The Blacklist Review: 3×01 “The Troll Farmer”

In the wake of last season’s incredible finale, Red and Liz are fugitives of the law and no one is more determined to find them than a scorned Ressler.

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD IN OUR DETAILED REVIEW

The Blacklist — Picking up directly from the end of last season, Liz (Megan Boone) and Red (James Spader) are in a desperate race to evade police and wait out the massive city-wide manhunt working to find them after Tommy Connolly’s (Reed Birney) murder. With Cooper (Harry Lennix) held under suspicion of helping Liz escape, Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) is in charge and with every passing minute the guilt of his own assistance to Liz feels like a heavier and heavier burden to bear. When an anonymous tip flushes Red and Liz out of hiding, they have no choice but to accelerate their timeline and meet the Troll Farmer (Guest Star Aaron Yoo as Blacklister No. 38), in order to create a massive diversion and flee the city.

Meanwhile, Dembe (Hisham Tawfiq) has trouble of his own. His granddaughter is kidnapped by Mr. Solomon (Edi Gathegi), an agent of the Cabal that Red has now exposed by leaking the information contained in the Fulcrum. With little choice but to cooperate, Dembe does what he must to save his grandchild while Liz and Red run into trouble making their escape. As the noose by the police tightens across the city, an increasingly unstable Ressler just misses Red, but Liz is trapped with nowhere to safe to run. Her only choice may be to embrace her mother’s heritage as a Russian spy in a deadly game of misinformation this week on The Blacklist!

Like mother, like daughter. Welcome to the Dark Side Lizzie.

Not surprisingly, as Red and Liz evaded police at every turn and Liz got a serious glimpse into Red’s world, comparisons to her mother kept coming up. The first after she and Red had been exposed and forced from hiding by Ressler and upon returning to the run, Liz dyed her hair blonde. Red, rarely speechless, was taken aback at the sight. Both Megan Boone and James Spader were fun to watch in this surprisingly tender moment. Though he didn’t say it, she picked up on the reason for his hesitation almost immediately. They were interrupted before he could answer, which seemed to be the pattern of the episode. The same happened later as the two waited for Bo Chang (Aaron Yoo) to arrange their escape from the city.

“What happened to her? My mother.” ~ Liz

“There was a time in my life when I was quite sure I knew exactly what happened to Katarina Rostova. But after all these years, I’m not sure I have any real sense of how or why she disappeared.” ~ Red

“Everyone talks as if she was a terrible person. Was she? “ ~ Liz

Just as before, an interruption comes at just the right time. Conveniently for Red, Chang is ready for them to depart and the answer hung in the balance. We have the distinct feeling that we’ll learn more about Katarina Rostova as the season progresses. Probably not all we’d like to know since The Blacklist rarely gives the complete picture, but we suspect we’ll get enough juicy details to keep us fascinated and begging for more.

What we definitely want more of is conversations between Red and Lizzie about Katarina. Every scene they shared was a tender and quiet exchange where Red, normally in complete control, seemed to get lost in reminiscing about the woman he used to know. We can’t wait for Red to have a moment where the rest of those stories can come out. Damn those interruptions. But if there is a small shred of what Red thinks that we did get to see, it was in their final phone conversation as Red encouraged Liz to draw upon every ounce of strength to escape.

“I see her [Katarina Rostova] in you every day. She’s as much a part of you as the air you breathe.” ~ Red

Spader seemed somewhat enchanted by the memory of Katarina and Red channeled that inspiration to impart strength to Lizzie when things became dire near the end. Realizing she had few options, Liz made her final escape behind the gates of the Russian Embassy and claimed her former name and heritage to secure asylum from both Navabi (Mozhan Marnò) and Ressler who were hot on her heels. That decision may put Liz in just as much danger as she was on the streets of Washington, but we applaud Writers Jon Bokenkamp and John Eisendrath for tossing her from the proverbial frying pan into the potential fire. There’s no true rest for the wanted and weary Lizzie.

We’ve been introduced to some foul characters on The Blacklist, but few have scared us more immediately than the soulless Mr. Solomon.

Let’s just come right out and say it. Edi Gathegi as Mr. Solomon was the creepiest character introduced in some time on The Blacklist. That’s high praise girls and boys. We’ll admit that when Gathegi was cast we were ecstatic. We loved his charm and the emotional gravity he added to his role in X-Men: First Class. But we weren’t at all prepared for that charm to be dripping with complete sociopathic tendencies.

