True Detective - "The Secret Fate Of All Life" Review

by Lee Padrick, February 17, 2014
True Detective S1E5

Life is like a box of chocolates.  And sometimes, chocolate sucks, brother.

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

As Pink Floyd once said, "Hey Reggie, leave those kids alone!"

This episode of True Detective offers us some character development on Mr. Reginald LeDoux.  And then, LeDoux is LeDone.  Offed by an irate Marty Hart after finding two children in the shed, one of whom is dead.  Reggie LeDoux and his partner DeWall are two twisted individuals, and Cohle's snatch of Ginger last episode yields a meet-decline-follow meeting with DeWall, who obviously is the business manager for the chemical genius that is LeDoux.  Hart and Cohle follow DeWall back to the meth lab and take down LeDoux and DeWall.  And that story that Hart and Cohle have been feeding the 2012 cops (Papania and Gilbough, they finally have names) about the epic shootout at the 1995 meth lab?  Well, that's all bullshit to cover up for an enraged Hart's murder of LeDoux after seeing what sick stuff LeDoux was up to with the kids.  And DeWall decides to run away and ends up blowing himself up on one of the perimeter booby traps.  So a little cover story later, and Hart and Cohle are celebrated as heroes.

And everything would have been fine.  If only Guy Leonard Francis had decided not to rob a drug store in 2002.  A time shift from 1995 to 2002, and Hart has been promoted and Cohle is the most sought-after interrogator in the state.  So Cohle gets called in to interrogate Francis about a PCP-influenced drug store robbery/murder, and Francis confesses.  Except he mentions at the end that he knows who Cohle is, mentions the Yellow King, and tells Cohle that the 1995 killer is still out there.  Cohle tries to beat more information out of Francis, but is stopped by the cops.

Meanwhile, the older 2002 version of Marty's eldest daughter is caught playing FingerCuffs with a couple of boys in a car.  Hart does not handle the situation well, and he ends up striking his daughter in the face.  There is some dark secret that will unfold concerning his daughter, who has been acting out since her first introduction, but Hart has yet to put the puzzle pieces together.  But he keeps telling the 2012 detectives, "It was right under my nose and I didn't see it."  

Cohle revisits the abandoned school after his visit with Francis, and he finds another of those wicker devil's trap constructions.  And a revisit to the original Dora Lange murder scene yields a circular wicker wreath.  Not sure what the significance of these wicker things are.

Back in 2012, Papania and Gilbrough finally show their hand, and as expected, they suspect Cohle of being the killer.  They even have Hart beginning to doubt his old partner.  But that is too cliche.  We will have to wait to find out the "who" in whodunnit, but I suspect that Cohle is still pursuing this case and using these detectives to gain additional information.

This show is the best thing I have witnessed on television.  I want to rewatch it immediately following an episode, and I find myself thinking about it for hours afterward.  A show that can stimulate that kind of interest is rare.  Looking forward to our upcoming last three hours with Hart and Cohle.

Random Thoughts:

- Hart and Maggie are back together, but the 2012 interviews suggest not for long.

- Speaking of 2002, its about time we found out why Hart and Cohle went splitsville.

- Lawnmower Man at the abandoned school is due to show up again soon.

- Something bad is going to happen to Hart's oldest daughter.

- My money is on Maggie's father as a ringleader in the Satanic cult.  It would explain the doll-gangbang scenario we saw earlier in the season with Hart's daughter (plus the pee pee drawings).

What did you think?

-----

If you like what you see here, check out The TVPhile Zone on Facebook and Twitter

True Detective - "Who Goes There" Review

by Lee Padrick, February 10, 2014
True Detective S1E4

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

After teasing the audience with a tighty-whitey-clad freak in a gas mask and holding a machete, True Detective comes back after a two-week break.  And does not pick up back where you would expect.  Before we confront the underwear-attired nutjob, we must find out how we found the underwear-attired nutjob.  And that is what "Who Goes There" brings to the table.  At a faster pace that we have seen thus far.  

