The Blacklist (TV Series) Luther Braxton (No. 21): Conclusion (2015) User Reviews

Bokenkamp puts on a magic show...

[A_Different_Drummer · 9/10 · 2 May 2015]

Superficially this two-parter (episodes 9 and 10) are a great little escapist yarn, almost cinema quality, bring back memories of films that were staged on remote sea outposts (Sean Connery, Clint Eastwood, even Patrick McGoohan did these), have great acting (Ron Perlman in particular) and generally makes for a fun and satisfying viewer experience.

The job of the critic is to look deeper, however.

First Bokenkamp himself has a front writing credit. When you see the script penned by the series creator, you need to pay close attention.

Most TV shows today (this was not always the case) have a front and back story arc and the "challenge" is usually to keep both moving along without confusing the audience.

In this two-parter Bokenkamp pulls off an incredible writing feat, almost a magic trick. Essentially he brings the back arc (the "who is Lizzie to Red?" arc) into the forefront, lets it hang against a backdrop of a pyrotechnic thriller, teases the audience mercilessly, and yet by the end of the finale, the audience IS NO FURTHER AHEAD IN UNDERSTANDING THE "MYSTERY" of the series... an amazing feat. Deserves credit.

Also a note on the editing. The use of jump-cuts is extreme. I think some call this "Crazy Ivan" editing. It takes some getting used but it works well in this series.

Liz Her Memories

[ZegMaarJus · 9/10 · 12 July 2020]

This episode continues with the fire at The Factory. Ressler is fighting for his life, he saved Samar from the chains. Braxton ubducted Liz. Liz was brought to a hospital. Braxton ubducted a woman who can Liz let remember things. Selma is hypnotizing Liz, Liz sees events from the past. Red visits Braxton his business partners. It gets clear that Liz her previous name was Mascha. Red waits for Braxton and ubducted him. Red arrives at Liz he shot down the guard. Liz wakes up, Ressler and Samar arrived they want to stop the hypnotizing. Liz says that Red was at the fire in her house, Red admits that. Liz is mad because she thinks that Red and his crew wanted to get Liz her father. Red arrives at Peter his house, Red killed Braxton and hanged him up at Peter's house. Liz found a chip in her stuffed animal from the fire, is this a lead to the fulcrum? Again The Blacklist did a great job with these double episode of Luther Braxton. The pace how the actors play is incredibly good.

Worst air strike ever

[Ar_Pharazon_the_golden · 6/10 · 10 October 2021]

The overaching story arch moves (slightly) forward, but the episode is sloppy as hell.

At the end of the previous episode, fighter jets fire rockets at an off-shore platform - illegal prison (let's not get into how no one seems to consider the extremely widespread violation of human rights by the US government in every single episode a problem - the series doesn't take itself seriously enough for us to bother). As this episode starts, we see that this bombardment has killed absolutely no one, and miraculously has not even prevented the bad guy from taking off in a helicopter. Apparently the US air force is just as incompetent as the protagonists' FBI division.

The whole memory extraction/suppression thing is beyond criticism, just take it as it is without thinking. Inception from a dollar store I guess.

But despite all that, the episode's greatest flaw is that it is not even trying to take advantage of Ron Perlman. He's kind of a big-deal guest star, and he's the most mundane villain possible.

This is not how memory works

[klack-72195 · 1/10 · 5 October 2021]

The only thing that was worse than the sci-fi like storyline, was the horrendous acting by agent keen. Episode was almost unbearable.

Scattergun

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 10 November 2022]

This episode is all over the place. First we have the escape where everyone is given an opportunity to survive, even to fly away from the huge oil platform. There is something that has been mentioned time and again: the fulcrum. I would guess it's the "center" of things. Liz is in custody and brought to a woman who is an expert at extracting deep seated memories. Her child is taken and used as the threat. Keen knows! Ron Perlman is the beast here. But, once again, there are many forces above him. They should hand out programs. Anyway, in comes Red (as he always does, sipping his booze and taking over the situation. Just a bit of the same old same old.

WHERE IS SHE????

[punksamurai1985 · 1/10 · 21 June 2021]

This is a freaking hilarious episode where the show jumps the shark and becomes fantasy. Despite an entire series where the hero's have yet to successfully extract a single target, Keen is a giant moron and the normally horrendous show becomes hilarious with the worst acting yet. And the reason it results in total fantasy or sci-fi is the completely fantastical way the mind, memories and hypnosis works. Look for a cameo of Henry Winkler jumping a shark.