and forget the fact nothing is certain in her life, including her past. We still have to threaten dear old Agent Keen with prison for a murder she didn't commit. Oh yeah, and there's a serial killer running around, too.

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Part of Liz’s irritability this week is tied to the circling Wilcox, who seems to have easily bent the Samoan into incriminating both Liz and Tom. Red comes to the rescue, naturally, cornering the Samoan during a prisoner transport and promising him that his brother will get a new heart so long as he keeps his mouth shut and forgets the entire affair on the boat, which the Samoan dutifully agrees to. The whole mission seemed unnecessary, though. Would government lawyers really consider lifting the veil of secrecy on a top secret operation in order to solve the murder of some old harbor master? That’s somewhat doubtful.

Red’s interference in that case stops him from getting closer to finding Alan Fitch’s mysterious friend, whose number was in the safe in St. Petersburg. The friend, unless I’m mistaken, was played by Gotham actor John Doman, or perhaps his reasonable voice approximate. The character himself is cautious and paranoid, and that’s about all we learn before Red finds him, or at least his last known location, which is a big empty apartment with a trail of blood and an abandoned cell phone. Mr. Deep Throat seemed willing to work with Red, at least until circumstances forced Red to send Dembe to the meet-up, so what’s his connection to Fitch and his mysterious group? Is he a disenfranchised former member? Perhaps some former government agent that learned too much?

In a side note, it was Aram that Red comes to in order to learn more about his new mysterious friend, and it was fun to see James Spader and Amir Arison interact directly again since it happens all too infrequently. The joy Aram gets when Red calls him “Agent Mojtabai” was a little hilarious, as was Red’s compliment to Aram in remembering his own “teaming mane” of hair. If we could get more Red and Aram interplay beyond a once yearly basis, that would be great.

As for Fulcrum news, Red knows that Liz knows something, and at the end of the episode Liz confesses that she has the Fulcrum. But is that little box the Fulcrum? I don’t remember that ever being discussed, and more then that, for an electronic blackmail file it seems a little small by 1990 computing standards. I stand by the assumption that it’s a clue, and not the actual Fulcrum. Like any good MacGuffin though, the fun of the Fulcrum isn’t so much what it is as what it means.

Red tells Liz that he thinks that she’s of the opinion that giving up the Fulcrum means she no longer has use to him. Liz should know by now though that Red’s got more invested in her than just the location of a priceless knickknack, and she accept that as the truth. No matter how much Liz says that she’s mad at Red, or that she’s disappointed in him, or that she doesn’t believe him, it’s pretty obvious after a year and half of crime-busting that Red is the most dependable person in Liz’s life. Besides, if we learned anything from this week’s adventure, it’s that even when Red isn’t right, he’s still half right, and on The Blacklist that’s a better batting average than every other character involved.

In a final note, despite the tease at the end of last week’s episode, Tom Keen was no where to be seen. We more or less get the same tease last night, which suggests that The Blacklist wants to get us excited about Tom’s next move and his new transformation from hipster to hobo to skin head. But does Tom’s continued involvement in the game serve any practical purpose? I doubt it, but I guess we’ll soon find out.