This episode offers us a quick look at how Hart met his mistress, who turns out to be a court reporter assigned to cases where Hart occasionally is called to testify.  After his previous drunken escapades, Hart is trying to ratchet down their relationship, but his spurned mistress does not fade away.  Instead, she (off-camera) tells Hart's wife Maggie about the affair.  Maggie in turn packs up the kids and goes to stay with her parents.  After reading a "I'm outta here" note from Maggie, Hart tries vainly to convince his wife to come home.  He tries over the phone, and when that avenue does not work, he decides that a drunken visit to her workplace is a good idea.  Luckily, Cohle is called to come get Hart before he gets arrested.  So Hart and Cohle are now crashing over at Cohle's unfurnished apartment.  The same apartment that Hart chided Cohle about previously.  

In the meantime, the two detectives have a lead on an associate of Reggie LeDoux, and Hart gets information that LeDoux is exclusively cooking meth for a biker gang called Iron Crusaders.  Cohle happens to have a contact from his old undercover days, so he and Hart formulate an off-the-books takedown operation of Cohle's contact, in hopes of locating LeDoux.

Cohle has to descend back into the underworld, taking drugs, drinking, and generally breaking laws in order to establish bonafides with his old contact and mark, Ginger.  Ginger insists that Cohle help him with a drug heist, and Cohle finds himself in a housing project where the only certainty is that the heist will not success, thanks to the lack of planning by Ginger and his associates.  A 6 minute tracking shot of Cohle making an escape with Ginger as everything around him crumbles ensues, and offers the viewer likely the best scene that anyone will see on television this year.

In just four episodes, True Detective has delivered the most compelling show currently on television, and may well end up as one of the most exciting seasons of any show in recent history.  This is not a television show, but more of an eight-hour film.  And its good.  Very, very good.


Random Thoughts:

- Cohle, after four episodes, has become more likable, and Hart has become more unlikable.  A significant role reversal for these two characters.

- Checking his pulse before the shit hits the fan, Cohle's actions offer great foreshadowing for what's coming.

- As Hart's world collapses, he seems more willing to bend rules and break laws.  Interesting to see where this will lead in the second half of the season.

What did you think?

-----

If you like what you see here, check out The TVPhile Zone on Facebook and Twitter

True Detective - "The Locked Room" Review

by Lee Padrick, January 27, 2014
True Detective S1E3

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

As True Detective moves along this season, we see that Hart is not bound as tightly as he appears.

Over the past few episodes, Hart and Cohle have offered us a buddy film: a cerebral loner and a gregarious straight man.  But behind the facades of the two protagonists lies something much different than outward appearances.  Cohle, who has come across as a tortured soul, seems to be perfectly content with his place in the world.  Hart, on the other hand, is struggling with responsibility and middle age as he desperately tries to appear as the typical family man.

Last episode's church mural leads Hart and Cohle to a tent revival that is led by a fire-and-brimstone folk preacher, played by Shea Whigham.  Whigham's portrayal yields an Elvis impersonator that lords over his "flock," a collection of down-and-out country misfits.  Hart and Cohle attend a tent service, where they pit nihilism versus a Southern Baptist view of the world.  An amusing and entertaining debate ensues, and we learn more about Cohle's worldview.  

Later, Hart comes home and finds that Cohle is there talking with his wife, after returning a borrowed lawn mower and taking care of the Hart family's lawn.  A not-very-subtle argument takes place, with an angry Hart chastising Cohle for "mowing another man's lawn."  Mrs. Hart still seems to have her eye on Cohle, even going through the trouble of arranging a date for the loner with one of her friends.  The date goes OK for Cohle, but Hart loses it when he sees his mistress on a date with another guy, and drunkenly confronts and attacks her potential suitor later that evening.

The 2012 interviews are a welcome break in the dark world of 1995, as the older Hart and Cohle individually interview with the detectives.  Cohle appears to still be the prime suspect in the modern-day crimes, but you can't help but wonder if he is actually a suspect or a means to get into the killer's mind.  The cliffhanger this week is a shot of prime suspect Reginald LeDoux, who Hart and Cohle see walking around his property in a pair of tighty whiteys, a gas mask, and carrying a machete.  How's that for a parting shot?

No episode next week, as HBO breaks for the Super Bowl, but True Detective will be back on February 9th.