As we’re introduced to Mr. Solomon, we all wondered if he’d end up connected to the Troll Farmer in some way, but we’re in for a treat since it would appear Gathegi has a recurring role as a liaison of the Cabal Red has so callously inflamed. But what an introduction. As Mr. Solomon deftly takes Dembe’s granddaughter hostage, he is completely soulless while doing it.

“Such fragile creatures, these tiny humans. Skulls like eggshells.” ~ Mr. Solomon

We loved the writing decision to expand Dembe’s universe. We didn’t know he was a father, much less a grandfather. But Dembe’s got his hands full with the likes of Mr. Solomon. It would seem there’s a long play for the Cabal and if we were to hazard a guess, we’d say it had to do with The Fulcrum and more specifically Red.

If the Fulcrum was the only thing keeping Red alive all this time, its release must certainly have made him their number one target. The DC police and the FBI might be the least of Red’s worries with the likes of Mr. Solomon on his trail. In one of the most surprising scenes of the episode, we learn that even Director Peter Kotsiopulos (David Strathairn) fears the man in front of him as Mr. Solomon made the stakes clear to the man that gave Red so much trouble at the end of last season.

“I don’t think you understand, Peter. I’m here because people in our organization have lost confidence in you, in your methods. There’s a history here, so I take no joy in telling you that you’re dancing on the edge of a razor blade, and that every breath that you draw is at our discretion.” ~ Mateus Solomon

Gathegi was brilliant in his chilling delivery. Every ounce of charm we expected from him was there, but behind it was a black, soulless void that left us feeling cold and empty. Putting the words in print doesn’t do them justice. They have to be seen to be felt. Gathegi was that masterfully good in his debut on The Blacklist and we’re itching to see more. Red my friend, you have a darkness that is haunting you and with Dembe forced to cooperate, the danger may be much closer than you think.

Does a good agent listen to their instincts or their sense of duty?

The Troll Farmer’s ultimate arrest in the form of a trade was a different take on a Blacklister, but all that drama was brought about by the relentless pursuit of Red and Liz by Ressler, now acting head of the Task Force. We spent some time trying to get into the head of Ressler and figure out just what was motivating him. We weren’t alone, both Cooper and Navabi seemed keenly interested in just what lit a fire under him and who might get burned by it.

Diego Klattenhoff has had episodes where he was just a faint impression of a character and we’ve said for some time that he’s the most underused actor on this show. He’s shown flashes of brilliance and just hasn’t had the opportunity to always let that brilliance shine. But as he and Cooper compared notes—both complicit in helping Liz escape—it became clear that some level of guilt weighed Ressler down and the writing team let that guilt put some meat into the role.

“I’m complicit, too. When Keen, uh-When she broke out of interrogation, I caught up to her. I could’ve stopped her. I mean, I should’ve stopped her, but I didn’t. I let her go. Because I did, the Attorney General is dead.” ~ Ressler

“That’s a blessing.” ~ Cooper

“A blessing? Murder? That’s something Reddington would say, not you.” ~ Ressler

“You made a decision based on instinct. You should trust that.” ~ Cooper

“My job isn’t to trust my gut. My job is to uphold the law. I intend to do that.” ~ Ressler

It would appear that when push comes to shove, Ressler falls back to what he knows. Even though Cooper warned him that Connolly had larger plans to take everyone down, Ressler is sticking to his guns. For now at least. He’s leaning on the job and doing what others think he should. That seems consistent with his personality and felt right for him to do, even though it was a bit irritating to watch by those of us that love our Liz and Red.

At times in Season Two he was the one person that seemed to believe in Liz the most and it’s telling that he’s made the conscious decision to do his “duty” by tracking her down at all costs. If anyone on this show feels betrayed the most by Liz at the moment it’s Ressler. It would seem that his plan is get her into custody and then let things sort themselves out after. But is he pushing the bounds of reason and being reckless doing it? Navabi would answer a resounding “yes” after the raid on the drug operation ended with Ressler taking a wild shot to kill her captor.

“You were lucky. I was lucky you were lucky. I said before I didn’t trust your instincts. Now they scare me.” ~ Navabi

If the look Ressler gave Liz from the other side of the gate at the Russian embassy at the end was any indication, his frustration is just beginning. That should make for some interesting inter-office tension as the early part of the season progresses and the pursuit of Liz and Red remains center stage. How far will Ressler go and at what point will his instincts kick in to help him see the truth that Liz and Cooper have both witnessed first-hand? We don’t know, but we’ll be watching to find out.

FINAL VERDICT: Did we really think there would be any letting up after the way things ended last season? Nope. And The Blacklist didn’t disappoint. Season Three started with a bang and that’s just the way we like it.

