[L i N d $ @ y]

2x03 | Dr. James Covington
E P I S O D E DISCUSSION T H R E A D



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episode synopsis

DERANGED DOCTOR FINDS HIMSELF ON THE BLACKLIST - When a man is found with his heart cut out, Agents Keen and Ressler team up with agent Samar Navabi to uncover the intricacies of Dr. Covington’s black-market operation. Meanwhile, Red and his associate try to capitalize on a new opportunity in Indonesia, leaving Reddington in a vulnerable position.

[Nekoshoujo]

Thanks for starting the thread! So excited for this one~

[Forwood4Bamon]

thanks for starting the thread. keens and ressler

[L i N d $ @ y]

You're welcome girls and I hope you don't mind that I started the new one Asya. I freak out when the ep discussion thread is not yet up 3 days before a new ep.

[i never learn]

hell fcking yes! tom made a faux appearance! *fans!self* too bad red was super, duper creepy in liz's dream. wtf? i'm just glad the writers finally addressed liz's psyche about the whole situation. and, yeah, i called the guy she frisked dirty from the moment she saw his reflection. i'm better than agent keen. teehe! unless he's not dirty and he's guarding lizzy.

[Wild Pikachu]

That was interesting, except that it runs the risk of getting predictable... Both the Berlin trap and the guy at the motel were so obvious that everyone had to see them coming a mile away (though I didn't think Vargas was actually working for Reddington)...

[L i N d $ @ y]

I thought the ep was okay. Not a favorite because some of the twists we already saw coming.

It was obvious that Liz was having a dream about Tom only when Red dropped by. But it was good to see him again all disheveled as I think he does look like that now.

The whole business with Covington and the illegal transplants were a bit much I think. Too far out for me to imagine it to be real but I'll just take it.

Nikko turning his back on Red was a bad idea and I knew that it will turn on him as soon as he turns him in to Mr. Vargas. We all know that Berlin & Red had made some "arrangements" in the last ep so for now, they'll go about their business until they are head-to-head again.

Samar is clearly Meera's replacement. When she came in, I'm reminded so much of Meera and it looks like Aram fancies her. Liz & Donald are right not to trust her but at least they know she has connections to Red. The bigger question is why is she 'helping' the FBI and what's her deal with Red?

Naomi in the end! She & Red clearly have stuff to talk about but why is he keeping her in a place far far away? Yes he's hiding her but he could also easily just let her go too. Maybe there's something we have yet to see between these two soon? A big confrontation?

[Nekoshoujo]

Finally got a chance to watch this episode all the way through! I accidentally fell asleep while watching in Monday, I was just too exhausted to stay up.

Thoughts:

+ I need a relationship map to figure out all the players in these shadow groups. Syndicate, The Alliance, Berlin's group...

+ This episode was disappointing. There wasn't anything particularly fresh or new about the episode. The opening and the plot itself reminded me of a few "black market organ harvesting" episodes. As well as the movie Repo Men. The plot was actually exactly like Repo Men. There were also a few bits that seemed borrowed from The X-Files. The opening reminded me of TXF episode "Hell Money" which if you only watch one tv episode about black market organ harvesting it has to be that one. Also "The Syndicate" hmmm... so familiar -__-

+ Aside from the plot, this episode felt like NBC is pushing the show in a more procedural direction. It's not a good thing to me. The Blacklist is not CSI, it should not try to be. What makes the show so fun is the spy games factor and the original characters and relationships. Forcing the show into the same old tropes is hurting the show. Even the kid at the end, the moral decision Liz faced was also not new at all. I especially disliked the introduction of the "quirky ME" does TV need another "quirky ME" - nope. No we don't. He just screamed "pay attention I'm going to pop up a lot more this season" to me which I think is a bad thing. A criminal going after other criminals is unique in that we don't need the typical sources of information to "solve the crime" I'd rather see Red work with the team to take down people he's crossed paths with before than see him hand Liz a clue and then disappear into a boring B-plot about double crossing allies.

+ I just did not enjoy the Red subplot at all. It seemed really unnecessary and seemed to showcase all the wrong things about his character. Red is supposed to be fun but there was nothing new about any of the plot - much like the episode as a whole. The whole but at the end when everyone walks into the room was too corny.

+ One benefit of the B-plot was that we got Red's immediate reason for going after Covington and that it all connected in the end. Also the "you know I don't like the bloody bit" and "give him his seat, he's going to faint" was good too.

+ Samar is definitely Meera 2.0 but I do like her. I feel like she has more secrets to reveal than Meera did. And I like Aram's little crush on her.

+ I knew the Tom scene was a dream from the start but I was really hoping it was true.

+ Also knew neighbor guy was bad news. Oh Liz, your taste in men is... well consistent. I hope this guy works with Tom.


There were some things I did like:

+ Naomi and Red! Great ending. This coupled with the promo for next week has me very excited. Hopefully this was just a lull and next week the show will be back on track.

+ "OMIGOSH!" Red can be so cute

+ "whoa, you're tall" Aram is also super cute

+ "how could I forget I was sleeping with his sister" it's her dry delivery that gets me. She's my fav.

+ I loved Liz's purse

[sunshinedan]

I think this ep. is a little dull.maybe because it is not involved with Berlin and overaching storyline.I don't quite get why Liz stated her identity to the stranger. Her smile is too much ，looks like she's flirting with him.
Some lizzington shippers sense sexual undertone when Red walk to Liz in her dream. I think the writers and director deliberately tease us，Jon Bokenkamp tweeted a little overly sexy lizzington.

[Stacie18]

Lizzington was the only thing I liked about this episode/season.

Jon Bokencamp is teasing the fans. Lizzington is never going to happen...

[Forwood4Bamon]

I think I'm getting a little confused this season.

[Nekoshoujo]

yeah, I agree with those getting a little nervous, this season does seem a little... weird. On the one hand the case in this episode was very typical cop drama - in a bad way - and yet the B plot was a little confusing. Hopefully this changes next week.

[sunshinedan]

This first 3 eps spread out a lot of hints.The writers must give the answers around midseason,at least part of them.All the Berlin stuff will be solved when the show comes back from hiatus, I guess. A news big fish bubbles to the surface on the second part of S2.

[Nekoshoujo]

That's true. But I actually like the Berlin plot so I'm looking forward to watching that storyline play out. There's still a lot of mysteries tied up in that. Looks like next week will follow that a little so that's very exciting.

[L i N d $ @ y]

Yeah, I'm interested more if the ep ties to Berlin somehow. This sort of did but not really. Someone is not loyal to Red... of course he's gonna get caught. I'm also interested in Samar. Is there any chance she can be out in the field with Donald & Liz because I think she can kick ass.

More of Naomi too. I think we'll get great scenes if we have James Spader & MLP together.

I felt like that ep was a filler but of course we can't have every ep to be off the charts so yes, here's hoping that next week is better.