Random Thoughts:

- When a drunken Hart visits his mistress' house, he carelessly runs over a girl's pink bicycle.  Is this related to the death of Cohle's daughter?  Was Cohle the drunk driver of the vehicle that killed his daughter?

- Mrs. Hart's booty call in the middle of the night was odd.  Or was she really checking up on the whereabouts of the philandering Mr. Hart?

- Cohle's speechifying on his nihilism is fun to watch.  But it borders on teenage emo diatribes.  Its fun to watch McConaughey toe that line while spouting the viewpoint of the average troubled teenager.  So far, he is pulling it off.

- "I think its safe to say that no one here is gonna be splitting the atom, Marty"  - Cohle.  I almost choked on my tongue.

- "Its been that way since one monkey looked at the sun, then looked at the other monkey and said, "He said give me your f-ing share!"  This dialogue is as good as anything on television.  

What did you think?

-----

If you like what you see here, check out The TVPhile Zone on Facebook and Twitter

True Detective - "Seeing Things" Review

by Lee Padrick, January 23, 2014
True Detective S1E2

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

HBO has a real winner in its stable.

The dark, chilly buddy-cop show should not work.  This genre has an exhaustive legacy, so another cop thriller about a brilliant, troubled introvert and his rambunctious local-boy-made-cop would be expected to yield a watchable "been there, done that" product.

But True Detective delivers.  And much better than you would expect.  Powered by the performance of Matthew McConaughey.  McConaughey is a hot ticket right now, coming off accolades for Dallas Buyers Club.  And he continues his renaissance here.

Detective Rust Cohle is an intense man.  Thanks to the flashbacks/flashforwards, you get that he is a divorced man who lost his young daughter in a traffic incident in front of his home.  This event likely led to his divorce.  You don't yet know whether he may carry more responsibility for his loss.  After his daughter's death, he became an undercover narcotics officer, and he obviously took a few drugs.  Maybe took many drugs, since he is suffering from the effects years later.  

Cohle is also not happy that the politically-charged investigation of the murder of Dora Kelly Lange.  Because of the right Reverend Billy Lee Tuttle, Cohle and Hart must navigate an anti-Christian-crimes task force.  And Cohle expresses himself above his pay grade, leading to conflict with the task force members and his boss, Major Quesada (Kevin Dunn).  But he extracts information during the investigation well, using pressure point moves and hitting people with toolboxes to gain the intel he seeks.  His methods lead to Lange's diary.

Hart is occupied with his extramaritial activities, his job, and his home life, leading to conflict along the way.  He, as suspected, is sleeping with a young court clerk.  And he is having difficulty with his in-laws.  And his wife.  Cohle instigates a confrontation between he and Hart, by chiding Hart on his appearance after spending the evening away from home.  Which leads to a physical altercation where it is strongly implied that Cohle would not suffer the short end of the stick.  

Hart and Cohle follow clues in Lange's diary to an old, burned-out church.  Where they find a mural on the wall of a woman with deer antlers.  Stay tuned.

As I mentioned earlier, this show should not work.  But through the first two episodes, it does.  Carried by the considerable acting talent of McConaughey and Harrelson.  Both actors are demonstrating how compelling television can be, in the capable hands of two A-listers.  But the writing and pace are top shelf as well, and its just fun to sit back and watch these two great actors delivering a fresh perspective on a tired trope.  This is "great show" stuff.

Looking forward to where this show will lead this season, especially considering it should progress as a mini-series.

Random Thoughts:

- No Clarke Peters this episode.

- I like Kevin Dunn as the hard-ass boss.

- The flashback/flashforward is really working for me.  And in a better way than Orange is the New Black.

What did you think?

-----

If you like what you see here, check out The TVPhile Zone on Facebook and Twitter

The Blacklist - "The Good Samaritan Killer" Review

by Lee Padrick, Janaury 15, 2014
The Blacklist S1E11

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

After a holiday break, The Blacklist is back for .... well, not much.

After a satisfying two-parter with "Anslo Garrick," I settled in for epic The Blacklist.  The first red flag was the episode title.  "The Good Samaritan Killer" made me roll my eyes, but I had visions of a blacklister that contracted to kill other blacklisters for favors, instead of money.  