Music so often plays a deep role in the emotional tone of this series. The selections have been stellar and this season opener was certainly a highlight. From the opening heist-flick feel to the tune of the swaggy “Peace Frog” by The Doors, we get a sense of energy and rhythm that doesn’t let up until the emotional crescendo of Liz’s final leap over the gate at the Russian Embassy to the somber and atmospheric “No Harm” by Editors. Music channels energy and The Blacklist does it better than most.

Veteran Director Michael Watkins has become the “go to” Director to start and end main storylines for The Blacklist. Helming his 13th episode, including the last two season finales and season openers, Watkins has developed a keen sense of what works on The Blacklist and what doesn’t. This show feels its best when things move briskly, but not at the expense of key information and subtle hints. That said, the pace of the opener was simply perfect. Clues, emotions and conflicts played out just right as we watched each character deal with difficult new circumstances. Executive Producers Jon Bokenkamp and John Eisendrath have developed a reliable stable of Directors that both know and understand this world well and Watkins showed that off by crushing this season opener in grand fashion. We agree gentlemen—if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

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Jon Bokenkamp and John Eisendrath, who wrote this episode, gave us a lot to think about in the opener. Liz’s curiosity regarding her mother is a very natural place for her to be now that she knows Red has much more information about Katarina than we first thought. We’ve got as many questions as she does. Hopefully at some point Red will have a moment to talk where the two aren’t interrupted. We want to know more and we’re betting that we’re not alone. Now that she’s on Russian soil, there may be others as well that know her secrets, but she’s not the only one that had us intrigued.

Dembe’s expanded universe was a welcome surprise. Long a fan favorite, Dembe’s family predicament introduces potential difficulty for Red. We have the distinct feeling that Mr. Solomon is going to be a painful adversary to Red and The Director alike. Who knows, perhaps the two will reach common ground to eliminate a mutual adversary. After all, Red will have to come up with some type of leverage to stay alive. The Fulcrum is no longer a threat, which may make Red expendable.

We’re not certain what the pattern will emerge for The Blacklist this season, but it was rather refreshing to see a twist on the traditional Blacklister of the week format. Red seemed to have not intended to give up Bo Chang to the FBI until Chang twisted the knife a bit by terminating his contract with Red. Chang should have been smarter. People don’t end contracts with Red, he does the contract termination. Some people simply have to learn the hard way. One thing is for certain, Jon and John, you have our attention. We’re eagerly awaiting the next episode to see where this all goes this season on The Blacklist!

Questions, Comments, Concerns and My Reaction on Twitter…

• Every Reddit thread? That will take more resources than every agency they have…#ByeRedAndLiz
• They lost em in a tunnel. #Rookies
• Give my regards to ChiChi. Does Red know EVERYONE? lol
• This is where we wait for #TheTrollFarmer Where do they find these interesting names?
• Stuck in a bunker for a week with Red? I’d be pestering him with questions. Day & night. lol
• You said it was a bluff. A ploy. You were wrong. @iamedigathegi is creepy as hell.
• Every breath that you draw is at our discretion. Damn, @iamedigathegi is über creepy. #TheBlacklist
• Get rid of them or your brother dies. Um, will Liz let that happen?
• Oops. Phone call. Red, I think it’s for you.
• I love story time with Red, but I don’t know if I could handle two weeks straight. 😉
• Is Dembe a Grandfather?? Holy cow!! @HISHAMTAWFIQ
• Smoke to draw attention away from the real fire. #TheTrollFarmer uses social media. Who does that?? lol
• That’s 60 seconds that ONLY you can account for.. Ooooo.. MIC DROP @mozhanistan!!
• I guess I’m you. Is “he” here?? Awkward fangirlling going on here.
• That’s a blessing. I think Harold gets it.
• Either you’ll be free in an hour or your be arrested for treason. Well, at least we don’t have to wait right? #BrightSide
• I don’t know who @iamedigathegi is—but you mess with Dembe’s family, you earn the wrath of him AND Red.
• Holy shite! Ressler isn’t playing AT ALL. I think I’d back off Samar. He’s PISSED.
• Red, I think I’d get my money back from #TheTrollFarmer. That was a little too obvious. #FivePlacesAtOnce
• Guess who’s coming to dinner @iamedigathegi. 😉
• Just because you’ve been bumped up to first chair, doesn’t mean you can compose a symphony. #Slap @DKlattenhoff
• Check off one Blacklister #TheTrollFarmer