The opening scene with the mother and child, and the guy giving her the drugged coffee?  "She must be a secret agent person or something," I said to myself.  Nope, she is the victim of a case-of-the-week serial killer, and Liz must find the killer and bring him to justice because .... (in my best movie trailer voice) "This time, its personal!"  Give me a freakin' break.  The serial killer is a Dexter-ish ER nurse who deals with domestic violence victims and tortures and kills their abusers.     

Meanwhile, our Man-of-the-Hour-With-Style-and-Power is running around killing all the folks that were involved with his capture by Anslo Garrick.  He is even cheesily killing folks to Johnny Cash's "When The Man Comes Around."  Can you tell this episode isn't working for me?

After he exacts revenge on all the Garrick mercenaries, and after Liz tracks down the Good Samaritan (named because he leaves his victims barely alive and calls 911 to save them?  Really, who dreams up this stuff?) and shoots him before he can creepily torment his immobile elderly mother some more, we get a reconciliation of Red and Liz.  Seems they have made up and will get back to catching blacklisters next week.

If that was the case, why did I have to sit through this week's episode?  This was not my favorite The Blacklist episode.  Seems this show is in a perpetual state of taking a step forward-a couple of steps backward.  

Finally, we now know who the mole is.  The show threw us a twist, making us think it was Aram.  I was floored, but Aram as the mole was very believable.  Then, the show pulled that rug out from under us and identified Grey as the mole.  Grey?!?  So Red kills Skinny Pete, and the whole mole (sorry, I giggled when I typed that) thing is settled.  Except that the mysterious Grey is now dead.  And I was hoping for a Grey-flashback episode later in the season.  Well, there's still Dembe.  

I have mentioned it before, but the premise of this show could be much more fulfilling if it was a 12-episode season, versus a 22-episode season.  With a shorter season, we could skip some of these filler episodes where nothing happens and advance the season's arc at a more coherent pace.

I look forward to getting this train back on the tracks next week.  

Random Thoughts:

- Tom wants to interview for a teaching gig in Nebraska.  Good riddance!  But if he won't go to work at his job in D.C., he probably won't work in Nebraska, either.

- Ressler is back at work and walking with a limp.  C'mon, he would have lost that mangled leg in real life!

- Still don't trust Meera, the CIA chick.

- The scene where Liz threatens the wife beater in the hospital was so superfluous.  I think I actually screamed at the television.

What did you think?

-----

If you like what you see here, check out The TVPhile Zone on Facebook and Twitter

'Broadchurch' Review

by Lee Padrick, December 19, 2013

Do you really know your family and friends?

Produced by Kudos, and aired on ITV and BBC America, Broadchurch offers a fresh take on the typical whodunit.  Led by incredible performances from David Tennant and Olivia Coleman, this 8-episode series relies on great writing and solid acting to deliver a compelling thriller that takes a familiar genre and offers a fresh, satisfying experience.  This is good television done well.

'Orphan Black' Review

by Lee Padrick, December 17, 2013
Orphan Black

The first rule of Clone Club is "Never tell anyone about Clone Club."

As television enters the post-Golden Age, there is lots of scripted fare to choose to watch.  Trouble is, some of the best stuff is not on the major networks or the prestige drama networks.  Some of the best stuff is hard to find and watch.  Like Orphan Black.

Masters of Sex - "Manhigh" Review

by Lee Padrick, December 16, 2013
Masters of Sex S1E12

Smoking in the boy's room

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

Masters of Sex finishes up a great first season.

Going into the season finale, there were lots of loose ends to address, as well as the need to pave the road for the upcoming second season.  A lot of expectations to meet.  Fortunately, "Manhigh" met most of them and gave us some resolution to most of the situations that have developed over the second half of the season.

Masters of Sex - "Phallic Victories"

by Lee Padrick, December 13, 2013
Masters of Sex S1E11

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

As Masters of Sex hurtles toward the end of the first season, Virginia shows us just how important she is to this world.

Masters of Sex has spent the past ten episodes showing us how vital Bill Masters is to this show.  And Virginia, because of Masters being front and center, has suffered, as her character has slowly developed.  But all of this changed in this penultimate episode.  What we have suspected all along is now universally accepted; Virginia is the glue that holds this show together.

Masters of Sex - "Fallout" Review

by Lee Padrick, December 9, 2013
Masters of Sex S1E10

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

Nuclear annihilation is at hand.

This week's episode of Masters of Sex continues the season's arc toward ... something, but it stumbles more so than other recent episodes.  This is not the show's finest moment, but the further development of the secondary cast renders it watchable, and at times, enjoyable.

Masters of Sex - "Involuntary" Review

by Lee Padrick, December 9, 2013
Masters of Sex S1E9

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

Performance evaluations are due this week.

Masters of Sex delivers a great episode, as the characters continue to develop into real people, with real successes and failures.  Michael Sheen continues to shine (see what I did there?) as the titular lead and Masters, no matter his past or station in life, still comes across as an asshole.  Sheen plays Master's peculiar nature perfectly, and it is a testament to his portrayal that the viewer, after nine episodes, still does not like him.  This is not a guy you want to have a beer with or take fishing.

The Blacklist - "Anslo Garrick, Part 2" Review

by Lee Padrick, December 3, 2013
The Blacklist S1E10

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

Leg wounds are never as bad as they appear.  At least on television.

This week's episode is the second part of "Anslo Garrick," and it also serves as the mid-season finale.  All in all, an exciting hour of The Blacklist.

The Blacklist - "Anslo Garrick" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 27, 2013
The Blacklist S1E9

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

Lizzy comes to work on her day off and channels her inner badass.

The promos for the latest episode of The Blacklist suggest that the show is stepping up its game.  So I tuned into "a very special Blacklist," expecting an unknown international turkey smuggler being the target.  Because its Thanksgiving.  What I got was much better.

It is fun and cathartic to watch the highest rated new show of the season.  The characters are over-the-top, the plot makes absolutely no sense, and there is a big budget which translates into lots of stuff blowing up.  A great release for those of us who watch prestige drama.

Masters of Sex - "Love and Marriage" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 23, 2013
Masters of Sex S1E8

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

Lots of unhappiness in relationships as Masters of Sex finds its raison d'etre.

The Blacklist - "General Ludd" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 15, 2013
The Blacklist S1E8

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

This episode's theme is about fatherhood.  Or not.  

The opening scene where a father and son are playing in the park as aircraft parts (and bodies!) fall from the sky is terrifying.  Later, we find out that the father and son died as a result of the aircraft bombing by a group of nutcases calling themselves "General Ludd."  The General Ludd group appear to be the illegitimate lovechild of WTO protesters and the Unibomber.  And their main guy, the newly-blond Bradley Holland/Nathaniel Wolf/Arthur Denning (Justin Kirk), a familiar look-a-like, is busy planning more attacks in hopes of bringing down the country's financial system.  Because his daddy was laid off, found comfort in a bottle, and committed suicide.  Sure, why not destroy your country's financial system if a family member develops a substance abuse problem and suffers from depression?  Makes perfect sense.  If you are Carlos the Jackal.  

Masters of Sex - "All Together Now" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 13, 2013
Masters of Sex S1E7

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

I think Masters of Sex is entering the plateau stage.

This episode of Masters of Sex is possibly the best hour of the young series thus far.  The slow, meandering plot seems to find its course as most of the storylines of the series intersect this episode.  The characters' development is reaching a critical mass where the direction of the show is becoming more clear.

Masters and Virginia have now moved into the study themselves, WITH EACH OTHER!  But its not the romantically-tinged scene you would expect; instead, they are hooked up to wires as they awkwardly perform, as Masters narrates each of the four stages of arousal.  Kinda icky to watch.  Virginia does not orgasm during this first experience, so Masters takes this as license to continue "researching" with Virginia from different positions, so that she can achieve a clitoral orgasm.  

Dr. Haas (Nicholas D'Agosto), the slap-happy protege of Masters, is continuing his relationship with Vivian Scully (Rose McIver), the daughter of closeted Provost Scully (Beau Bridges).  Whose neglected wife Margaret (Allison Janney) is busy boning Dr. Langham (Teddy Sears).  Provost Scully is planning an "out of town" trip, which turns out to be an encounter with the male homosexual prostitute that outed him to Masters a few episodes ago.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Margaret is giving Dr. Langham free tickets to ride her Ferris wheel.  Provost Scully ends up the victim of some gay-bashing and gets a knife wound for his indiscretion.  When he returns home from his "business trip," Margaret tells him to go to his room (Provost and Margaret have separate bedrooms, that's just plain weird), implying that she has some company in her bedroom.  Provost does as requested, and never inquires about Margaret's activities the next day.  

Meanwhile, Virginia has hired Jane (Helene Yorke) as Masters' new secretary.  And she is very good at the job.  Jane's addition of working in close proximity to Masters and Virginia should prove to be fun over the upcoming episodes.

Libby wants to get pregnant again, and she begins working with Dr. Haas without Masters' knowledge, using his frozen sperm.  Ethan gets her to engage Masters in regular sex, so that Masters will not know that any pregnancy likely resulted from insemination.  But Masters is busy servicing Virginia for the sake of science at work, so he and Libby's sexy time at home is suffering (more than usual).  Virginia encourages Masters to engage his wife in some alligator dancing, after a worried Libby asks Virginia to help get Masters home earlier each night so that he will have energy (and desire) to jump rope.

This episode focuses not on sex itself, but the aftermath and effects that sex can have on peoples' lives.  And the show is better for it.  Looking forward to seeing where we go now that Masters and Virginia are spinning the dials together.  

Random Thoughts:

- Jane as Masters' secretary should prove to be awesome!

- Dr. Langham did not seem as excited about his older plaything once she started expressing some feelings for him.

- Langham's therapist is none other than Alan Ruck of Ferris Bueller's Day Off!


What did you think?

-----

If you like what you see here, check out The TVPhile Zone on Facebook and Twitter

Masters of Sex - "Brave New World" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 13, 2013
Masters of Sex S1E6

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers!

We're going to Florida!  Is this Boardwalk Empire or Masters of Sex?  

Libby (Caitlin Fitzgerald) and Masters decide to take a vacation to Miami, to clear their minds after the loss of their unborn.  Libby is game for some fun in the sun; Masters is more interested in the old couple having sex on the other side of the thin-walled hotel room.  He even gets caught glancing at the clock as Libby tries to get him in the mood for sexy time.  She finally gives up on Masters, and sends him home, so she can enjoy the rest of the week without her uptight husband serving as a buzz kill.

The Blacklist - "Frederick Barnes" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 8, 2013
The Blacklist S1E7

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

The beauty of The Blacklist is that it is a satire of other popular TV dramas.

As Andy Greenwald describes it, television is cannibalizing itself.  In this new era of Walking Dead Miami and Better Call Saul, The Blacklist stands out as a big-budget over-the-top hour of wickedly nonsensical badassery, driven by the riveting performance of James Spader as Raymond Reddington.  As I have mentioned previously, the best way to view the show is to suspend logic until after the credits roll.  

Masters of Sex - "Catherine" Review

by Lee Padrick, October 31, 2013
Masters of Sex S1E5

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

Tragedy strikes Masters of Sex, and Masters is powerless to stop it.

Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia (Lizzy Caplan) are moving to the next stage in their research, couples.  Dr. Langham (Teddy Sears) eagerly signs back up, hoping for more research with Jane (Helene Yorke), the young woman who is only interested in a tryst with a married man if its for "scientific research."  But Masters and Virginia are experimenting to see if there is more than just the physical condition during sex; the hard-to-quantify chemistry variable.  So they match Dr. Langham with an unknown partner, and he is unable to perform.  When they rematch him with Jane, he is still unable to perform, offering a comedic subplot to an otherwise dark episode.

The Blacklist - "Gina Zanetakos" Review

by Lee Padrick, October 30, 2013
The Blacklist - S1E6

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

After a strong episode last week, The Blacklist delivers "Gina Zanetakos," an episode as hard to follow as the title is to pronounce.  A lot of stuff happens within the show's 44 minutes and a fair amount of it does not make much sense.

As I've said previously, for me to enjoy The Blacklist, I have to suspend logic and just come along for the entertainment of Spader's acting and the big-budget action scenes.  But this week requires more than a suspension of logic.  It requires thought.  And thought during The Blacklist can make the show much less enjoyable, because most of the plot of The Blacklist does not make sense.